For Families and Their Advisors · Free Checklist
When the Succession Plan Becomes the Dispute
In a family business, the org chart and the family tree are the same document, so every succession plan is also a decision about who the family thinks deserves what. Use this checklist to spot where a plan is likely to turn into an argument. Tick the boxes; the tally updates as you go.
The founder
Fair versus equal
The wider family
The paperwork
No boxes ticked yet. Tick what you’re seeing in one company.
The conversations to have before the documents
- Three questions, kept separate: who will own it, who will run it, and who will inherit what. Families blur them, and most fights live in the blur.
- The founder’s real goal, not the stated one. “Keep it in the family” can mean five different things.
- Who’s in the room, and who hears about it afterward and from whom.
- The business’s needs first, before anyone’s share.
Which format fits
| Format | When it fits |
|---|---|
| Family meeting | Sharing information and aligning; no live disagreement |
| Facilitated conversation | Hard topics, and nobody has hired lawyers yet |
| Mediation | A live disagreement over money, control or roles, or claims that may be filed |
In California, mediation is voluntary and confidential within the limits of the law (Evidence Code section 1119). A signed written settlement that says it’s enforceable can be enforced like a contract (Evidence Code section 1123). Each family member should have their own counsel review any agreement.
About the Dyadic Mediation Team
Dyadic Mediation is led by two neutral mediators working the same table, the legal mind and the human mind. Here’s who you’d be sitting with.
Fred Smith
Neutral Mediator · Communications Strategist
Fred’s a communications strategist and business operator who’s spent his career in high-stakes rooms where words carry as much weight as the numbers, working at Hyundai Capital and on corporate programs for Kia Motors America, Volkswagen, and Audi. He’s a former Marine Corps Sergeant and Combat Correspondent, a job built on getting people to tell you what really happened, with Marine Corps training in counseling and leadership and the Meritorious Service Medal. At the table he’s the human mind, the neutral who reads the people and the pressure.
Warren Morten
Neutral Mediator · Founder, The Morten Law Group
Warren’s been a California attorney since 2006, selected to Super Lawyers for Business & Corporate law (2024 to 2027), and he founded The Morten Law Group in Irvine, with a career spent in the rooms where business is really decided: corporate and partnership matters, estate planning, health care, and mergers and acquisitions. At the table he’s the legal mind, the neutral who reads the law and the leverage. He serves as a neutral mediator and doesn’t represent either side.
In Confidence
If the boxes you ticked are already turning into arguments at the dinner table, a private conversation with two neutral mediators can happen before anyone hires a litigator. We meet families in Irvine or by video, and every family member keeps their own counsel. The first call is free and confidential.
Dyadic Mediation · 18300 Von Karman Ave, Suite 660, Irvine, CA 92612 · (949) 579-2760
Serving Orange County, with reach into Los Angeles County and San Diego County. The information on this page is general information about mediation and workplace issues, not legal advice, and reading it doesn’t create a mediator-client relationship. Mediation is a private, voluntary process and isn’t a substitute for advice from your own attorney. © 2026 Dyadic Mediation. All rights reserved.
Sources: Evidence Code section 1119; Evidence Code section 1123; checklist drawn from Dyadic Mediation’s referral briefing for estate planners and family-business advisors.