Business Succession & Buy-Sell Planning

Overview

What happens to your business if you can't run it tomorrow?

Most business owners have a plan for growing the business. Far fewer have a plan for what happens to it if they die, become incapacitated, retire, or simply want to exit on their own terms. Without one, a business can stall, lose key relationships, or end up in the hands of people who never intended to run it — or fought over who would.

Lauren works with owners to put the legal structure in place ahead of time: who takes over, how the business is valued and transferred, and how the transition is funded, so a life event doesn't become a business crisis.

Succession & Continuity Planning

Identifying who takes over — a family member, a partner, a key employee, or a sale — and building the legal structure to make that transition actually work.

Buy-Sell Agreements & Entity Planning

Structuring the agreements between owners that govern what happens when someone dies, becomes disabled, retires, or wants to sell their interest.

Key-Person Planning & Business Trusts

Protecting the business against the loss of the person (often the owner) it depends on most, and structuring business interests inside a trust when that makes sense for the ownership and estate plan together.

Beyond the typical business

Continuity for licensed professional practices.

Some businesses come with a wrinkle most succession planning doesn't address: the owner has to be personally licensed for the practice to keep operating and collecting fees at all. Lauren also supports owners of law practices, psychology and counseling practices, and financial planning practices navigating exactly that kind of transition.

Law Practices

Supporting or winding down a solo or small law practice under a private agreement — for example, while the next generation completes law school and bar admission — so the practice can keep operating compliantly in the meantime.

Continuity support for a professional practice

Psychology & Counseling Practices

Contractual continuity support for practices that need a qualified professional in place to maintain operations through an owner's transition, illness, or retirement.

Financial planning practice continuity meeting

Financial Planning Practices

The same continuity role for financial planning practices facing a gap between a departing professional and a credentialed successor.

No one holds every professional designation. In these engagements, Lauren's role is to coordinate and provide the properly licensed personnel a practice needs to keep operating compliantly during the transition — arranged by private agreement between the parties, not a court appointment, and not by personally holding every credential herself.

Industries served

Businesses like yours.

Succession and continuity planning looks a little different depending on the kind of business — but the core problem is the same. Lauren works with owners across a wide range of industries, including:

Law Firms CPA Firms Financial Advisors Insurance Agencies Medical Practices Dental Practices Architecture Firms Consulting Firms Family Businesses Closely Held Companies Contractors Real Estate Investors

How it works

From first consultation to a plan that's ready

Free consultation

We discuss the business, the ownership structure, and what you're trying to protect or avoid if something changes unexpectedly.

Ownership & asset review

We look at how the business is structured, who owns what, and what agreements (if any) already exist between owners.

Plan design

Together we decide the right combination of succession plan, buy-sell agreement, key-person coverage, and entity or trust structure.

Drafting & review

Documents are prepared and walked through in plain language, with the business's actual operations in mind — not a generic template.

Signing & execution

Agreements are properly executed by all owners, and coordinated with the business's governing documents.

Funding

Where insurance or other funding mechanisms are part of the plan, we make sure they're actually in place — not just referenced on paper.

Ongoing updates

We revisit the plan as the business changes — new partners, growth, a valuation change, or a shift in who's involved.

FAQ

Common questions

What is a buy-sell agreement, and do I need one?

A buy-sell agreement governs what happens to an owner's interest in the business when they die, become disabled, retire, or want to sell. If your business has more than one owner, this is usually one of the most important documents you don't have yet.

What happens to my business if I die without a succession plan?

Your business interest generally passes through your estate like any other asset — which may mean it ends up with heirs who have no interest in or ability to run it, or in probate while decisions get made. A succession plan keeps that decision in your hands.

What is key-person planning?

It's planning for the financial impact if a critical person — often the owner or a top performer — is suddenly unavailable. This often involves key-person life insurance and a plan for how the business continues operating and is valued in the interim.

Should my business be held in a trust?

Sometimes. It depends on your entity type, your estate plan, and your succession goals. We'll look at whether holding your business interest in a trust helps avoid probate and coordinates with your broader estate plan, or whether a different structure makes more sense.

How is my business valued for succession or buy-sell purposes?

Valuation methods vary and are usually built into the buy-sell agreement itself (a formula, a fixed price reviewed periodically, or an appraisal process). Getting this right up front avoids disputes later.

What if my co-owner and I disagree about succession?

This is exactly what a buy-sell agreement is designed to prevent — it sets the rules in advance, before there's a disagreement to have. If you're already in a dispute without one, that's a different conversation, and we can help there too.

How does this coordinate with my personal estate plan?

Your business is very likely one of your largest assets, so business succession planning and personal estate planning need to work together — not be handled as two separate, disconnected projects.

What does this cost, and how are fees structured?

It depends on the complexity of the ownership structure and the documents needed. We'll walk through the scope and fees clearly before any engagement begins.