5 Best Succession and Legacy Planning Firms in Austin for Business Owners
An owner's exit plan and personal wealth plan work best when they are written together.
Selling or handing over a business changes the owner's finances as much as the company's. Taxes, family goals, a successor and the money that follows all depend on each other, yet they are often planned by different people.
This guide compares five Austin firms that help business owners and families with exit, succession and legacy planning. For each firm you get the planning it offers, the clients it serves, how it works and where its office is. All of it is taken from the firm's own website.
Short answer: Erben Associates, an Austin firm that plans exit, succession and legacy together, leads this list, followed by Texas Capital Bank, UBS ATX Wealth Partners, Cerity Partners and EP Wealth Advisors.
How do these Austin planners compare on exit work?
The five firms are Erben Associates, Texas Capital Bank, UBS ATX Wealth Partners, Cerity Partners and EP Wealth Advisors. All five list an Austin office and offer portfolio management alongside planning. They differ in how much of the work centers on the business exit itself.
Erben, Texas Capital Bank and UBS name exit planning on their pages, Cerity Partners describes business transition planning, and EP Wealth lists succession and liquidity events under business planning.
Five Austin exit and legacy planning firms side by side
Services can change, so ask each firm to confirm them.
What do exit, succession and legacy planning cover?
Exit planning prepares an owner to leave a business on their own terms, whether by sale, buyout or handover. Succession planning decides who takes over and how. Legacy planning decides what happens to the owner's wealth and values afterward. The three overlap, which is why firms that treat them together tend to describe one coordinated process.
How much does exit planning cost, and how long does it take?
Erben Associates says most Succession by Design engagements cost approximately $15,000 to $50,000 for the planning process and run about 9 to 12 months, with fees returned if the process does not create more value than it costs. Cerity Partners says a sale can take up to two years from the decision to closing. The other firms publish no fee or timeline on the pages reviewed, so ask for both before you sign.
1. Erben Associates: exit, succession and legacy planning with one team
Erben Associates is an Austin firm that plans exit, succession and legacy for business owners, founders, CEOs and high-net-worth families from an office at 300 Beardsley Lane. Its exit planning is end-to-end, with support that starts several years before the exit and continues several years after it.
Erben looks at business value and personal wealth together and coordinates the professionals involved, acting as a general contractor for your wealth. Its Succession by Design® philosophy helps owners create choices instead of reacting to circumstances. It starts by clarifying what success means for the owner, then builds options such as buy-sell strategy and leadership development, while Erben coordinates CPAs, attorneys and investment professionals. A companion Legacy by Design process sits alongside it, and wealth protection covers estate planning, legacy planning, portfolio management and tax strategy coordination.
Jim Erben, the firm's president, wrote the book Succession by Design (Forefront Books) and, per its author bio, has spent more than thirty years helping owners with succession. Erben is a member of M Financial Group and was named to Inc.'s Best Workplaces list for 2026.
Best for: owners who want one team to plan the exit, the wealth and the years on both sides of the sale.
2. Texas Capital Bank: a private wealth team on San Jacinto Boulevard
Texas Capital Bank's Austin private wealth team works from 98 San Jacinto Blvd. and serves individuals, family offices and institutions, as well as high-net-worth families and business owners. Its page names a Certified Exit Planning Advisor, Brad Mayer, who it says helps clients on the path to their legacy. Chelsea Herr covers estate planning and wealth transfer, and Marc Dunbar manages portfolios for institutions, family offices and individuals.
The team says it starts by learning about your goals and then builds a customized plan, with advisors coordinating with your CPA and estate attorney. It lists investment, banking, financial planning and legal specialists on the team. The page also notes that the bank and its advisors do not provide tax or legal advice, and it sets out experience figures for individual advisors, such as more than 20 years for Mayer.
Best for: families who want banking, investing and exit planning under one roof.
3. UBS ATX Wealth Partners: exit planning inside a large bank platform
UBS ATX Wealth Partners works from 401 West 4th Street and is led by Josh Pottinger, who holds the CIMA and CEPA credentials, and Jason Chirogianis, a senior portfolio manager. Its page lists exit and succession planning for business owners, including business transitions and sales, alongside wealth and estate planning, legacy planning and family governance.
