10/08/2026
The Keys to the Shop:
Passing Down a New Orleans Business Without Breaking the Family
Every neighborhood in this city has one. The place where the photo of the founder still hangs crooked behind the register. The bar where the name over the door is somebody's grandmother. The shop where the daughter who once did her homework at the counter now runs the whole operation.
New Orleans is a city of inheritances. We pass down recipes, krewe throws, second line steps, and the exact way to season a pot of red beans. We also pass down businesses... and that last one is the inheritance that can quietly tear a family apart if nobody plans for it.
That's the heart of a recent piece from New Orleans business attorney Amanda Butler Schley of Business Law Group. She lays out something every family business owner in Louisiana should hear: handing your business to the next generation is one of the most emotional decisions you will ever make, and one of the most technical.
Her central point stayed with me. The time to plan is while you are healthy, present, and clear. It is not in a hospital waiting room or in the weeks after a funeral, when grief and paperwork arrive at the same time.
Three roads to the same door
Amanda explains that a Louisiana business can pass to family in three ways. You can sell it, gift it, or leave it through inheritance. Each road carries different tax consequences, different questions about who holds control during the transition, and different effects on the family members who never worked a shift behind that counter.
The paper that decides who runs things
For owners with an LLC, the operating agreement is the document that matters most. If it says nothing about succession, a child can end up owning part of the business without having any real say in how it runs. Owning a piece and holding the keys are two very different things. That gap is where families start fighting.
The part that only happens here...
This is where Louisiana shows how different it is. We are a civil law state, and two of our rules can catch families completely off guard.
The first is community property. A business built during a marriage may legally belong to both spouses, so a transfer to a child without the other spouse on board can be challenged.
The second is forced heirship, which exists only in Louisiana. If a parent wants the child who works in the business to take it over, other children may still have a protected claim. Amanda notes that this has to be handled with intention, through tools like equalization payments or life insurance, rather than simply cutting someone out.
What happens when there's no plan...
Without a succession plan, the business moves through Louisiana succession law, possibly through a court-supervised process. That takes time and creates uncertainty. For a restaurant, a shop, or a bar, a few months of uncertainty can be the difference between a legacy and a closed sign in the window.
Why this matters to all of us...
I think about the places that make this city feel like home. So many of them exist because one generation trusted the next, and the people who built them deserve to see that trust protected. Planning a succession is not cold or corporate. It is one of the most loving things an owner can do for their family, their employees, and the neighborhood that keeps showing up.
So if you own a family business, or you're the one who will someday inherit the keys, start that conversation now, while the music is still playing.
With a second line in my step wherever the rhythm carries me,
Karlita
----------------------
New Orleans Legal Minute is brought to you by Amanda Butler Schley, Founder- Business Law Group
You can read Amanda's full article at lawgroup.biz.
New Orleans Legal Minute is for general information only and is not legal advice. Please consult a licensed Louisiana attorney about your specific situation.
