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Planning for Intergenerational Family Business Transition

Jesse Richardson

Summary

One of the most important issues facing family farms involves the transfer of the business to the next generation. This transfer involves estate planning, but much more. To effectively transfer the business, assets, management and control must be passed to the new generation. Often, estate planning (the transfer of the assets, is the easy part.

Two trends make this topic particular applicable for the Women in Agriculture Conference. First, the average age of farm operators increasing. Second, the percentage of primary operators that are women is increasing rapidly.

This session will cover the basics of planning for intergenerational business transition in conjunction with estate planning for family based agricultural producers. The course will cover the basics of estate planning for farmers, business agreements to aid the intergenerational transfer, consideration of retirement income needs and income sources, and clarifying steps toward reduced involvement in the farm business by the older generation.

The session will also cover considerations needed when transferring assets through gifts, sales, or leases, impact of taxes, and other business and family considerations. The team will also cover the different ownership options and provide examples how a farmer can use the different legal structures to assist in transfer ownership of the business management and ownership. This session will be taught through an interactive process led by an experienced farm transition educator and an experienced agricultural attorney. The session builds on the “Transferring the Farm” series that the presenters have conducted throughout New England over the past 5 years.

Details

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