Challenges to Farming Cause Succession Planning Shifts

Whether farmers are ready to or not, the question of what’s in store for the next generation is important when planning for the future of an operation. As farmers continue to face challenges and uncertainties, it has caused a shift in planning discussions, explains Alyssa Stewart, an estate planning attorney with ARP Law.

“If I look at a will or a trust that was drafted 20 years ago, it’s much more. ‘Oh, I have three kids. I’m gonna divide it, a third, a third, a third,’” says Stewart. “I don’t even have those conversations with farmers anymore- that’s just not a thing. It is who is doing the farming, and what we have to do to protect them; it doesn’t matter to us what the value of anything is. It matters to us what continues on.”

When it comes to ensuring the future of the family farm, strategic planning is necessary to protect not only the land but the livelihood of future generations.