Don't Wait, Start Now In Developing An Estate Plan For Your Family's Farming Or Ranching Operation

During the Texas and Southwest Cattle Raisers convention in San Antonio a few weeks ago, Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays caught up with Dan Childs, senior agricultural consultant with the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation. Childs was there to present on the topic of estate planning for family farm operations. Hays was there to ask Childs about some of the primary things to consider when making arrangements for the eventual transfer of your farming assets to your heirs.

“People really need to start making some of these hard decisions,” Childs said, noting that there is a lot of property that will soon exchange hands given demographic data that suggests much of the land being farmed is currently owned by a largely older group of people. “Hopefully, they will start developing these plans to get assets transferred to who they want them to and at the end of the day it be a blessing to the heirs rather than a burden.”

Getting started down this road to being prepared for the inevitable can sometimes be the hardest part, says Childs. He contends that this stems from the fact that, most people just don’t know about the available tools and processes to get the ball rolling. He adds, keeping family matters and business matters separate are also a challenge at times. He suggests familiarizing yourself with the tools out there and managing your heirs’ expectations to make the process go smoothly.

“Communication is always paramount,” Childs insisted. “Because, more so today than ever before, we’ve got more non-farm, urban heirs that may not be as knowledgeable of farm operations. Be sure that your intentions are communicated.”