How to Prepare for the Disability or Incompetence of a Business Owner

There is much estate planning discussion in the family business arena about incompetency. The classic result is that most estate plans include provisions for a designated party, usually a child or sibling to assume responsibility and control of a family member’s, usually a parent’s, business affairs in the event of disability or incompetence.  The goal is to avoid a very formal and cumbersome guardianship that in addition to the ongoing administrative expenses opens the family’s private affairs up to public scrutiny. The mechanisms for administratively assuming responsibility outside of a formal guardianship is a Durable Power of Attorney or the successor trustee provisions of a Living Revocable Trust.  The typical qualifier for these two mechanisms is usually affidavits from two independent physicians that the parent is unable to attend to their customary business affairs. To read the end of this blog, click here.