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When a business represents a major part of a family’s wealth, planning for what happens next is rarely a simple decision. Who takes over, whether to sell, how ownership changes, and what happens to the family’s wealth afterward can all become connected. Without proper planning, these decisions can become much harder when the transition is already approaching.
This is why succession planning deserves attention well before a business owner is ready to step away. It gives families time to consider different options, prepare for ownership or leadership changes, and think about how their business and personal wealth fit into the bigger picture.
But choosing the right advisor can be just as important as starting the plan. To help narrow down the options, this guide looks at the 3 best wealth advisors for high-net-worth families for their succession planning, including what each offers and what families should consider before making a decision.
Why Succession Planning Matters for Wealthy Families
For wealthy families, succession planning goes beyond deciding who will inherit a business or assets. It helps prepare for ownership changes, protect accumulated wealth, and create a clearer path for future generations.
A well-planned strategy can help families:
- Prepare for business ownership or leadership changes
- Protect and manage family wealth
- Plan for future generations
- Reduce uncertainty during a transition
- Align business decisions with personal financial goals
- Prepare for a potential business exit
Starting early gives families more time to evaluate their options and make decisions without unnecessary pressure.
1. Erben Associates: A Trusted Option for Legacy Planning
Erben Associates is the best for business owners and high-net-worth individuals looking for a more coordinated approach to exit and succession planning. The firm began with a broader focus on financial advising before developing a more focused approach to helping business owners prepare for what comes next.
Over time, Erben Associates recognized the need for greater coordination, transparency, and planning around business transitions. Today, the firm focuses on helping clients connect their business value, personal wealth, and long-term goals within a coordinated plan.
For business owners looking for a connected approach to succession planning, Erben Associates is worth considering, particularly when business and personal financial decisions need to work together.
Why Erben Associates Stands Out for Succession Planning
Erben Associates offers an end-to-end approach to exit planning, with support that can begin several years before an exit and continue after the transition. This gives business owners more time to prepare, evaluate their options, and make decisions around what comes next.
The firm also looks at business value and personal wealth together, rather than treating them as completely separate areas. By coordinating across different professionals, Erben Associates acts as a “general contractor for your wealth,” helping bring the different parts of a client’s plan together.
Another key differentiator is its proprietary Succession by Design® philosophy. The approach is designed to help owners create choices for the future instead of simply reacting when circumstances change. This can be especially useful for owners who want to start planning well before a sale, succession, or transition.
Erben Associates also takes a personalized approach, recognizing that every owner, family, and business has different goals and priorities. Starting the conversation early can provide more time to explore potential paths and build a plan around what matters most.
Services Offered by Erben Associates
Erben Associates provides several planning services designed to help business owners and high-net-worth families prepare for major financial and ownership transitions.
- Exit Planning: Helps business owners prepare for a future sale or transition, including planning before and after the exit.
- Succession Planning: Helps owners develop a clear strategy for transferring business ownership or leadership.
- Legacy Planning: Helps families plan how their wealth, values, and long-term goals can be carried forward.
- Wealth Protection: Focuses on protecting accumulated wealth while preparing for future changes and transitions.
- Portfolio Management: Provides portfolio management for high-net-worth families as part of their broader wealth planning needs.
2. Family Wealth Counseling: Family-Focused Wealth Planning
Family Wealth Counseling takes a family-centered approach to financial planning, with attention to how wealth fits into a family’s broader goals, values, and priorities. Rather than focusing only on managing financial assets, its approach considers how families want to build, use, and direct their wealth over time. This can be relevant for families thinking about wealth preservation, family planning, business ownership, and the role their wealth may play across generations.
Its services cover different stages of family wealth planning, including building financial resources, deciding how wealth can be deployed, and incorporating personal or family values into financial decisions. Business owners can also explore planning support that takes their ownership interests into account.
Services Offered by Family Wealth Counseling
- Wealth building
- Wealth deployment
- Family wealth planning
- Impact and values-based planning
- Business owner planning
- Financial planning
3. Peaks Wealth Advisors: Personalized Wealth Management
Peaks Wealth Advisors offers a broader range of financial planning and wealth management services for individuals and families with different long-term financial needs. Its approach brings together areas such as investment management, retirement planning, risk management, estate planning, and tax planning. This allows families to consider several parts of their financial picture when making longer-term decisions.
For families preparing for significant financial changes, these services can provide support across both investment and planning needs. Its focus on personalized financial strategies also makes it relevant for clients who want their investment decisions to fit within a wider financial plan rather than being handled separately.
Services Offered by Peaks Wealth Advisors
- Financial planning
- Investment strategies
- Risk management
- Wealth management
- Retirement planning
- Estate planning
- Tax planning
Comparing Wealth Advisors for Succession Planning
Choosing a wealth advisor for succession planning is not only about the number of services offered. The right fit can depend on whether you need help with a future business transition, family wealth decisions, investment management, or a combination of these areas.
| Advisor | Succession Planning | Exit Planning | Legacy Planning | Wealth Protection | Portfolio / Investment Management | Business Owner Focus |
| Erben Associates | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Family Wealth Counseling | ✓ | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Peaks Wealth Advisors | — | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
The comparison shows that each firm can serve a different planning need. Erben Associates has a more direct focus on business owners preparing for succession or an eventual exit, while Family Wealth Counseling takes a broader family and values-based approach. Peaks Wealth Advisors covers a wider range of financial and investment planning needs, which may suit families looking for ongoing wealth management alongside other financial priorities.
For business owners specifically thinking about succession, an eventual exit, and how the transition may affect personal wealth, Erben Associates is an option worth exploring.
Conclusion
The right advisor should fit the decisions you are preparing to make, not simply the size of your portfolio. For some families, the priority may be preparing the next generation, while others may need guidance around a business transition or managing wealth after a major change.
Taking time to compare each firm’s approach, services, and planning process can help you find an advisor who understands your priorities and can support them over the long term. Erben Associates is an option worth considering for business owners and families who want to take a more structured approach to planning what comes next.
Succession planning also works best when it sits within a broader view of your family’s financial future. Alongside everyday money management tools, Beem offers will and trust planning to help individuals organize how their assets, wishes, and responsibilities may be handled over time. For business owners and high-net-worth families, these tools can complement the work of financial, tax, and legal professionals by helping bring personal legacy planning into the same conversation as business succession and long-term wealth transfer.
FAQs
1. When should a business owner start succession planning?
Ideally, succession planning should begin well before a business owner expects to step away. Starting early allows more time to consider different scenarios and adjust the plan as circumstances change.
2. Can succession planning include family members who do not work in the business?
Yes. Family members may have different financial interests, responsibilities, or expectations even if they are not involved in the business. A broader plan can take these differences into account.
3. What happens if there is no clear successor?
A business does not necessarily need to have one obvious successor. Depending on the owner’s goals, options may include selling the business, transferring ownership gradually, bringing in outside leadership, or developing another transition structure.
4. How does an owner’s personal financial plan affect succession decisions?
A business may represent a significant portion of an owner’s overall wealth. Personal financial needs, future income, lifestyle goals, and investment plans can therefore influence which succession or exit strategy makes sense.
5. Should multiple professional advisors be involved in succession planning?
They can be. Business transitions may involve financial, tax, legal, investment, and other considerations. Coordinating these professionals can help ensure that decisions in one area do not create unintended issues elsewhere.
6. What should families discuss before transferring wealth to the next generation?
Families may want to discuss responsibilities, financial expectations, ownership roles, decision-making, and how younger generations will participate in managing or receiving wealth. Starting these conversations early can make future transitions easier to navigate.
