1. 2055 Woodside Road, Suite 160, Redwood City, CA 94061
www.carrollandco.info tel: (650) 362-7004 email: dental@carrollandco.info
TOP TEN WAYS TO PROTECT YOUR FAMILY
FROM AN UNTIMELY DEATH OR DISABILITY
One of the toughest things we are called to do as Transition consultants is to
assist the family of a dentist who has passed away suddenly or become disabled
in selling the practice. Sadly, these types of engagements come up multiple times
per year. The value of the dental practice is one of the largest single assets the
average dentist owns and without swift action can be reduced to a fraction of its
former value. The death or disability of a dentist is a personal loss that is
devastating to the family. With the proper planning the dentist and his or her
family can preserve the value of the practice and provide a systematic approach
to dealing with this crisis.
Over the years, we have assisted many dentists and their families and have
found the following to be the key items to a successful management of the crisis
of the dentist death or disability:
1. Know the value of the practice.
Most times dentists and their families either have no idea of the value of
the practice or their opinion of value is distorted. Such distortions can be
either too low or too high. For proper planning to take place, the dentist
and his family must have a realistic idea of the value of the practice.
2. Know the market place in your area and the likely buyers.
The ease of finding a buyer quickly is totally dependent on the market
place for your geographic area. Metropolitan areas will have a larger and
more ready group of buyers. Rural communities and small towns outside
of the metro areas will have a smaller group of available buyers.

2. 2055 Woodside Road, Suite 160, Redwood City, CA 94061
www.carrollandco.info tel: (650) 362-7004 email: dental@carrollandco.info
3. Understand the importance of moving quickly.
The value of the practice without you will diminish very quickly. It is
essential in the event of death or disability that steps are taken to ensure
the continued operation of the practice as soon as possible. We have seen
practices that have maintained their value for months if one or more
doctors staff the practice during this crisis time and the patients are kept
informed.
4. Involve your spouse and family members in the crisis plan.
To protect the value of your practice, it is essential to have a crisis plan.
The plan requires that you involve your spouse and any other family
members who your spouse would rely on for help in a time of need. The
plan should include an advisor to help recruit a doctor to work in the
practice and coordinate the efforts of your staff. Ideally, the plan should
be written to avoid forgetting important items due to the emotions of the
moment.
5. Work with the staff to determine the crisis plan for the practice,
including the lead staff.
In addition to your family, the crisis plan should involve your staff. The
plan should detail each action the staff should take. It should discuss how
to inform the patients, which advisors to call, which of the family will be
in charge of the practice. Remember, it is very difficult to run a practice
by committee. Many successful crisis strategies involve a key staff person
who is the lead staff person. Many times this is the office manager, but we
have seen occasions where a hygienist or assistant takes the leadership
role.
6. Establish a practice continuation agreement with a friend in dentistry or
join a mutual aid group.
Every dentist, regardless whether they have been in practice for many
years or just starting should a contingency plan to deal with a possible
untimely death or disability. One good way to do so is to enter into a
practice continuation agreement with a colleague. The agreement is a
mutual agreement whereby each of you agrees to operate the practice of
the other until the other is able to return to work or the practice is sold.
Some agreements call for a purchase of the practice or right of first refusal.
Some local dental society units have a mutual aid group where there is an
organized approach to covering a dentist in an emergency for a short
period of time. We have also seen where a group of dentists agree to

3. 2055 Woodside Road, Suite 160, Redwood City, CA 94061
www.carrollandco.info tel: (650) 362-7004 email: dental@carrollandco.info
cover each other. It is a go idea to assign one of them as the lead advisor.
I recommend that you commit the crisis plan to writing and have a
meeting to share the plan with your advisors.
7. Put together your advisor team.
The key to success in any crisis plan is to put together the advisor team. In
addition to the spouse, family members and key staff you should enlist
the support of your CPA/financial planner, attorney, and a practice broker
as a minimum. You might also consider a practice management
consultant and insurance agent as well. Each of the advisors will have a
particular area of expertise. It is a good idea to assign one of them as the
lead advisor. I recommend that you commit the crisis plan to writing and
have a meeting to share the plan with your advisors.
8. Don’t plan on the value to be enough to support your family.
Many times a dentist may mistakenly assume that the practice value will
be enough to support the family. The truth is that at best, the value netted
from the practice sale may only last 1-3 years.
9. Have appropriate Life and Disability coverage.
It is my experience that most dentists are underinsured for both life and
disability insurance coverage. The coverage needed depends on the
dentist age, dependents, assets accumulated, and the amount of money
owed. You should review your coverage with your financial planner on
an annual basis.
10. Letter of direction.
In our practice brokerage and transition practice, we have developed a
letter of direction for dentists to use. This letter is part of their estate plan
and directs their family to contact us immediately should something
happen to the dentist. We have included a copy of this letter for your
review.