The work presents the life cycle of a family business from its founding through generational succession to liquidation, taking into account the specific characteristics that arise in family businesses. The authors focus on the choice of legal form, the formalities of company formation, the explanation of typical clauses in the partnership agreement, contracts between the company and family members, changes to the corporate constitution, and business succession. The structure of the work is tailored to the needs of practice: it outlines the various design options and decision-relevant criteria for typical advisory situations in the life cycle of a family business.