Who Will Take over the Business? : Succession Planning for the Canadian Business Family

As the majority of baby boomers retires over the next five to 10 years, succession planning will be vital for the long-term survival of many businesses. Canada is about to see a huge transfer of wealth from the baby boomer generation, yet many businesses, particularly family-owned businesses, struggle to ensure a smooth transition of business management and ownership. Myriad studies show that fewer than 30 per cent of private businesses have an achievable succession plan in place. Most business owners do nothing or they choose to focus on one area in the succession planning process such as tax, while ignoring many of the other key issues that need to be dealt with.   For companies that are family owned, the ramifications may be even more sweeping. The personal issues they face, compounding other day-to-day business concerns, range from planning for income taxes to maintaining interpersonal relationships with family members. Succession planning is more complex now as many different business, financial and personal issues come into play. A good succession plan will look at a range of issues such as people and talent, family dynamics, corporate structure, estate planning, insurance and share transfer to name just a few.   Who Will Take Over the Family Business? is for anyone in business who wants to have a change, retire or simply sell their business. It is designed to guide business owners through a comprehensive and strategic approach to the business succession process. The opportunities and benefits are great when succession planning is undertaken in a disciplined way.

Susan Latremoille and Peter Creaghan, experienced financial advisors who custom-design an investment portfolio for the family that provides lifetime income, tax sheltered, for Victor and Anne, and guaranteed liquidity for their estates

Steve Landau and Pearl Schusheim, who are the architects of a tax plan that provides a substantial tax reduction on their transaction and diffuses an overlooked estate planning problem

Tony Ianni, an investment banker who provides the Banks family with a variety of liquidity options to consider, and who ultimately leads the family through the private equity transaction

Ron Prehogan, a specialist in resolving family business conflict, and Arnie Cader, who acts as an independent director to the family and the business

Linda Betts, who helps the family identify and strategize regarding the softer issues, and manage the family dynamics

Sheila Crummey, who crafts an estate plan for the family, and her partner Frank Archibald, a corporate lawyer who provides practical advice to the family on the sale of the business.