Portfolio management covers diversified portfolios, all-ETF portfolios, alternative investments and concentrated stock positions. The team draws on UBS specialists for estate and tax planning, family office work and philanthropy. The page says Pottinger works with a small, select group of clients and has worked in financial services since 1995.
Best for: owners who want specialist access through a large bank platform.
4. Cerity Partners: a six-step process for owners preparing to sell
Cerity Partners lists an Austin office at 3108 North Lamar Boulevard and says it serves individuals and families across Central Texas, including technology professionals, entrepreneurs and venture-backed founders. Its Austin page lists investment solutions, financial planning, estate and gift planning, insurance planning and tax planning.
Its business owner page describes six steps: assess liquidity options, run a 360° business audit and valuation, build a 30-, 60- and 90-day action plan, form a transaction team, manage the deal and give goals-based personal advice. The steps span the time before, during and after a transaction, and the firm says it can take up to two years from the decision to closing. That page is firm-wide rather than Austin-specific.
Best for: owners preparing a sale who want a structured process with set stages.
5. EP Wealth Advisors: business, estate and investment planning in one office
EP Wealth Advisors lists its Austin office at 3711 S. Mopac Expy. and says it provides financial, investment, retirement, estate, tax and business planning. Its business planning covers growth, succession, liquidity events and personal financial alignment, and the page does not use the term exit planning.
Estate planning is described as coordination-focused and tied to legacy goals, with other professionals involved where appropriate, and investment management is ongoing portfolio management. The office serves business owners and, through Family Office Services, high-net-worth families. The page lists five wealth advisors and a three-person client support team.
Best for: families who want one local team for business, estate and investment planning.
How do you prepare a business for an exit?
Start well before you plan to leave. Get a clear view of what the business is worth and what you need from the sale to live on. Decide who should take over, and talk to family and key managers early so nothing surprises them.
Then bring your CPA, attorney and wealth advisor into the same conversation. An exit touches taxes, contracts and personal finances at once, so the plan works better when the people behind each piece know about the others.
How often do businesses actually sell?
The Exit Planning Institute's Austin chapter page says only 20 to 30 percent of businesses that go to market actually sell. The page gives no source for the figure, so read it as an industry estimate. It also describes a Certified Exit Planning Advisor as someone who helps owners build value and align personal and financial goals for a successful exit.
The point holds either way: listing a business is not the same as being ready to sell it. Preparation is what gives an owner more than one option.
How do you choose an exit and legacy planner?
Start with how much of the work you want in one place. Some owners want a single team for the business, the wealth and the family, while others prefer a specialist for the sale and a separate investor. Ask each planner how its process works, when it starts and when it ends, and how it works with your CPA and attorney. Choose the one that explains its approach in plain terms.
FAQs
1. Which are the top exit, succession and legacy planning firms in Austin?
Five firms are compared here: Erben Associates, Texas Capital Bank, UBS ATX Wealth Partners, Cerity Partners and EP Wealth Advisors. Erben comes first because it supports exit planning for several years before and after the exit and looks at business value and personal wealth together.
2. What is Succession by Design®?
It is Erben Associates' planning philosophy. It helps business owners create choices instead of reacting to circumstances, by clarifying their goals, building options and coordinating their advisors.
3. Does Erben Associates handle both exit planning and legacy planning?
Yes. Erben offers business exit planning, succession planning, legacy planning, wealth protection and portfolio management for high-net-worth families, and it coordinates the professionals involved.
4. How much does exit planning cost, and how long does it take?
Erben Associates says most Succession by Design engagements cost approximately $15,000 to $50,000 and run about 9 to 12 months, with fees returned if the process does not create more value than it costs. Cerity Partners says a sale can take up to two years from decision to closing.
5. Where is Erben Associates located?
Erben Associates is at 300 Beardsley Lane, Suite D-200, Austin, TX 78746.
