Who Runs It Next? The Question Every Successful Family Business Has to Answer in Writing
With the top 1% of Illinois filers starting near $774,921 and 36.2 million small businesses nationwide, many successful owners hold a company that depends on a single person. This feature explains why succession is more than a handoff, what a New Orleans tax attorney says breaks down, and what a written plan covers.
By Dr. Tamara Patzer
Ask a founder who will run the company in twenty years and the answer is often a pause. Illinois filers needed roughly $774,921 in adjusted gross income to reach the top 1% in SmartAsset’s 2026 projection1. Many owners who clear that mark do it with a company that depends on one person: themselves. Todd M. Villarrubia, a tax and estate attorney in New Orleans and author of Entrepreneurial B.E.A.S.T. Mode™, says the plan for what comes next is a business decision as much as a family one, and that it belongs on paper.
What does it take to reach the top 1% in Illinois?
Roughly $774,921, in SmartAsset’s projection for 20261. It is a 2026 projection of 2022 IRS data, counting filers rather than households1. Chicago owners will find the number lower than California’s $987,325 and higher than Georgia’s $714,2431.
An owner can reach that level through wages, a professional practice or the profits of a company. In the last case, the income depends on the company continuing to run well, which depends on who runs it.
How many businesses depend on one owner?
No single source says how many of those depend on one owner, but the scale is large. The U.S. Small Business Administration counts 36,207,130 small businesses in the country, which employ 62.3 million people, or 45.9 percent of private-sector workers2. Each has an owner, and each owner will eventually step aside.
The wave is arriving now. Cerulli Associates expects 105 trillion) and charity ($18 trillion)3. A large part of that will take the form of businesses and the property they sit on.
Why do successions fail?
Rarely because of the market. Villarrubia’s book makes the point in a single line: “The empire doesn’t fall from competition but from internal confusion.” A business that survives its rivals can still be undone by a family that does not know who is in charge.
The causes are familiar. No one was named. Two people were named and no one decided between them. The owner assumed the children would want the company, and they did not. Or they wanted it and were never prepared. Without a plan, the owner’s death or incapacity forces all of these questions at once.
Does succession mean treating everyone equally?
No, and the book is firm about it. In Villarrubia’s words, “Succession planning is not about treating everyone the same; it’s about ensuring the family enterprise survives.” A child who runs the company, a child who works elsewhere and a child who wants nothing to do with it may all deserve something, though not the same thing.
He ties the point to the cost of getting it wrong: “Succession planning ensures that wealth endures and, more importantly, doesn’t fracture your family after you’re gone.” Fairness and continuity are not the same, and a plan has to address both.
What does a written succession plan cover?
The details differ by family and by company, but the basic questions are the same:
- Who is expected to lead, and what does that person need to learn first?
- Who owns the company, and who controls it? The two can be different.
- What happens if the named leader cannot serve?
- How will family members who are not in the business be treated?
- When will the plan be reviewed and revised?
A plan that answers these in writing gives everyone the same facts. It also forces the hard conversations to happen while the owner can still guide them.
How does the business keep running in the meantime?
A sensible approach, consistent with the book’s emphasis on early planning, is to treat succession as a process, not an event: start years before a handoff, bring the next leader into decisions in stages and keep outside advisers informed. The book also stresses a point that many owners overlook: the plan must fit the company’s structure and the family’s wishes, and both change.
The book frames the goal in terms of endurance: “wealth isn’t measured by what you create; it’s measured by what endures.” For a family business, endurance is the test of a succession plan.
What role do outside advisers play?
A larger one than many families expect. The lawyer who drafts the documents, the accountant who files the returns and the adviser who manages the money each see part of the succession picture. If they do not talk, the plan can contain conflicts that nobody notices until a death or a sale brings them out. Villarrubia’s book returns to this theme often: the quality and coordination of the team set the limit on the result.
A practical step is to share the succession outline with every adviser at the same time, and to ask each of them what in the plan would affect their own work. The answers often surface problems early, while they can still be fixed quietly.
What belongs in a one-page succession note?
Four lines. Who runs the company if the owner cannot, for the first thirty days. Who has authority over money in that period. Who tells employees, customers and the bank. And which adviser calls the others together. It is not a replacement for a full plan. It is a bridge that keeps the company running while the family and the advisers find their footing. Write it, share it with the people named and keep a copy where they can reach it. Then ask each person named whether they are willing, because a note that names an unwilling person is worse than no note at all.
Common questions
Is succession planning only for large companies? No. Any company that depends on its owner can benefit from a plan.
Does the plan have to name a family member? No. Some families name a manager, a partner or a buyer. The right answer depends on the family and the company.
What if the children do not want the business? The plan can say so openly, and the family can consider other options with a licensed attorney and a tax professional.
Sources
- SmartAsset, Income Needed to Be in the Top 1% in Every State (2026)
- U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy, Frequently Asked Questions About Small Businesses 2026
- NAPA-Net, Wealth Transfers Expected to Hit $124 Trillion Through 2048 (reporting Cerulli)
About the author. Dr. Tamara Patzer is a publisher and former newspaper editor. She was on the staff of The Charlotte Sun when it was named a 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist for its Hurricane Charley coverage.
About the source. Todd M. Villarrubia is an attorney with an LL.M. in Taxation and a Juris Doctorate. He is an Accredited Estate Planner, a Board Certified Expert in Estate Planning and Administration, and a Fiduciary Investment Advisor Representative. He is the author of Entrepreneurial B.E.A.S.T. Mode™. Wealth Planning Law Group, 101 W. Robert E. Lee Blvd., Ste 404, New Orleans, LA 70124. Phone: 504-982-8207; email: todd@lawealthplan.com; website: https://lawealthplan.com/?utm_source=newsanchored&utm_medium=chicago-journal&utm_campaign=top-1pct
Attorney advertising. Sponsored feature written on behalf of Todd M. Villarrubia. This article is general information, not legal or tax advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Results vary.
