🏢 Estate Planning for Business Owners
What Happens to Your Business If Something Happens to YOU?
If you own a business, your estate planning shouldn't stop with your house, bank accounts and personal property.
You also need to ask:
What happens to my BUSINESS if I become incapacitated or die?
Think about everything connected to your business:
🏦 Business bank accounts
💳 Payment processors
📦 Inventory
🌐 Websites
🛒 Online stores
📱 Social-media accounts
📧 Business email
💰 Money customers owe you
💵 Money you owe others
📄 Contracts
📋 Licenses and permits
🧾 Tax records
👥 Customers and clients
🚚 Outstanding orders
🔑 Passwords and digital access
If you're the only person who knows how everything works, your family could inherit more than a business.
They could inherit a puzzle.
Let's prevent that.
🏢 FIRST — WHAT EXACTLY DO YOU OWN?
Start with the legal structure of your business.
Are you operating as a:
☐ Sole Proprietorship
☐ LLC
☐ Partnership
☐ Corporation
☐ Other
If you formed an LLC, don't confuse your:
LLC
with your:
DBA / Assumed Name.
Your LLC is the legal business entity.
A DBA or assumed name is generally a name under which the business operates.
You may operate several business names under one LLC, so your family needs to understand the structure.
📝 BUSINESS OWNERSHIP WORKSHEET
Legal Business Name:
Business Structure:
State Formed:
Date Formed:
DBA / Assumed Name(s):
Owner(s)/Member(s):
Ownership Percentage(s):
Registered Agent:
EIN:
For security, don't write the complete EIN on an unsecured worksheet.
EIN documentation is located:
⚠️ WHAT HAPPENS TO MY LLC IF I DIE?
This is where business estate planning can become more complicated than people realize.
A Texas LLC membership interest is considered personal property.
When a member dies, Texas law addresses the deceased member's surviving spouse, heirs, devisees, personal representative or other successors as assignees of the membership interest to the extent of their respective interests.
But here's the important part:
Receiving an economic interest connected to an LLC does NOT necessarily mean someone automatically steps into every management right you had.
The company's governing documents and Texas law can affect what happens next.
That's why your COMPANY AGREEMENT matters.
You may also hear this called an:
Operating Agreement
If you have one, locate it.
If you don't know whether you have one, find out.
📄 REVIEW YOUR COMPANY AGREEMENT
Your family shouldn't have to search through old emails trying to determine how your company was supposed to operate after your death.
Review your agreement for provisions involving:
☐ Death of a member
☐ Incapacity of a member
☐ Transfer of membership interests
☐ Admission of new members
☐ Buyout provisions
☐ Voting rights
☐ Management authority
☐ Dissolution
☐ Successor management
☐ Purchase/sale of ownership interests
If you don't understand what your agreement says, this is a good reason to have a business or estate-planning attorney review it.
👤 I'M THE ONLY OWNER — DO I STILL NEED A PLAN?
YES.
A one-person business may actually need an emergency plan even more.
If you do everything yourself, ask:
Who knows how this business works besides me?
If the answer is:
“Nobody.”
we have work to do.
Your family may suddenly have to figure out:
Who has authority?
Where is the money?
What orders are outstanding?
Who needs refunds?
Where is inventory?
How are bills paid?
How do we access the website?
Does the business continue?
Should it be sold?
Should it be closed?
Don't make them figure all of that out during a crisis.
✍🏽 WHAT IF I'M ALIVE BUT INCAPACITATED?
Remember our Durable Power of Attorney page?
This is one reason it can be especially important for a business owner.
If you're alive but unable to handle your affairs, someone may need appropriate legal authority to deal with certain business or financial matters.
But don't assume a general document automatically solves every business problem.
Your:
📄 Durable Power of Attorney
📄 Company Agreement
📄 Banking arrangements
📄 Contracts
and the business's legal structure
may all need to work together.
If you own a significant business, have employees, partners, valuable assets or complicated contracts, professional planning is especially important.
👥 WHO IS MY BUSINESS EMERGENCY PERSON?
Choose someone who at least knows where to start.
This person doesn't necessarily have to run your business forever.
They simply need to know:
“If something happens, THIS is where the information is.”
