How to use it
Start earlier than feels necessary.
Most of the work that protects your clients and your price happens years before a deal: knowing what you can sell, documenting what lives in your head, and making the practice less dependent on you. The last months are for agreements and introductions, not for discovering gaps.
The steps you skip at five years out become the terms you accept at five months out.
Work through the phases in order. If you are already close to a deal, start with the phase you are in and go back for anything you missed.
The checklist
Tick it off as you go.
0 of 25 done
Your ticks are saved in this browser only. Never enter client names or records.
Keep a copy
Take it off the screen.
Questions about this checklist
Are my ticks sent to Morrowgate?
No. Your ticks are saved only in this browser. If you request the PDF, we receive your name and email, plus how many items you had ticked, so we know where you are in the process.
Does a completed checklist mean I am ready to sell?
No. It identifies preparation work. Transaction feasibility, client requirements, legal and tax questions, approvals, and the actual agreements require separate work.
Do I need to finish it before talking to us?
No. A first conversation can start with the situation you want to change. Do not send client records or confidential documents.
About this resource
Morrowgate Private Wealth · October 23, 2026. An educational preparation aid. It is not an appraisal, a legal agreement, or a prediction of an outcome. Apply the requirements relevant to your business model with your firm and independent advisers.
Wherever you are on the list
Talk through your next step.
One private conversation about your timing, your clients and the steps still open. No client records needed. Morrowgate may be one of the successors you talk to. Use this checklist on us as hard as on anyone.
Talk through my open items →Published by Morrowgate Private Wealth. Editorial standards. Educational preparation, not an appraisal or transaction advice.