Special Issue: Family Firms and the Law

June 17, 2024 - Issue #120

Family Firms May Need More Legal Advice Than They Think Families are often reluctant to anticipate and plan for the day when an unexpected transition might upend their business. The costs of inaction are high.

How To Know When You Need a Lawyer (and How To Find the Right One) Here are nine situations when a lawyer is a must, guidelines for getting the most from your legal budget, and steps for finding the right advisor.

Divorce Can Hollow out a Family Business — But it Doesn’t Have to It’s surprising how many business-owning families fail to properly plan for this worst case scenario. Here's advice from two experts about protecting the business.

'I’ll See You in Court?' There’s a Better Way for Businesses Alternative Dispute Resolution helps businesses resolve legal matters outside of litigation, allowing the parties to voluntarily reach a compromise.

What the Bob Ross Fight Can Teach Business Owners The fight over the beloved TV artist's estate is a cautionary tale for any business. How to protect your business and your heirs well before you die.

5 Ways to Keep Your Kids From Fighting Over Your Will Communicate early and often, get input, be fair and detailed about your plans, and write a letter to your children explaining your choices.

Beyond Succession: Family Firms Need a Legacy Plan Too A family venture can thrive if its values are passed along to the next generation. Defining those values is the first challenge.

Non-Competes Are a Double-Edged Sword While non-competes are often viewed as low-cost insurance policies, they can have hidden costs. Here's how to tell if they're right for your venture.

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Persuasive Communication for Crucial Conversations

How Well are Business Owners Preparing for Succession and Transition?

12 Strategies to Get Customers to Buy Your Product

Founder Succession: Six Lessons From 15 CEOs Who Actually Lived It

Popular Topics

Money

Financing, revenue, profits

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Staffing, succession, relationships

Manage

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Grow

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Strategy

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Operations

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Recent

The Biggest Risk to Family Wealth Isn't Investment Performance—It's Succession

by Jan-Philipp Ahrens, R. Adam Smith, Maria Giuseppina Bruna, Melania Riefolo, and Salam SAMI / Research Insight

Family offices excel at managing money but often overlook the greatest threat to multigenerational success: poorly planned succession. Here's how they can help. Read more...

Should You Make 'Family Owned' Part of Your Brand?

by Kimberly Eddleston and Ananya Mehta / Research Insight

Family ownership can build trust, credibility, and customer loyalty—but only when it reinforces something stakeholders value. Here are five questions to ask first. Read more...

How to Weigh the Consequences of Selling the Family Business

by Paul Edelman / Practice Insight

A strong valuation is not enough. Families need to understand the emotional, relational, and governance consequences of selling before they commit. Read more...

A Family Illness Can Infect the Business, Too

by Kristen Shanine, Kristen Madison, and Marilyn Whitman / Research Insight

Serious health problems can disrupt leadership, finances, customer relationships, and more. New research shows how family firms can prevent illness from becoming a business crisis. Read more...

by Joseph Astrachan and Claudia Binz Astrachan

How to Run a Family Business Successfully

by Kerry Hannon

Why Family Business Founders Struggle to Step Back During Succession

by Paul Edelman

5 Practical Tips for Making Business Decisions With Family Members

by Rostyslav Vovk

Let the Next Generation of Family Firm Leaders Chart Their Own Path

by Klaus Lüber and Nadine Kammerlander

Why PE Firms Want to Buy Your Family Firm (and Change it)

by Sören Paleit, Frederik J. Riar, Marcel Hülsbeck, and Andreas Hack