The potential elimination of the step-up in basis presents an estate planning opportunity to high-net worth individuals and family business owners or should at least spur them to contemplate revisiting their estate plans.

What should your family business’s distribution policy be? Answering that question requires looking inward and outward. Looking inward, what does the business “mean” to the family? Looking outward, are attractive investment opportunities abundant or scarce? Once the inward and outward perspectives are properly aligned, the distribution policy that is appropriate to the company can be determined by the board and communicated to shareholders.

Communication determines the success of any relationship, and the relationships among shareholders of multi-generation family businesses are no exception. 

Based on discussions with family business leaders from across the country at the most recent Transitions conference, we wrote an article addressing themes among attendees, and we continue the discussion in this article. One challenge noted by leaders of multi-generation family businesses was how to promote positive shareholder engagement.

We recently attended the Transitions West conference hosted by Family Business Magazine. The event brought together representatives from nearly 100 family businesses of all sizes. Through the educational sessions and informal conversations during breaks, we came away with a better appreciation of the joys, stresses, privileges, and responsibilities which come with stewarding a multi-generation family business. While every family is unique, this article presents a few common themes and/or concerns stood out among the attendees we met.