Single-Owner Business
Planning your own exit, on your terms.
Typically Includes
- Successor designation
- Disability & incapacity provisions
- Coordination with your personal estate plan
- Funding recommendations
Business Succession PlanningWhat Happens To Your Business When You Can't Run It Anymore?
Most business owners have a plan for growing the business and no plan for leaving it.
Deborah Smiley is a Missouri business attorney and a CFP® — a Certified Financial Planner — so your succession plan is built around your actual retirement number, not just legal paperwork.
Free 30-minute consultationNo obligation
30 Years
Practicing law
11 Years
In wealth management, alongside her law practice
CFP®
Certified Financial Planner
AEP®
Accredited Estate Planner
What it does
What Business Succession Planning Actually Does
Puts a real, binding plan behind a decision most owners only carry around in their head.
Identifies your successor — family, a partner, a key employee, or an outside buyer — and puts it in writing.
Covers what happens if you become disabled or pass away, not just a planned retirement.
Establishes how the business will be valued when the transition happens, so it isn't guessed at later, under stress.
Coordinates the insurance or financing that pays for the transfer, so the business isn't sold at a discount to cover it.
Makes sure the business transfers the way your will or trust says it should, not in conflict with it.
Builds in a transition period so the person taking over is actually ready to run it before you're gone.
Deborah Smiley is a Missouri business attorney and a CFP® — a Certified Financial Planner — so your succession plan is built around your actual retirement number, not just legal paperwork.
What it doesn't do
What Business Succession Planning Doesn't Cover
Said plainly, so you know exactly where this ends and something else begins.
If you have business partners, a buy-sell agreement is the specific binding contract that governs the buyout itself.
Learn about Buy-Sell Agreements →Your succession plan covers the business. Your will and trust cover everything else you own.
Learn about Estate Planning →When it's actually time to sell or merge the business, that's handled as a business transaction.
Learn about Business Transactions →Not sure how this applies to your situation?
Call 636-214-0546What we watch for
Common Mistakes We Watch For
Most succession problems trace back to a plan that only ever existed in conversation. Here's what we check for, every time.
An idea in your head isn't binding, and it disappears the moment something happens to you.
Retirement isn't the only exit. A stroke or an accident can force a transition with no warning at all.
Without one, the number gets decided under stress, and partners or family often disagree on what the business is worth.
Pricing
How Business Succession Planning Is Priced
Pricing depends on how many owners are involved and where the business is in its life. Most matters are quoted as a flat fee, agreed to before work begins.
Multi-Partner Business
Planning across two or more owners.
Typically Includes
- Buy-sell agreement drafting
- Valuation method agreed by all partners
- Funding through insurance or financing
- Dispute-resolution provisions
Family Business Transition
Passing the business to the next generation.
Typically Includes
- Successor preparation timeline
- Provisions for non-successor family members
- Tax-efficient transfer structuring
- Coordinated with your CPA & advisors
Get an exact number for your situation — the first call is free.
Call 636-214-0546The process
How We Build Your Succession Plan
Who owns it, who could run it, and what it's actually worth.
1
We look at your business as it is today
Who owns it, who could run it, and what it's actually worth.
2
We build the plan
Successor, valuation method, and what happens if something happens sooner than planned.
3
We fund it
So the transition doesn't force a fire sale or leave your family covering the gap.
4
We revisit it
As your business, partners, or family situation changes.
Your attorney
Why Business Owners Trust Deborah With This
Deborah Smiley
JD · CFP® · AEP®Deborah has practiced law in Missouri for 30 years. For 11 of those years, she also worked in wealth management — which matters here, because a succession plan is really a retirement plan wearing a business suit. The number has to work for you, not just the paperwork.
She's a CFP® (Certified Financial Planner) and an AEP® (Accredited Estate Planner) — credentials very few business attorneys hold together.
30 yrsPracticing law in Missouri
11 yrsIn wealth management, alongside her law practice
CFP®Certified Financial Planner
AEP®Accredited Estate Planner
Past ChairProbate & Trust Committee, Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis
Ready to talk through your plan?
Call 636-214-0546Client Reviews
Deb has been a great partner over the years and takes great care of my referrals/clients for their planning needs.
Harvey
I met Deb and I thought I had all my estate and business planning affairs in order; then she asked me questions that made me realize I had a lot more planning to do.
Jamie
Deb and I have been collaborative partners for almost 20 years. She has taken great care of my clients.
Paul
I have known Deb for years and she has given me peace of mind with my estate planning needs.
Carol
Deb has been instrumental in helping my family with their estate planning needs. We are grateful for her.
David
Deb has been very helpful with my and my family's estate and business planning.
Kelly
When we first moved here, I didn't realize how many legal revisions and details were needed. I heard Deb speak at a luncheon and was so impressed with her legal knowledge. Deb has been very helpful with my family's estate planning. She gave us peace of mind.
Jenny
Deb, thank you so much, we really appreciate all of your work and concern.
Bob and Myra
Deb was very responsive and helpful.
Chris
Deb was so helpful and even came to our house.
Missy and Ray
Deb was very responsive, helpful and intelligent.
John and Julie
Deb has been a great partner over the years and takes great care of my referrals/clients for their planning needs.
Harvey
I met Deb and I thought I had all my estate and business planning affairs in order; then she asked me questions that made me realize I had a lot more planning to do.
Jamie
Deb and I have been collaborative partners for almost 20 years. She has taken great care of my clients.
Paul
I have known Deb for years and she has given me peace of mind with my estate planning needs.
Carol
Deb has been instrumental in helping my family with their estate planning needs. We are grateful for her.
David
Deb has been very helpful with my and my family's estate and business planning.
Kelly
When we first moved here, I didn't realize how many legal revisions and details were needed. I heard Deb speak at a luncheon and was so impressed with her legal knowledge. Deb has been very helpful with my family's estate planning. She gave us peace of mind.
Jenny
Deb, thank you so much, we really appreciate all of your work and concern.
Bob and Myra
Deb was very responsive and helpful.
Chris
Deb was so helpful and even came to our house.
Missy and Ray
Deb was very responsive, helpful and intelligent.
John and Julie
Questions
Questions
Deciding who takes over your business, and how, when you retire, become unable to run it, or pass away.
Yes. A plan for a sale is still a succession plan, and it often gets you a better price because the transition is already organized.
Succession planning is the overall plan for who takes over. A buy-sell agreement is the specific contract, used when there are partners, that puts the plan into a binding document.
It typically passes through probate along with the rest of your estate, which can freeze decision-making and disrupt operations while it's sorted out.
Yes, often through a combination of business valuation, life insurance, and estate planning provisions that balance value across all your children.
Through a valuation method set in the plan in advance — often a formula or an agreed appraisal process — so it isn't disputed later, under stress.
A succession plan should include disability provisions so someone is authorized to step in and run the business without a court proceeding.
It depends on the number of owners and the complexity of the business. Call for a free 30-minute consultation and we'll give you a clear cost estimate before you commit to anything.
Ready to Plan What Happens Next?
Call to schedule your free 30-minute consultation with Deborah — no obligation.
Call 636-214-0546Free 30-minute consultationNo obligationReal person answers