Leaving a family business to, say, your beloved daughter and not to your less-liked sons? If you don't expect that your sons will sue your daughter, or your estate, when you have passed away, think again.

Business owners spend most of their time and energy on building a business and making it run smoothly. Shrewd business owners also work on what happens to the business after they are gone. This often includes creating a succession plan that transfers ownership in a way that minimizes gift, estate or generation-skipping transfer taxes and making sure that operations are put in competent hands.