When you are making a business succession plan, if your goal is to keep the business in the family, you may assume that all family members need to be equally involved. If you have multiple adult children, you may be trying to fit them all in as members of the board or executives at the business. You may believe they need to have equal ownership.
While it is certainly possible to set things up this way if you would like, do not assume that it is necessary. There is no requirement that you give adult children equal ownership or equal roles in the business succession plan.
Who is the most capable?
For one thing, consider which adult children are even capable of running the business. You may have a child who certainly wants to be involved with the company, but they do not have the proper education, training or experience. You are not obligated to put them into a leadership role, and you could instead defer to one of their siblings who does have a higher level of education or more experience in that industry.
Who is even interested?
One thing that business owners need to consider is that some of their adult children may not even want to be involved.
It is important to have these conversations in advance. Do not just assume that everyone is interested in running the company and will be happy to receive a percentage of the ownership. In addition to identifying which heirs would be the best fit from a capability standpoint, you also want to talk with them about who is willing to run the company or interested in following in your footsteps.
Drafting a business succession plan can help things go smoothly for your family, especially if you keep these details in mind. Be sure you know what legal steps you will need to take to get the plan in place.