The hardest part of a family business handoff is rarely the documents. It is the assumption that everyone already agrees.

Start five years out, while the founder still wants to work. Decide who runs the business and who merely owns part of it — those are different jobs, and conflating them is how Thanksgiving goes wrong.

Write down the compensation, the buyout terms, and what happens if a sibling wants out. Ruth's rule is simple: if the plan only works when everyone is reasonable, it is not a plan.

Then revisit it annually. Businesses change, families change, and a succession plan written once and filed away is a document that will surprise somebody.