How to Handle a Family Business Succession Conflict

Everything can be running smoothly in a family business until it’s time to discuss opportunities for the business succession plan. Any family business owner knows that it can be difficult to get all family members on board with business operations to begin with, but the opportunities for conflict are greatly escalated when it’s time to talk about next steps for the business. There are some ways to properly handle it a family business succession plan conflict without ever having to go to litigation. A mediator in Colorado may be able to help you resolve the issue quickly and effectively without having to enter into an adversarial conflict in the courtroom.

One of the reasons that mediation tends to work out better for family business succession conflict is that in family companies, there are deeply embedded family dynamics and systems in place already. It is nearly impossible to separate family relationships from business relationships. There are two primary reasons that family business succession conflicts emerge in the first place: when family members disagree on the capability of one member or multiple members to handle the business, and situations where siblings or other family members are engaged in conflict because they were not chosen for a leadership role in the company.

For an existing business, it can be devastating to have these conflicts sideline company growth. Taking the issue to litigation can only make things worse, causing family members to hire attorneys to fight one another and damage working relationships permanently. In some situations, family members may destroy other relationships as well. Mediation gives family members the forum and opportunity to work through issues before escalating it into the courtroom, which tends to be better not only for the family business but also relationships.

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