Business Emergency Contact:
Phone:
Relationship:
Does this person know I selected them?
☐ Yes
☐ No
Do they know where my business records are?
☐ Yes
☐ No
🏦 BUSINESS BANK ACCOUNTS
Your personal bank account and business bank account shouldn't simply be treated as though they're the same thing.
Create a record of where the business banks.
Bank:
Account Type:
Last 4 Digits:
Authorized Signer(s):
Business Credit Card(s):
Loan/Lender Information Located:
🚨 Don't put passwords, PINs or complete account numbers on an unsecured worksheet.
💳 PAYMENT PROCESSORS
Many modern businesses don't receive all of their money directly into a bank account.
You may use:
💳 Shopify Payments
💳 PayPal
💳 Square
💳 Stripe
💳 Venmo Business
💳 Cash App Business
💳 Other processors
Make a list.
Payment Processor #1
Company:
Connected Business:
Deposits Into Which Bank:
Records/Access Instructions Located:
Payment Processor #2
Company:
Records Located:
🌐 YOUR WEBSITE & DOMAIN
This is one people forget.
Your website may be one of your business's most valuable digital assets.
Record:
Website:
Website Platform:
Domain Registrar:
Renewal Information Located:
Business Email:
Why does this matter?
Because if nobody renews the domain, hosting, apps or other services, important parts of the business could eventually stop working.
📱 SOCIAL MEDIA & ONLINE SELLING ACCOUNTS
List the business platforms you use.
☐ TikTok
☐ YouTube
☐ Shopify
☐ Amazon
☐ Etsy
☐ eBay
☐ Other Marketplace
☐ Other: __________________________
Don't put every password here.
Instead write:
My secure business password/access information is located:
🔐 DIGITAL ACCESS NEEDS SPECIAL PLANNING
Don't simply give everyone your passwords.
Some platforms have their own policies governing account access, ownership and what happens after an account holder dies.
Your emergency plan should identify:
WHAT accounts exist.
WHERE secure credentials are maintained.
WHO should obtain appropriate access.
And where necessary:
WHAT legal authority may be required.
Security still matters—even after death or incapacity.
📦 BUSINESS INVENTORY
If your business owns physical inventory, someone needs to know:
Where is it?
Inventory Location #1:
Approximate Type of Inventory:
Inventory Records Located:
Inventory Location #2:
Inventory Records Located:
Also identify:
☐ Equipment
☐ Furniture
☐ Computers
☐ Tools
☐ Vehicles
☐ Supplies
☐ Products held elsewhere
☐ Consignment inventory
☐ Storage units
📋 WHAT ABOUT CUSTOMER ORDERS & CLIENTS?
Imagine becoming incapacitated while you have:
📦 25 unshipped orders
📅 Appointments scheduled
💰 Customer deposits
🎟️ Upcoming travel clients
📄 Projects in progress
💵 Money customers have already paid
Your emergency person needs a way to identify outstanding obligations.
Create instructions showing where to find:
☐ Open customer orders
☐ Scheduled appointments
☐ Client contact information
☐ Deposits received
☐ Refund obligations
☐ Pending shipments
☐ Vendor orders
☐ Contracts
☐ Upcoming deadlines
💰 MONEY OWED TO THE BUSINESS
Your family should also know if someone owes the business money.
Examples:
💵 Customer balances
📄 Invoices
💰 Payment plans
🤝 Business loans you've made
💳 Processor balances
🛒 Marketplace payouts
Record where this information is maintained, rather than trying to keep constantly changing balances on this worksheet.
💸 MONEY THE BUSINESS OWES
Don't forget the other side.
Your business may owe:
🏦 Loans
💳 Credit cards
📦 Vendors
🏢 Rent
💡 Utilities
💻 Software subscriptions
📱 Phone bills
🛡️ Insurance
💰 Taxes
👥 Contractors
👨💼 Employees
Create a list of recurring obligations.
🧾 TAXES & BUSINESS RECORDS
Your family needs to know who handles your taxes and where records are located.
Tax Professional/CPA:
Phone:
Bookkeeping System:
Tax Records Located:
Sales Tax Account?
☐ Yes
☐ No
Payroll Obligations?
☐ Yes
☐ No
Other Business Tax Information Located:
🛡️ BUSINESS INSURANCE
List any applicable policies.
