A small piece of one of Linda Jolley’s happiest moments sat in the corner of her small office.

On the top shelf sat a large picture taken five years ago that captured the moment she exchanged vows with her late husband Carl Jolley in a bedazzled white dress with a red-and-white bouquet of flowers in her hands.

Over the next two years, the newlyweds had the time of their lives. They went snowmobile riding, white-water rafting, and even did daring tandem skydiving together.

Then one day Linda’s world came crashing down.

After Carl Jolley, owner of Birmingham’s AcuTech Document Solutions, came back from a mission trip, he began coughing. Once the cough got worse, he went to the doctor, where he learned he had lung cancer. The cancer spread, and within a matter of seven months, Carl died.

Linda Jolley was in a state of shock. Not only did she lose her soul mate, but she also had to figure out what to do about his 22-year-old business, which was comprised of a number of longtime, loyal employees.

“There was just so much I had no idea about,” she said. “You just don’t think somebody is going to die at 51—it was very unexpected.”

Sudden death is something many business owners don’t think about until it’s too late. However, financial experts say it is important to draw up a business succession plan that would spell out what would happen to the company in case the worst happens. It is especially important to ease the burden for family members who are left to pick up the pieces.

“A lot of small businesses may have thought about it but haven’t done it,” said Eric J. McCain, financial planner with Wesban Financial Consultants. “It just kind of gets put on the back burner. They are thinking of serving their clients and running the business on the day-to-day basis.”

If a business owner dies before a plan is implemented, the business could be sold at a fire-sale price for far less than what the it might be actually worth, McCain said.

Or worse—the state could decide the future of the business and all of its assets if a written plan is not in place, experts say.

In Jolley’s case, her story has a happy ending. Carl was financially well prepared and took out insurance that paid out all the debts of the company. Determined to keep her husband’s dream alive and continue to provide ink cartridges to businesses at a low cost, Linda quickly learned how to run the business and made a nice transition into the ownership role, she said.