Owning a family farm is a dream for many people. One of the most difficult aspects of farming is passing down the farm to future generations. As tax and business laws continue to change, it is getting difficult to develop succession planning with family farming. Successful farming plans require a lot of research and work on the front […]
Category: Succession Planning
In their Estate Planning farm families usually rely on a trust to avoid unnecessary taxes and government involvement. By creating a trust the farmer makes sure that his intentions for distributing farm assets prevail after death. When a trust is in effect, there is no need for probate because the trust owns the property and […]
Farms used to be passed along throughout generations by default. It simply made sense that parents would pass a family farm along to their children, who had grown up participating in farm life. Although the practice of maintaining multigenerational farms is less common now, maintaining a multigenerational farm still has benefits for the family, the […]
Many people use different succession tools when planning for the future, but not everyone fully understands the ins and outs of financial planning. This means that some of the documents used may not work how one thinks. For example, misconceptions exist about revocable living trusts. When keeping the farm in the family, ensure that you […]
Valentine’s Day is here and that means that love is in the air… And as you celebrate the hearts that make yours skip a beat, don’t forget to celebrate the farm – that living, breathing, heart-beating thing that pulls you all together and gives you all a shared purpose that is so much bigger than […]
You’ve worked hard to keep your farm alive. You’re proud of it. It’s like a child to you. And, like any child, you think about its future. You want what’s best for it, and you want to ensure it will be in safe hands after you’re gone. This farm is your legacy. It is years […]
“10% of Farmland Expected to be Transferred by 2019.” This is the title of an article on the Wisconsin Ag Connection website that points out the overall advanced age of U.S. farmers. Approximately a third reached the age of 65 in 2014. By 2019 farmland owners are projected to transfer 93 million acres, mostly though […]
The farm is not only a homestead, but a living heritage and a coveted inheritance. It is something that many of you were given as a birthright and you probably plan on giving it to your own children in turn. As times, customs, and priorities change over each generation, the older farmers sometimes struggle to […]
It’s never too soon to decide who will care for the family farm when you are ready to pass the torch to the next generation. Unfortunately, it is a conversation all to often postponed until it’s too late. A recent article on estate planning notes that, “Individuals put off estate planning because they think they don’t own […]
Handing down the family farm through the generations has been a long-honored tradition for many families across the United States. It offers a nostalgic image that at one time could be considered living the American dream. Nowadays, though, there are indications that this isn’t happening as often as it used to. The simple fact of […]
