{"apiVersion":"2026-10-19","data":{"disclaimer":"Educational. Not legal, tax, or financial advice.","resource":{"slug":"succession","title":"Succession planning for retiring owners","audience":"seller","summary":"Family, employees, or a sale to an outsider — the choice is the plan.","citations":[{"label":"IRS ESOP overview","url":"https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/employee-stock-ownership-plans-esops"},{"label":"DOL retirement plans","url":"https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/retirement/typesofplans"},{"label":"SBA local assistance","url":"https://www.sba.gov/local-assistance"}],"body":"This is educational. It is not estate or tax advice.\n\nFour paths show up. None is recommended here. The comparison is so you can see the trade before you hire the people who will paper it.\n\n## A third-party sale\n\n**Pros.** A buyer who does not already work for you can pay a market price and let you leave. The process is the one the rest of these guides describe: teaser, NDA, letter, diligence, close.\n\n**Cons.** It takes the longest to keep confidential. The buyer will underwrite owner dependence. You may finance part of the price. You may not like who it is.\n\n## A management buyout\n\n**Pros.** The operators already know the customers. A seller note is often how they pay, because they do not have a stranger's cash. The transition is partly done.\n\n**Cons.** They are buying with the company's own earnings. If the price is a gift, say so. If it is a sale, the note has to be a note a lender or a lawyer can read. Key people who are not in the buying group may leave when they hear they were not invited.\n\n## A sale to employees, including an ESOP\n\n**Pros.** An employee stock ownership plan is a retirement plan that can own company stock. The IRS describes the tax characteristics. The Department of Labor describes fiduciary duties. For a company with a second tier of managers and a real payroll, it is a serious option.\n\n**Cons.** It is a poor fit for a four-person shop. It is not a blog post. NewHands does not administer plans and does not claim a firm in the directory can. Cost and fiduciary duty are why you hire specialists, not why you skip them.\n\n## A family transition\n\n**Pros.** The company stays with people who already belong to it. A sale, a gift, or both can be written down.\n\n**Cons.** The price still has to be a price, or the children who are not in the business are subsidizing the one who is. Gift and estate questions belong to a lawyer and a CPA. NewHands will not value a gift. A handshake that the kids will figure it out is how a busy season becomes a dispute.\n\nWrite down who you would tell first, what you would live on, and how many seasons you will stay. That paragraph belongs in the teaser. The sell-in-12-months timeline is the order if the path you pick is a sale."}}}