☐ General Liability
☐ Professional Liability
☐ Commercial Property
☐ Commercial Auto
☐ Workers' Compensation
☐ Cyber Insurance
☐ Business Life Insurance
☐ Other
Insurance Company/Agent:
Policy Information Located:
👥 IF YOU HAVE A BUSINESS PARTNER
Do NOT skip succession planning.
Ask:
What happens if one of us dies?
Does the surviving owner:
Buy the deceased owner's interest?
Continue operating with the deceased owner's successor?
Close the company?
Sell the company?
Does a written agreement answer these questions?
Don't rely on:
“We talked about it.”
For something this important, the appropriate legal agreement should be properly documented.
💵 WHAT IS A BUY-SELL AGREEMENT?
A buy-sell agreement can establish what happens to a business owner's interest after certain triggering events such as death, disability or departure.
Depending on the arrangement, it may address:
📊 How the business interest is valued
💰 Who can purchase the interest
👥 Who may become an owner
⚰️ What happens after an owner's death
♿ What happens after disability
💵 How a purchase may be funded
🔴 This is attorney territory.
Don't download a random buy-sell agreement and assume it fits your company.
The tax, ownership, valuation and funding consequences can be significant.
🛡️ WHAT ABOUT LIFE INSURANCE FOR BUSINESS OWNERS?
Some business succession plans use life insurance as part of their funding strategy.
For example, insurance proceeds may sometimes help fund the purchase of a deceased owner's business interest.
This can become complicated quickly.
The policy owner, insured person, beneficiary, business structure and agreement all matter.
If you're considering life insurance specifically for business succession, speak with qualified legal, tax and insurance professionals.
👨👩👧 “I JUST WANT MY CHILDREN TO GET MY BUSINESS”
Understand exactly what you mean by that.
Do you want them to:
OWN the business?
RUN the business?
RECEIVE the financial value?
SELL the business?
Those aren't necessarily the same thing.
Your child may love you dearly and have absolutely no interest in running your company.
Or you may have several children but only one who understands the business.
Have the conversation now.
Don't leave the family to fight about it later.
📜 DOES MY WILL HANDLE MY BUSINESS?
Your ownership interest may be part of your estate planning, but don't assume one sentence in your will solves every business issue.
Your:
📜 Will
🏢 Company Agreement
🤝 Buy-Sell Agreement
✍🏽 Power of Attorney
🛡️ Insurance
💰 Beneficiary arrangements
and other business documents
need to be reviewed together.
Your personal estate plan and your business succession plan should not contradict each other.
🚨 WHAT ABOUT A DBA?
A DBA or assumed name doesn't create a separate estate plan by itself.
If multiple business names operate under the same legal entity, your family needs to understand that relationship.
Create a simple list:
LEGAL ENTITY:
DBA #1:
DBA #2:
DBA #3:
DBA #4:
This can prevent a family member from mistakenly thinking each business name is an entirely separate legal company.
📂 CREATE A BUSINESS EMERGENCY FILE
Your business emergency file should tell the appropriate person where to find:
☐ LLC/formation documents
☐ Company Agreement
☐ EIN documentation
☐ Assumed Name/DBA records
☐ Business bank information
☐ Business insurance
☐ Tax records
☐ Sales-tax information
☐ Licenses/permits
☐ Contracts
☐ Vendor information
☐ Customer obligations
☐ Inventory records
☐ Website/domain information
☐ Payment-processor information
☐ Important subscriptions
☐ Business debts
☐ Business assets
☐ Business emergency instructions
☐ Attorney/accountant contacts
Again:
Don't put unsecured passwords, PINs or complete sensitive financial information in the file.
Use an appropriate secure-access system.
📝 MY BUSINESS EMERGENCY INSTRUCTIONS
IF I AM TEMPORARILY UNABLE TO RUN MY BUSINESS:
The first person to contact is:
The most urgent thing that needs attention is:
Current orders/clients can be found:
Business bills can be identified:
Business records are located:
IF I DIE:
The person who should first be contacted regarding my business is:
My estate-planning attorney, if applicable:
My accountant/tax professional:
My company agreement is located:
My wishes for the business are generally:
☐ Continue operating
☐ Transfer to family
☐ Sell
☐ Close/liquidate
☐ Follow my company/buy-sell agreement
☐ I haven't decided yet
IMPORTANT:
This worksheet does not legally transfer ownership or give someone authority to operate the business.
