March 24, 2026
Published by 
Jarod Bernat on March 24, 2026
Jarod Bernat on March 24, 2026Succession planning in the funeral profession is never just a transaction, it’s a deeply personal process tied to family legacy, community trust, and identity. For one generation, the business represents a lifetime of work; for the next, it represents opportunity, responsibility, and often a different vision for the future. The difference between a smooth transition and a strained one often comes down to expectations. When assumptions go unspoken, conflict follows. When expectations are clear, succession becomes a strength not a strain. Passion alone isn’t enough to lead a modern funeral home. Ownership today requires financial acumen, operational discipline, leadership, compliance, and adaptability. Successors need time, exposure, and often experience outside the family business to build those skills. Without true readiness, the risk isn’t just operational, it’s the legacy itself. At the same time, family dynamics should not dictate business structure. […]
September 25, 2025
Published by Jarod Bernat on September 25, 2025
Jarod Bernat on September 25, 2025Scenario: Paul Gibson, age 63, was the owner and operator of Gibson Funeral Home, a small-town funeral home in a micropolitan area of the Midwest. Paul had built a reputation over decades as a dependable figure in his community, serving approximately 140 families per year. With a lean operation staffed by only himself and another funeral director (also nearing retirement and uninterested in ownership), Paul found himself at a crossroads. After decades of running the funeral home, Paul was ready to retire. He had a two-year horizon before he planned to fully step away and become eligible for Medicare. Willing to consult for a buyer during that transition, Paul envisioned exiting the business gracefully. In 2023, he put the business on the market hoping to achieve a $3 million sale price, a figure based on inflated financials during the COVID-19 […]
June 23, 2025
Published by Jarod Bernat on June 23, 2025
Jarod Bernat on June 23, 2025Intentional, transparent communication must be integrated into every step of your succession plan. Within the funeral profession – a field built on tradition, legacy and long-standing community ties –succession planning carries a particularly emotional and operational weight. The transition of leadership from one generation to the next is about ownership and financial continuity but also about the preservation of trust, culture and relationships cultivated over decades. At the heart of this delicate process lies a single powerful tool: communication. Communication is not just a helpful part of succession planning; it is the very foundation that determines whether a transition is smooth and successful or fraught with conflict, confusion and frustration. In a profession where trust is paramount, the way leaders communicate with their successors, staff, clients and community can make or break the legacy they worked so hard to build. […]
January 28, 2025
Published by Jarod Bernat on January 28, 2025
Jarod Bernat on January 28, 2025It is hard to overstate how monumentally important selling a business is to a business owner. In most cases, 80% of a business owner’s entire net worth rests solely within the business itself. And other than selling a home, this is likely the largest liquidity event of a business owner’s life. These financial implications, along with the multitude of other factors that go into deciding to eventually sell a business, make it easy to understand why business owners seek expert guidance to help them navigate these situations. But most importantly, it is crucial to keep all your advisors on the same page so they can collaboratively guide you towards the best possible outcome. A couple of years ago, Foresight experienced a situation where a funeral home owner consulted multiple experts to assist with the sale of their business. However, since […]
November 25, 2024
Published by Jarod Bernat on November 25, 2024
Jarod Bernat on November 25, 2024The highs and lows of business valuation and the tools and processes you need in place for a successful transfer of ownership. It’s been difficult not to notice the craziness happening all around us and how it impacts the economy in turn. Just consider that the funeral service profession also experienced some of the most significant ups and downs throughout the COVID pandemic and its aftermath. With death rates fluctuating year to year and competent staffing becoming increasingly more difficult to retain, combined with the overall shift in the economic environment today, tracking the value of your business has been anything but linear lately. In the 2023 NFDA Member Succession Planning Study, only 53.1% of owners surveyed responded that they knew the value of their business. Even then, this does not differentiate “yes” responses among those who know the value […]