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You might choose to make lifetime gifts of your stock or business interest. When you decide to make lifetime gifts, you can give away a little or a lot to whomever you choose, and you can control the timing of the gift. Lifetime gifts of your business interest may allow you to relinquish control according to your own timetable, and they can be done privately if you so choose. An added benefit to gifting your business is the removal of the value of the gift from your estate, along with any future appreciation.
You might consider a systematic plan whereby you make small gifts of your business interest to one or more recipients each year over a period of time. If the value of each individual gift is equal to or less than $18,000 per recipient in 2024, the gifts are federal gift tax free under the annual gift tax exclusion. A married couple can split the gift and give an amount equal to double that amount, as long as both spouses are U.S. citizens and the gift is made jointly.