It simply records your intentions and tells your family where to start.
🟢 WHAT CAN I DO MYSELF?
A LOT.
You can start today by:
☐ Listing every business you own
☐ Identifying the legal entity behind each business
☐ Locating formation documents
☐ Locating your company agreement
☐ Listing business bank accounts
☐ Listing payment processors
☐ Listing websites and domains
☐ Listing selling platforms
☐ Locating inventory
☐ Identifying outstanding orders
☐ Listing recurring business bills
☐ Identifying tax obligations
☐ Creating an emergency contact list
☐ Organizing your business records
☐ Writing basic emergency instructions
☐ Talking to your family about your general wishes
None of that requires waiting for an attorney appointment.
Start organizing now.
🔴 WHEN DO I NEED AN ATTORNEY?
Consider professional legal assistance when:
⚠️ You need to create or change a Company Agreement
⚠️ There are multiple owners
⚠️ You need a buy-sell agreement
⚠️ You want to transfer business ownership
⚠️ You need a formal succession plan
⚠️ You want a trust to own or receive business interests
⚠️ You need to coordinate ownership with your will
⚠️ You have valuable intellectual property
⚠️ You have employees
⚠️ You have significant contracts or debt
⚠️ You're unsure who receives your LLC interest at death
⚠️ Family members may disagree
⚠️ You want one child to operate the business while others receive other assets
⚠️ The business has substantial value
Organizing is DIY.
Complex legal succession planning may not be.
Know the difference.
✅ YOUR “DO IT THIS WEEK” CHECKLIST
☐ Identify my legal business entity
☐ List every DBA
☐ Locate formation documents
☐ Find my Company Agreement
☐ Review what it says about death/incapacity
☐ List business financial accounts
☐ List payment processors
☐ List websites/domains
☐ List business platforms
☐ Identify inventory locations
☐ List important vendors
☐ Identify current customer obligations
☐ List recurring business expenses
☐ Identify tax professional
☐ Identify insurance policies
☐ Choose a business emergency contact
☐ Create my Business Emergency File
☐ Decide what I generally want to happen to my business
☐ Get legal assistance if my succession plan needs formal documents
❤️ THE BIG LESSON
Building a business takes years.
Sometimes decades.
Don't spend years building something and leave zero instructions for what happens to it when you can't run it.
Your family shouldn't have to sit in the middle of a crisis wondering:
“How do we get into the business?”
“Are customers waiting on orders?”
“Who gets the business?”
“Are there bills due?”
“Should we keep it open?”
“Can we even legally operate it?”
You don't have to have every answer today.
But you can create the road map.
Start organizing.
Have the conversation.
Get professional help for the legal pieces that require it.
And make sure the business you've worked so hard to build doesn't become a burden simply because nobody knew what to do next.
➡️ NEXT: Guardianship Planning — Who Would Step In If Needed?
Estate planning isn't only about money and property.
For parents, grandparents and caregivers, another question may be even more important:
Who would care for the people who depend on you?
Next we'll discuss:
👶 Minor children
♿ Dependents who may need continued care
👤 Choosing potential guardians
📜 Texas Declaration of Guardian
✍🏽 What you may be able to prepare yourself
⚠️ What a court ultimately decides
💰 Why leaving money to a minor is different from choosing a guardian
❤️ Having the conversation before there's an emergency
← PAGE 8: PERSONAL & FAMILY IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS ORGANIZER
🏠 ESTATE PLANNING HOME
PAGE 10: GUARDIANSHIP PLANNING IN TEXAS →
⚖️ IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER
This information is provided for general educational and organizational purposes only and is not legal, tax, financial or business advice.
Business succession can involve Texas business law, estate law, federal tax law, company governing documents, contracts, ownership rights and individual circumstances.
The worksheets on this page do not transfer business ownership, create management authority, amend a company agreement, create a buy-sell agreement or substitute for a will, trust, Power of Attorney or other legal document.
Use qualified legal, tax, insurance and financial professionals when appropriate.