Business Succession Planning for Campbell Business Owners

Start with the ownership picture

Before a consultation, gather a clear description of the business interest you own and how it is held. An ownership inventory is useful because an estate plan can coordinate asset ownership with a will, trust and financial decision-making documents. For a business interest, the same basic inventory helps frame what the plan needs to address: what you own, the form in which you hold it, and which documents describe it.

Collect what you already have, such as ownership records, a recent statement or other paperwork that identifies the interest. If you are unsure what a document means, include it rather than trying to interpret it on your own. The purpose is to give the discussion a reliable starting point, not to make a legal conclusion before the meeting.

• Write down the name of the business and the type of interest you believe you hold.
• Note how the interest is titled or recorded, and identify any records that show that information.
• Flag details that are incomplete or uncertain so they can be discussed.

Bring the documents that describe the business

Gather the governing documents and any amendments or later updates you have. The consultation can consider these alongside your estate-planning documents; the goal is to understand how the materials relate, not to assume that one document answers every question about what should happen to the interest.

If there are multiple versions, include the dates or other information that helps distinguish them. Also note which documents you believe are current and whether any are missing. Avoid changing ownership records or relying on an informal summary to resolve a discrepancy before the documents have been considered together.

• Collect available formation, ownership and governance records.
• Include existing wills, trusts and financial decision-making documents that may relate to your plans.
• Make a short list of questions about inconsistencies, missing records or unclear terms.

Identify who may need to act

Prepare the names and roles of people you currently expect to make financial decisions or take part in handling the business interest if you cannot act or after your death. This is a planning discussion, not an assumption that any particular person has authority. The point is to compare your intended decision-makers with the documents and ownership information you bring.

Consider separately what you want addressed during incapacity and what you want considered after death. Write down practical concerns in your own words, such as questions about continuity, communication or whether a proposed decision-maker understands the business. These are useful topics to discuss; they do not establish what a governing document permits.

• List the people you have in mind and the role you expect each to have.
• Note any uncertainty about whether the person is willing, informed or suited to the role.
• Separate questions about incapacity from questions about what should happen after death.

Use the consultation to find coordination questions

A practical discussion compares the business-interest inventory, governing documents and estate-planning documents rather than treating them as unrelated files. Estate planning can coordinate a will, trust, financial decision-making documents and asset ownership, so the documents and the way the interest is held are relevant parts of the same conversation.

Bring a concise description of what you hope will happen and where you see uncertainty. For example, a business owner might want to understand whether their current records and estate-planning documents address the same interest and intended decision-makers. That is an example of a question to explore, not a prediction about the result. The consultation can help identify what needs clarification and what information would be useful to consider next.

Prepare for a focused remote meeting

Before meeting virtually, arrange the information in a simple folder: ownership records, governing documents, existing estate-planning documents, a list of intended decision-makers and your questions. A brief timeline of important changes to ownership or documents may help you explain the background. If a record is unavailable, note that rather than delaying the conversation.

The work described here is document coordination and planning discussion. It does not itself determine a business valuation or resolve a dispute, and it should not be treated as a promise of a particular outcome. A useful next step is to assemble the records you have and identify the two or three questions that matter most to you.