Posted: Thursday, April 27, 2023
Author: Jerry Hicks, Principal Broker | Licensed in OR
After decades of ownership, generations of family succession, years of toil, blood, sweat, and tears, drought, floods, fires, depression, great successes, failures, and everything in between, you now have arrived at the point of needing to create a plan that guides the future for your ranch and your family legacy. You are at the point in your life where you must oversee how your lifetime of hard work, and the work of those before you, will be remembered and appreciated by those after you. The next chapter will be set up by you. Just how will your legacy look? And how will the land and assets transfer to the next generation? Successorship is, in many cases, one of the most difficult decisions you’ll ever make and possibly even harder to implement. But successorship planning is your responsibility. It’s a duty from you to those that you’ll leave behind. Without a plan, the hardship you leave your loved ones will be many times greater than yours. The potential for stiff battles and litigation is often greater without an estate plan. I would encourage you right now to commit to making those decisions about how and what you want your succession plan to look like. Set your goals, write them down, then contact your financial advisor, attorney, and experienced ranch and land real estate broker.
Now that we have addressed the elephant in the room, the reality is good news. If you are faced with making these kinds of decisions, you must have built one or more legacy properties. A succession plan will also be good news for your heirs and beneficiaries and should (if done correctly), eliminate a lot of stress, work, frustration, disagreements, and unnecessary costs for you and your family.
So, let’s get started with your succession plan. No two plans will ever be the same. The very first step is to clearly set your goals regarding what the future of your property will look like. Will the ranch/farm be left to the family? Would you rather sell and leave the proceeds to the family, church, school, or other beneficiary? Do you see yourself leaving this property to a nonprofit organization, charity, or possibly creating a conservation easement to benefit the public in perpetuity? There are as many possibilities as there are stars. The future for your legacy property is unique and personal, and a succession plan allows you to make the most of it!
As you can imagine, the first step is the most difficult and challenging. What do you want to happen to this heritage property? As I write this article, I have an appointment to meet with a family who just lost their father last week. We will be working on whatever there is (if any) of a succession plan. There will be numerous options with a room full of family, and many ideas, visions, personal wants, and possibly demands. My hope is that there is a clear plan in place. Now is the perfect time for you to make those kinds of decisions.
First, you must clearly know what you want to happen with your property. Do you sell the ranch and split the money amongst the family? Do you want the property to stay in the family? Should it be operated and controlled by one family member or all? Do you have a nonprofit or a conservation group with a cause or project you wish to support? Step one is to make that hard call about what will happen to the ranch/farm once I’m gone. You may not make everyone happy, but your plan now will make the future clear and decisive. This will create direction for your family and all those you leave behind. Once you have settled on a plan, write it down and act on it. Act on this plan by contacting your attorney, accountant, and experienced ranch and land real estate broker. Get a fair market value estimate on your property from your ranch broker. With guidance from these professionals, you’ll get the necessary information (legal, tax, and real estate) and advice you need to take the right steps to achieve your goals and wishes during the estate planning process. In many cases, this information will be very beneficial to your heirs and your estate.
Succession planning; no one said it’s an easy process, but it’s something you should make one of your highest priorities as a ranch owner. In my 20+ years of experience as a ranch broker, I have seen families without a succession plan. The turmoil it can create is heartbreaking and something you do not want your family to experience. As you get started moving through this process, you should feel relief. To know that your wishes will be acted upon and that there won’t be pressure on the family is a relief. With a plan in place, your wishes will be met, and the family will not have to try to determine how you want things to go. Now is the right time. The benefits to you, your family, and your friends start with your estate and succession planning. Take it from me; now is the time to draft your wishes and get your succession planning in place.
