Choosing help for a business owner's estate and succession

Most business owners face a choice they'd rather not think about: do I hand my succession and estate planning to a general financial adviser who dabbles in the space, or do I bring in a specialist estate planner who focuses on this full-time? The difference isn't just about fees—it's about whether your life's work transfers smoothly or gets tangled in tax traps and family disputes that could have been avoided.

The core tension is that generalists are often cheaper and convenient (you already know them), while specialists charge more but catch the compound problems that generalists miss. For a business owner, that difference compounds. Your estate isn't just money in a bank account; it's a going concern, shareholder arrangements, tax-effective succession steps, and protection against unintended consequences.

When a general financial adviser can do the job

If your business is simple, you have one adult child who's ready to take over, your marriage is stable, you own no property outside South Africa, and your assets are straightforward, a general financial adviser with solid wills and trusts knowledge may be enough. They'll draft a will, set up a trust if needed, and coordinate with your accountant on tax basics. The cost is lower, the process is faster, and you get it done without months of back-and-forth.

The risk here is hidden. A generalist might miss liquidity planning (how will estate duty get paid without forcing a fire sale of the business?), might not structure your trust to protect against a beneficiary's creditors, or might overlook tax inefficiencies that cost your heirs tens of thousands. They're not malicious—they're just not trained to see what lies three moves ahead in a business context.

When you need a specialist

A specialist estate planner earns their fee when your situation is layered. You have a business to pass on, multiple children, significant property holdings, a second marriage, or directors' loans that muddied the line between personal and business finances. They'll spend time understanding your actual succession wishes, stress-test the plan against scenarios (what if your chosen successor dies first?), and build in contingencies.

Specialists also know the tax code's moving parts. They understand section 25D (disposal of a business asset), how to use hold-over relief, and when a trust should be discretionary versus fixed. They'll spot where a simple will creates an unexpected capital gains tax bill or how a business valuation done wrong could trigger disputes between you and your co-heirs.

The cost is higher—often significantly. But for a business with real value and complexity, the difference in tax efficiency or a prevented family lawsuit is usually worth multiples of the fee.

The real cost of choosing wrong

Pick a generalist when you need a specialist, and you might face:

• An executor or trustee forced to sell the business at a poor price just to raise cash for estate duty
• Tax bills that could have been halved with proper structuring
• Your family feuding over the valuation or fairness of the succession because no one spelled out your reasoning in writing
• Your business leadership vacating mid-transition because the plan was never stress-tested against departures

Pick a specialist when a generalist would have done just fine, and you're paying for expertise you didn't use. But that's usually the safer overshoot—you're still protected.

How to choose between them

Start by naming your problem clearly. Is your succession about transferring a tradeable asset (property, listed shares, inheritance accounts) or about handing over an operating business with employees, reputation, and relationships? If it's the latter, lean specialist. Is your family structure straightforward or complex? Straightforward can often work with a good generalist; complex usually needs specialist time.

Second, ask each candidate how many business succession plans they've done in the past three years. A generalist might say "a few." A specialist will give you a number and examples. Ask them to walk you through what they'd do differently in your case—not the generic steps, but what makes your situation unique and how they'd handle it.

Finally, ask for a fee structure upfront. Specialists often quote a fixed fee for the full suite (will, trust, succession deed, valuations). Generalists may charge hourly, which can creep. Neither is wrong, but a fixed fee makes the decision clearer.

When you've decided what level of planning you need, Strove lets you search for estate planners by focus area and read reviews from other business owners. You'll see who specialises in business succession and who works at a broader level—helping you match your situation to the right expertise.