Succession is the purposeful transition of ownership, responsibility, and continuity from one generation to the next. It provides clarity around how the enterprise will move forward and ensures the transition happens in an organized and sustainable way for both the family and the business.

Legal and tax structures – such as freezes, trusts, shareholders’ agreements, partnership arrangements, and corporate reorganizations – create the framework fro an orderly transition. These structures also create financial obligations: buying out retiring parents or partners, executing living buyouts, equalizing inheritances, and covering the taxes that will pass to future generations because of estate freezes – bringing the next generation into the planning process as well.