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Ep 468: Navigating Accelerated Succession When Cancer Forces An Early Retirement with KayDee Cole
Episode 468

Ep 468: Navigating Accelerated Succession When Cancer Forces An Early Retirement with KayDee Cole

Financial Advisor Success · Michael Kitces

December 16, 20251h 30m

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Show Notes

Succession planning is rarely easy, but when life circumstances accelerate the timeline, it requires courage, clarity, and deep trust in your team. This episode explores how to manage an ownership and client transition with empathy, structure, and transparency.

KayDee Cole is the founder of Clarity Wealth Development, an RIA based in Corvallis, Oregon, that manages $200 million in AUM for 220 client households. Listen in as KayDee shares how she navigated an expedited succession plan after a cancer recurrence, selling equity to her COO through a seller-financed loan and preparing other team members for ownership. We also talk about the structured four-meeting process she created to transition clients to new advisors, how she coached her team through readiness conversations, and how transparent communication helped retain nearly all clients through the change.

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/468