Highlighted research in the field of family entrepreneurship suggests that family businesses pursue not only financial goals (maximizing financial wealth) but also non-financial objectives. In contemporary scientific literature, the non-financial goals of family businesses are consolidated under the umbrella concept of socio-emotional wealth. Based on a sample of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in Croatia, this doctoral dissertation examines the non-economic drivers of entrepreneurial behavior represented by socio-emotional wealth, which influence the intention to sell the business as an exit strategy from the family firm. It empirically determines the relationship between key socio-emotional factors and the decision to sell the business or retain it under family control. The results of univariate and multivariate logistic regression models in this study indicate a negative relationship between socio-emotional wealth and the intention to sell the business. A statistically significant negative correlation was found with the dimensions representing the Renewal of Family Bonds through Dynastic Succession and the Emotional Attachment of Family Members. This study empirically investigates the relationship between the intention to sell the business among family business owners when the company is facing financial distress. The findings of this study suggest that there are no statistically significant differences in financial distress, measured by Altman’s Z-score, concerning the intention to sell the business.