As appeared in the Golf Business Canada magazine Spring 2018 edition

Research shows that too much attention is being paid to the technical aspects of the succession plan, such as the estate freeze, business valuation, tax minimization, trust and wills while too little attention is being paid to the no-technical component such as family communication, family values, family dynamics and family expectations.

The focus on the technical component is easily explained, since family  business owners tend to turn to their accountants and lawyers when it comes to their succession plan. Those professionals are not trained to deal with the type of issues the family component may face, such as:

• Is working and owning the business a birthright or an opportunity that needs to be earned by family members?
• Who can work in the business and are there any educational or other requirements (i.e., outside work experience)?
• Who can own shares of the business, when are the shares transferred and how is the transfer funded?
• Should the shares be split equally amongst the children even if they don't all work in the business?
• What happens in case of death, incapacity or voluntary exist of a shareholder?

You can read the rest of the article by visiting the Golf Business Canada magazine website. Cet article est aussi disponible en français..