Over the last six months, Alyssa Stewart, Estate Planning Attorney with ARP Law, has seen an uptick in farmers discussing succession planning.
“Whether it’s the economy, whether it’s the education that’s getting out there, getting the younger generation to talk to the older generation, we’re definitely seeing an uptick of that.”
Estate planning discussions will often take years to iron out, explains Stewart, which is why it is important to start the conversations.
“Depending on how soon you start, the idea of understanding where you’re at from both an estate tax and an income tax situation, and how that’s going to play out and impact you as you make that slow roll,” says Stewart. “There’s always the machinery issue. How do you transition machinery, and what does that look like? And that’s always kind of the first conversation it feels like we have.”
Stewart notes that starting early gives farm families more time to manage both estate and income tax considerations before making major transitions.
