Design Your Farm Succession Plan First

By: Mark McLaughlin

Our advisers recommended that we gift 40% of our land to our kids to reduce potential estate losses upon death. One son farms, and the other three have off-farm jobs. We have appraisals and plan to use some of our lifetime credit through the Form 709 gift tax return. What else should we be thinking about before making the gift?

I remember a Christmas morning several years ago. Our son was the first to open a gift under the tree. It was his dream Lego set. He raced to his room, slammed the door, and started playing before the wrapping paper even hit the floor! We were happy that he liked his gift, but we expected our family to share Christmas morning together, not in playful isolation. We quickly came up with rules about experiencing the joy of the gift while staying together as a family. I’d encourage you to do the same for your farm.