Who's going to take over the business? How will the succession be funded? From an inheritance standpoint, how will siblings who are not coming into the business be treated? These are just some of the questions that need to be resolved for a business succession plan to succeed.

When it comes to estate planning, most clients will tell you that they want to treat their children equally. As a general rule, though, equal division of a family business among family members does not work. While it isn't the agent's job to second-guess the client, the agent can do the client a great service by objectively pointing out that equal does not always mean equitable — not when the future success of the business is at stake.

If all children are given equal shares of the family business, resentment is almost certain to build between those who are active in the business and those who are not. Active children may well consider their inactive siblings "parasites," while the inactive ones could come to see the active children as "plunderers," especially if the business stumbles in any way.

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