Another Estate Plan Gone Bad

The Benihana restaurant chain is not what it once was. One reason is that its founder had a poorly-thought-out estate plan that was rife with conflicts and sowed dissension and unhappiness. Here’s the story, another cautionary tale about the importance of taking the time to do an estate plan properly, especially when a business is involved.

It’s no revelation that conflict often ensues when a founder leaves a business to a new generation. Nor is it a secret that the presence of a stepmother can rile non-blood relations. But that entropy is multiplied in the case of Rocky Aoki, whose charisma and audacious ability to turn personal PR to his company’s advantage make Richard Branson look like a self-denying hermit. Aoki was a striking success, an immigrant who made it onto the cover of Newsweek. He created a whole new dining concept, one that drew plaudits in an influential Harvard Business School case study. The problem was that Aoki was a lot better at inventing concepts than he was with more prosaic duties, such as planning and management.

Aoki died in 2008. He spent part of his ailing final years in depositions for the family litigation. He was firmly on Ono’s side. Here’s what he said about her and his kids (from two previous wives). He testified that they considered her a “gold digger” and mused, “I just simply don’t know why they are afraid of my wife. She happens to be a nice person. I think she has more knowledge of running a lot of things and companies. That’s probably what they’re afraid of. But she was nice to them.”