In this issue of Family Business, we profile two families who have been thinking about succession. The three brothers who run Reitter Stucco & Supply Company Inc. in Columbus, Ohio, have been mapping out their retirement dates and creating a framework for determining who will become the next leader of the company. And at Anago Cleaning Systems in Pompano Beach, Fla., chairman David Povlitz has elevated his two children to executive roles.

Too many family business owners think they can afford to procrastinate about succession planning because they anticipate that the task will be easy. They have a future leader in mind, and an idea of when they would like that person to take over. The rest, they figure, just involves some paperwork they can ask their advisers to draw up on short notice. But when they do get around to finalizing the details, most of these business leaders are surprised to find that doing so is more complicated than they expected.

Here are some questions for business leaders to consider as they contemplate succession. Failure to think about these issues can hamper a smooth transition.

• Will the plan for distributing stock to next-generation members create family conflict related to control of the company?

• If family members are deadlocked over an important decision, what will be the tie-breaking mechanism?

• How much money will the senior generation need to fund their retirement? Will they have to rely on future income from the business—and, if so, can the business provide retirement income for them without compromising future growth opportunities?

• Does the likely successor have the skills that will be needed to take the business where it needs to go in the future? (Generally speaking, a new set of skills is required to lead a company in the future; leaders who focus on continuity and tradition will not be able to keep up.)

• How will the retiring leader spend his or her time after stepping down from the CEO's post? (Research has found that retirement increases the risk of clinical depression. Planning to keep busy with meaningful projects after the transition will help you cope with the loss of career identity—and resist the temptation to interfere with your successor's game plan.)

• What must be done to ensure that the board of directors is optimally configured to support the new leader?

• Is it time to institute a family governance system, or to revamp the existing system to meet the changing needs of the family? Are future family leaders being developed while the new leader of the business is being groomed?

At Reitter Stucco, when the three fourth-generation leaders began to plan their eventual exits from day-to-day operations, they found that the process was much more lengthy and involved than they thought it would be. Fortunately, they had begun to think about succession well in advance, so they could take the time they needed to reach consensus. Other family business leaders contemplating transition would do well to learn from their example.

Copyright 2016 by Family Business Magazine. This article may not be posted online or reproduced in any form, including photocopy, without permission from the publisher. For reprint information, contact bwenger@familybusinessmagazine.com.