Farm Continuation With One Arm Tied Behind Your Back

Problem: How do you create a new farm succession plan when half of every deed is tied up in a trust?

- Mark McLaughlin

My wife died 12 years ago. Her half of every deed went into a testamentary trust, per her will. When I die, her trust simply divides everything equally between our four kids with no provisions for farm succession planning. Our son started farming full time just before she died. I promised him we’d make it work, so he could continue to farm after I’m gone. Our goal was to get him the 80-acre home farm, plus an option to buy all of our other farms at a 30% discount upon my death. Unfortunately, I’m now being told that I cannot change the distribution rules of my wife’s estate. I feel like I now have one hand tied behind my back with her trust. How can we work around it?

- Submitted by email from R.B.

Solution:

This is a common problem for older plans, R.B. Think of how much has changed over the last 10 years with land prices, tax laws, and family dynamics. While there’s no “undo” button to your wife’s trust, there are ways to work around it.