Dealing with a death in the fiamily business

f 've eean woRKrNG as a family-busi- lness consultant full time for more than l5 years. In 2006, three of my clients died, which is more deaths than I've experienced during my entire career. With every family I work with, I take steps to prepare their business for a death, setting up succession plans and buyout agreements. But all the planning in the world couldn't have prepared me for how to handle the aftermaths of these three deaths.

Like each family, I was put to the ultimate test following each death. My counsel and wisdom were quickly shown to either work or not work. Until you've lived through a death in a family business, you just don't know what's going to happen. And the effects on the business will vary depending on the way the family deals with the loss: Reactions can range from temporary shock to falling apart to continuing to function relatively normally.

In one scenario, two of the family's three sons had been locked in a long conflict, causing the business to suffer, and I had been hired to help resolve it. But then the son who wasn't involved in the conflict died. One of the two rival brothers tried to leverage the death to gain an advantage, by suggesting that the actions of his rival brother caused the death and refusing to join hands with his family in mourning. The elderly parents, who still served as leaders of the business, weren't prepared for this and my work salvaging the business took a major step backward.

The whole experience showed me that in a deeply conflicted family, tragedy can drive members further apart instead of bringing them closer together.

An Incomplete Bequest

In the second family, the father and founder of the business died unexpectedly. While the business was prepared for his death, with wills and other arrangements already in place, the family wasn't. And to make matters worse, the founder's spouse enforced certain terms in his wiil to lash out at the couple's son-in-law, who hadn't worked for the family business because he hadn't gotten along with the founder. But what was in the will wasn't what the founder had ultimately intended. That's because after the son-in-law and the founder had gone their separate ways businesswise, emotions cooled and their relationship had improved.

Unfortunately, the founder died without having changed his will to reflect his change of heart. As a result, the surviving spouse took action to give the business to her children, who weren't involved in it and didn't live in the state, probably not the best outcome for the business. The experience showed me that even when all the proper succession planning steps are taken, a death can bring out the most unexpected reactions in family members. In fact, their actions can foul up what seem like welllaid plans. The hard-earned lesson is to review estate plans on at least an annual basis or upon each significant life event.

In the third family, the father had sold his family business and collected a sizable payout. This is what I think of as a natural evolution, a sunrise-sunset scenario. He had planned appropriately by transferring assets, obtaining suitable life insurance, and otherwise managing his estate to prevent estate taxes from gutting the business. Sadly, he died shortly after he had completed the sale and was unable to enjoy the fruits of his hard work.

Expecting the Unpredictable

I found myself acting almost as a grief counselor to his widow. It wasn't a role I had filled before but one I fell into because I was considered a source of stability as the family's longtime business consultant.

The reactions of the three families taught me that there's more to the game of family business consulting than I had realized, despite my years of experience I realized the job isn't just about installing the right procedures and plans. I learned that when clients are vulnerable, a good bedside manner is worth more than an business-school MBA. That was my takeaway. Perhaps it seems pretty obvious.

Family members aren't billiard balls you can spin a certain way and consistently expect a certain result. In my consulting engagements from now on, I'll continue to get the processes and policies in place to produce the result that seems appropriate. But I'll also be ready to adapt to the unpredictable needs of the family members during the unexpected tough times.

GSWP Takes Over Rocky Top

(ireat Southern Woocl Prcsen'ing. Abbevillc. Al., the narion's larscsr tfeated wood produccr, has purchascd the asscts of the Rocky Top Building Proclucts citmpanies from Thc Franklin Group. Rockv Mount. Va.

With thc acqr,r isition o1'Rockv Top's lrr'rrtirrg planls irr Roekl Mt,uni. Hagcrstown. Md.. and Fombell, Pa., (lreat Southcrn now operatcs l-5 l'acilitics, supplying 27 statcs from thc Fkrrirla Keys to Texas to Canada.

"This reprcsents the contbination ol' two lcadcrs in the builclin-l products inclustry "" saicl J irnml' Ranc. chairntan prcsiclcnt and c.e.o. of Great Southcrn. "Therc are man)' sintilaritics bctween our two companies. but our distributiou li)otprints ale adjacent althou-sh they don't ovcrlap.."

Carcl' Garst, c.e.o. of RockY Top. sititl Crerr t Sorrthcrn'. \) \tcnl\. rcsourccs and ability to source proci- ucts on an intcrnational scale il,ill bencfit Rocky Toll's custctmcrs. lP Closes Temple Acquisition

Although Grcat Southern uses Osmosc's micronized copper azolc in its Yellawood brand proclucts, Rocky Top has utilizcd Wolmanizecl prcser\.ativcs in its PmSclect. Vista Dcckins. ancl Vista Railing products. Great Southern has acquired thc three lradenrarks and. at lcast initially. "n'ill cctntinuc to ofl'er the santc products that have becn offercd in the past."

International Paper Co.. Memphis. Tn.. has cornplered irs g3.tJ-billion acquisition of Tcmple-lnland, Austin. Tx.. alter agrceing to sell three facilities to satisty antitrust concerns.

IP agrccd to scll the forntcr Terrrple containerboard ntills in Waverly. Tn.. ancl Ontario. Ca.. ancl its ntill in Oxnard, Ca., or Henderson. Ky.. ctver the next four ntonths.

Short & Paulk Supply Co, Tifton. Ga., has acquired Laing Hardware, Dawson, Ga., as its fourt6 retail location.

The new location is supoosed to reopen early this month after a threeweek remodel, featuring an updated, full-line hardware center, lumbervard, and millwork showroom.

Sutherlands Lumber Co. is closing its east Columbus, 0h., store, but expects to reopen at a new location in central Ohio once a suitable site has been found.

Carter Lumber's Holmes

Lumber divrsion has acquired DSD Builders Supply Co. Canton, oh., from Stark'Tru-ss Co.

Mike Thomas is the new mgr.

Duncan Box & Lumber Co., Huntington, W.V., has been sold by retiring Jim Duncan to Norman Taylor, Mike Taylor, and Teresa Klaiber.

Scott Adams, ex-84 Lumber, is now general mgr.

Alexander Lumber Co. is closing its Gibson City, ll.. lumberyard Ints montn.

The yard was purchased from Hager Lumber in'1999.

Locust Lumber Co. is opening its third location, a 26,000-sq. ft. facitity Southern Pines, N.C. (J.D. Cuff, mgr.)

DeWitt Lumber, Btanchard, Mi., relocated its door and window showroom from Mt. Pleasant, Mi,, to a new lumber sales center in Midland, Mi.

Gurtis Lumber Bailston Spa, N.Y., applied to remodel its nearly 40year-old location in Schodack, N.Y.

Plans call for the existing steel structure to be replaced by a drive{hru lumberyard, 20,300-sq. ft. retail store, and 100-space parking lot.

American Builders Supply, Sanford, Fl., has acquired 67-year-old Clermont Builders Supply, Clermont, Fl.

As part of the deal, CBS executives David Wallace and Tad Wolfe wilt serve as v.p.s of ABS.

Fleeger's Pro Hardware, Toledo, Oh., is closing by the end of the month after 65 vears.