How to Start Farm Succession Planning: A Guide to Family Conversations

Expert Insights from Nick Brown, Attorney and founder of Brown Law Office, LLC

Why is farm succession planning difficult for families?

For many farm families, succession planning is one of those topics that lingers quietly in the background. Everyone knows that the farm, land, business, and family legacy cannot be left to chance. But family dynamics, complexities, and fear can make starting the conversation feel overwhelming. 

Attorney Nick Brown, founder of Brown Law Office LLC, helps farm families plan for the future and pass their land on to the next generation, along with handling a range of other farm-related legal issues. 

Brown shares that the first step to succession planning is not a trust, a will, an LLC, or a deed. “The name of the game at the beginning is setting goals,” Brown said.

Before a family can approach an attorney or decide which legal tools they need, they have to decide what they are trying to accomplish.

What is the first step in farm succession planning?

The first step in farm succession planning is deciding on a goal up front. Having a goal up front helps guide the conversations and legal steps that follow. That goal becomes the backbone of the succession plan, and most farm families come into the conversation with one of two mindsets: “I want my children to inherit the farm" or “I want the farm to continue, whether or not my children are the ones farming it.” The second mindset is becoming more common. For many, identifying the goal is the easy part. What comes next is a little more complicated.

How do you divide a family farm fairly among heirs?

A farm is not just a checking account that can be divided neatly between heirs. It may include land, equipment, livestock, operating entities, debt, rental income, family homes, and years of labor from one child who stayed while another built a life elsewhere. There are many options for more equitable solutions than a simple equal division.

Brown often sees families begin with the idea that everything should be split evenly between children. 

“I try to get them to redefine equal into something else - like what’s fair. Or ask what each person wants instead of just splitting things equally,” Brown said. 

Consider a common scenario: One child has spent years working on the farm, helping build the operation and planning to continue it. Another child has moved away, started a career, and has no interest in farming. On paper, dividing everything equally may look fair. In reality, it can create pressure on the farming child, conflict among siblings, or even force the sale of land or assets to make the split work.

That does not mean non-farming children should be over-looked. There are solutions for ensuring they receive a meaningful inheritance without dividing land or core farm assets. 

It does mean families need to have an honest conversation about what each person wants, what the farm can realistically support, and what the parents’ long-term goals truly are.

When should you start farm succession planning?

Farm succession planning should start as soon as you start wondering if you need one. There is no perfect time. 

In farming, there are many predictable deadlines and cycles – tax deadlines, loan payment due dates, planting and harvest periods; but no one know the day they will pass away, become incapacitated, receive a diagnosis, or suffer an injury that changes everything. That uncertainty is one reason many families delay. Ironically, that same delay could create even more difficult situations for the family to navigate later. 

Another reason is fear; fear of conflict, fear of cost, fear of facing mortality, or fear of simply not knowing what the process will require.

So how do you begin to face that uncertainty and fear? Start with small, low-pressure conversations. 

How do you talk to your family about farm succession?

Talking to your family about succession planning is the possibly the most challenging part of the process. The best option is to start with small low-pressure conversations, and asking questions and then listening without the goal of making decisions immediately.

While all families are different, Brown said adult children may be more understanding than parents expect, especially if the family talks openly before decisions are finalized. 

Starting the conversation does not have to mean gathering the whole family around the dining room table and forcing every decision in one sitting. In fact, Brown cautions against that approach. “You don’t want to just force it on folks, because people get nervous in situations like that,” he said. 

“Don’t think that it’s going to be this one conversation where you sit down and say, ‘We’re locking ourselves in the dining room until this conversation is done.’ You’re not going to get a good plan if you do it that way.”

Brown has worked with families where adult children inherited land, only to later admit they didn’t really want it. He has also seen children choose not to return to the farm because they were never asked if they wanted to, or shown a path for coming back. 

By having conversations, families may learn things they didn’t expect. “The son might be happy seeing his sister get the farm,” Brown said. “He’s got an accomplished career somewhere else and understand if he gets less, especially if it’s conveyed up front: ‘Your sister has been working the farm for her entire life, and you moved off and we supported you through that.’”

Those conversations are not always easy and can become tense. But avoiding the subject often creates more damage than the conversation itself.

“More often than not, it’s the confusion that causes the arguments and the strife among families less than the actual outcome,” he said.

How to start a family conversation about farm succession planning

• Start with curiosity: “What do you hope this place looks like in 10-20 years? 
• Lean into vision: “Is it more important for the farm to stay in the family or in production?”
• Focus on listening first, not solving the problem.
• Ask kids about desires. “Do you have any interest in coming back to the farm?” 
• Ask parents about values. “What do you want your legacy to be here?”
• Keep early conversations decision-free.
• Use a current event as an opener. “After seeing what happened with [neighbor/relative] it made me wonder if we could prevent that.” 
• Bring it up more than once. This is a process, not a single talk.

What are the next steps in farm succession planning?

There are many next steps that professionals can help you take. Once a goal is set and conversations have started, reaching out to an attorney becomes less intimidating. It’s important to work with trusted partners who understand family goals, and when possible, have experience in farm succession. 

In the end, the strongest succession plans are not built in legal documents, they are built through honest conversations, thoughtful decisions, and a shared understanding of what the family wants the next chapter of the farm to become.

AgSouth Disclaimer:

This article is for general educational purposes only and should not be considered legal, tax, or financial advice. Succession planning laws and tax implications vary by state and individual situation. Farm families should consult qualified legal, tax, and financial professionals before making decisions.