"ESOPs allow owners to 'slowly extricate themselves from the company,' says Mark Kohler of Kyler Kohler Ostermiller & Sorensen ... The plans help entrepreneurs control the pace at which they relinquish their management role and allow them to structure their income needs for post-retirement. That might be especially beneficial in difficult situations where one partner has an illness and wants to both guarantee his family an income stream while still handing over ownership of the business."