Midmarketwiki entry for Plan for Succession (7th step):
Action Step 7 - Planning for business succession is not often easily accomplished. There are specialized elements of this process that require the skills of experienced advisors, including attorneys, accountants, and financial intermediaries. The typical scenario of an offer for the purchase of a business suffers from the lack of advance planning, whereby the owners do not maximize their return on investment.
Ideally, several years before the transfer of the business, alternative plans are considered and planning takes place for the most likely outcomes, to be executed at favorable times in the business cycle. It is important to perform this business succession planning process for implementation with voluntary transfers (sale of business, retirement, management buyout, family member purchases) so that plans are in place for the unexpected, involuntary transfers (death, disability, industry consolidations).
