Succession Advisory for Business-Owning Families

Structure Today.

Strength

Security

Success

Strength

for Tomorrow.

Who We Are

Magnolia Legacy Partners is an independent succession resource for business-owning families and their advisors. We clarify roles, design practical governance, and turn plans into lasting implementation—aligning the family and its advisors around a shared, long-term vision for both the enterprise and the family.

Problems We Solve

Why Generational Transitions Fail
(and How We Prevent It)

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Succession Looks Final on Paper, Reality Differs

Many families have well-crafted documents yet fail to fully examine their heirs’ ambitions, preparedness, or how future decisions will be made. Through thoughtful, generational dialogue, Magnolia Legacy Partners reveals and closes the gap between written plans and real-world succession.

Avoiding Sensitive Issues Stalls Progress

Parents often avoid difficult conversations to protect relationships. As a result, critical discussions are delayed, softened, or left unsaid. We provide a neutral, discreet forum to address sensitive issues without unnecessary conflict; including discussions around ownership, control, titles, and compensation within a family enterprise.

Unclear Roles Create Instability Beneath the Surface

When authority, responsibility and governance are unclear, instability develops quietly. We help family enterprises bring structure into leadership, decision-making and oversight so transitions are efficient and seamless.

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About Us

How We Guide Families Through Transition

Led by Steven Schermer, whose 25+ years advising families and privately held enterprises span succession, governance, and complex estate and tax matters, Magnolia Legacy Partners brings seasoned judgment to life’s highest-stakes transitions.

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Our Approach

3 Steps to Confident Succession

Our three-step approach combines technical rigor with practical insight and a deep understanding of family dynamics — guiding ownership, leadership, and relationships through transition so the enterprise prospers and family harmony endures.

Assess

First, we define a shared vision for success through a structured interview process. We assess family dynamics, individual aspirations, preparedness, and the current succession plan—surfacing gaps between the controlling generation’s vision and the next generation’s ambitions and capabilities.

Deliver

Next, we distill and present our findings through a customized Succession Playbook. This tailored roadmap clarifies roles, responsibilities, governance structures, and priorities while providing clear direction for how each family member and advisory team member will work together.

Implement & Sustain

Finally, we support implementation over time. This can include facilitating key meetings, coaching individual family members, coordinating with advisors, and revisiting the Succession Playbook as the family, business, and circumstances evolve.

Why Us

Why Families Choose Magnolia Legacy Partners

Generational transitions rarely fail from lack of intelligence or effort. They fail when human, governance and leadership challenges go unaddressed. We help families anticipate those challenges early with clarity, discretion, and sound judgment.

Succession Expertise Across Law, Tax and Governance

We bring decades of experience advising ultra-high-net-worth families and their nationally recognized private businesses.

Integrated Perspective

We integrate estate and tax planning, governance, and family dynamics, coordinating work across your advisors, rather than operating in a silo.

Evidence-Based Assessments

Structured interviews and diagnostic tools give families and their advisors a clear picture of readiness, capability, and risk across generations.

Relationship-Centered Approach

Succession planning is inherently personal. Our approach provides a framework that strengthens long-term communication among family members and trusted advisors.

Early Identification of Hidden Risks

Our repeated exposure to complex transitions helps us identify latent and emerging issues early, when they are easier to contain and resolve.

Follow-Up and Accountability

Planning only has an impact if it is implemented. We help convert plans into routines, checkpoints and clear accountability.

7 in 10 family members have difficulty talking about wealth with each other.

www.jpmorgan.com

41% of business-owning families identify internal conflict as a top-three risk, nearly double the rate of their non-business owning peers.