WHAT SHOULD THEY EXPECT?

Problem: Two parents are conflicted about meeting their kids' inheritance expectations.

- Mark McLaughlin

We’ve been working on our farm estate planning for a long time, but we keep hitting the same roadblock. Our land is worth $15 million. Our farming son expects to own the farm someday. My husband thinks our wills should let him buy out his two off-farm siblings at a 30% discount. Honestly, I’m not so sure. I understand the concerns, but at the same time, I feel like it’s up to me to advocate for our other two kids. They expect to be treated equally. How can we reconcile this? - Submitted by email from M.T.

Solution: xpectations are tricky, M.T. When our expectations are met, we feel satisfied, but not ecstatic. After all, it’s what we expected!

Yet, when our expectations are not met, we typically feel angry, disappointed, or even cheated. It’s not an equal risk-reward ratio! That’s why this is so critical in farm estate planning. If expectations are met, then everyone’s OK. If the expectations are unmet or unrealistic, it can break up the farm — and the family.