A recent Pew study found that as many as 7 in 10 Americans lack a will, with most women waiting until age 75 or older to create and share their wishes. It’s easy for business owners juggling the daily demands of professional and personal lives to put off conversations about estate planning, says a recent article from The Business Journals, “Strategies: Why estate planning Is key to preserving your wealth, values and impact.”
The term “legacy” means different things to different people. However, whatever legacy you have in mind, it needs a plan. Creating generational wealth, protecting inheritances from third parties, such as stepparents or creditors, or supporting a favorite charity all require a professionally drafted estate plan. Without one, you’ll lose the opportunity to shape your own legacy.
Everyone, from early-stage entrepreneurs to C-suite executives to heirs of multi-generational wealth, needs an estate plan to provide direction in the event of incapacity or death. Having an estate plan ensures that your affairs are managed in accordance with your wishes.
When prepared by an experienced estate planning attorney, an estate plan can also minimize transfer taxes, including estate taxes (state and federal), gift taxes and generation-skipping transfer taxes. Assets gifted during life or after death can be strategically transferred to reduce or avoid these taxes, ensuring that more wealth reaches recipients.
Creating a legacy also support business continuation. A succession plan establishes continuity in a business by identifying successors, documenting operational strategies and planning for how the business should operate if the owner becomes incapacitated or dies. A business succession plan works best when it is aligned with the estate plan.
Many people mistakenly think estate planning is only for wealthy people. However, women who own businesses should actively plan for and preserve their legacy with an estate plan, including plans for their business.
Without an estate plan, a business owner loses the opportunity to create their own legacy. Without an estate plan and a succession plan, wealth will be distributed under state law. Businesses without a succession plan are more likely to lose most, if not all, of their value and often die with their owners.
Estate and business planning throughout a career, rather than at its end, creates new opportunities for success. For example, businesses of any size can become philanthropic by making donations and engaging with organizations to build awareness of their brand and make valuable connections with other like-minded business owners.
If you’ve dedicated years to building a business, no matter its size, mindful and early estate planning can create a legacy. Don’t miss this opportunity, no matter how crowded your schedule, to take control of your own future.
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Reference: The Business Journals (Jan. 28, 2026) “Strategies: Why estate planning Is key to preserving your wealth, values and impact”
