INHERITANCE PLANNING AND THE ROLE OF WILLS ON LEADERSHIP SUCCESSION CRISIS RESOLUTION OF SELECTED FAMILY BUSINESSES IN KEFFI. NASARAWA STATE

In this study, the focus was on the investigation o f inheritance planning and the role o f Will's writing on leadership succession crisis resolution in family businesses. The study specifically aimed at finding out the types o f a succession crises and how they injluence family business sustainability. Also, the study finds out how well family business owners engage in inheritance planning and wills that help in resolving leadership succession crises and fostering business sustainability. This study adopts a survey research design and used randomly enrolled participants for data development. A total o f 145 responses were validated from the enrolled participants and all responses were drawn from family business owners in the Keffi Local Government Area o f Nasarawa State. In addition to the information gatheredfrom the family business owners, interviews were conducted and copies o f questionnaires were filled by the judges o f the Upper Area Court 1 and 2 and the Chief Magistrate Court, all in Keffi. The findings indicated the following: Wills enable the ease o f estate administration, and most business owners in Keffi do not engage in Will writing thereby leading to litigations during leadership succession. The lawsuit process takes a long span o f time during which the business suffers and incurs huge losses. It was discovered that in Islamic law, a founder has no explicit right to will his/her business to an inheritor as his or her estate is distributed based on the tenets o f Islam, unlike the Christian and other religions that allowed their own open intention. The recommendations were: Family business owners should imbibe the culture o f inheritance planning as it proves to ensure a smooth transition o f leadership in the organization, Family business owners should also engage in wills writing to assist in ensuring that the plan for their business is executed and also protects the business assets. The sustainability o f a business is key as it not only contributes to family wealth but also to the economy o f the nation. Hence, when a family business is undergoing litigation, the court should ensure it is properly managed by capable hands consideringthe sensitivity o f fam ily values.