I listened to an interesting seminar yesterday titled “Estate Planning in Agriculture: Protecting a Way of Life” sponsored by WealthCounsel.com. Stan Miller and Robert Serio were the presenters. Serio covered the Farm Service Agency (FSA) Subsidy Programs and the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) Programs. He cautioned attorneys to be careful to not to do anything in an estate plan that would cause their farmer and rancher clients to lose benefits under those programs. Quite interesting. I briefly reported on the take-a-way yesterday.
Then Miller took over beginning with what he called “The Farm Family Wish List”:
- Don’t disqualify for USDA subsidy payments and other government benefits,
- Keep the court system of of the family business,
- Keep the farm in the family forever,
- Treat non-farming family members fairly,
- Avoid the need to liquidate the farm in order to pay for the cost of long-term care, and
- Avoid estate tax.
To that list, I would add “Avoid capital gains tax on appreciated property.”
Does Stan’s list mirror yours? What would you add to it or subtract from it?
More importantly, what have you done to make sure your wish list becomes a reality?