Buy-sell agreement planning is the holistic process of designing, drafting, and funding a buy-sell agreement so that business ownership transitions smoothly when an owner dies, becomes disabled, retires, or departs. Planning goes beyond a boilerplate document; it coordinates legal language, business valuation methods, tax considerations, and funding tools such as life and disability insurance. A well-planned buy-sell addresses who can buy, how price will be set, how quickly payment will occur, and how the business will be managed during and after the transition. The goal is to protect remaining owners, departing owners or heirs, employees, lenders, and the long-term value of the enterprise while minimizing conflict and liquidity stress.

Advisors lead buy-sell agreement planning by convening the right team: business owners, attorneys, CPAs, valuation experts, and insurance specialists. They facilitate conversations about goals, succession timelines, and worst-case scenarios, then help translate those intentions into agreement terms and coverage designs. Planning includes stress-testing how the agreement would work under different valuation outcomes and what happens if coverage is insufficient or lapses. Advisors revisit the plan periodically as company value, ownership, and family situations change. Understanding buy-sell agreement planning enables advisors to position life insurance not as an isolated product, but as one component of a coordinated business-succession strategy.