What will happen to the family farm if something happens to you? The answer may not be as simple as you think. Farm transition planning is important — according to some sources up to 70 percent of farms in the United States will change hands in the next 20 years.
To help ensure that the future of your farm is secure, the West Virginia University Extension Service will host a series of dinner meetings to discuss transition planning that will benefit all farm families, from those who just need an annual review of their plan all the way down to those who need to start planning.
Educational dinner meetings are planned for various locations around West Virginia. In our area, there will be one held at Jackson’s Mill on November 13 at 6:30 pm. Jesse Richardson will be the speaker and will give an overview of transition planning tools.
Richardson is the Lead Land Use Attorney at the Land Use and Sustainable Development Law Clinic and Associate Professor of Law at the West Virginia University College of Law. Before coming to WVU, Jesse was an Associate Professor in Urban Affairs and Planning at Virginia Tech, teaching land use law, environmental law, urban growth management and real estate.
He has worked with communities in West Virginia and Virginia on land use planning issues, including issues related to karst and water resources. He holds a B.S. and M.S. in Agricultural and Applied Economics from Virginia Tech and a J.D. from the University of Virginia, School of Law.
Transition planning addresses the issues that producers need to think about when conveying the business to the next generation, or to a third party if no heirs wish to take over the business.
Topics include estate planning, transferring business assets and control over the business. More importantly, transition planning involves family dynamics. It is important that family members communicate and that all generations are involved in planning the transition. Choice of business entity and business agreements will also be discussed.
Generational planning is a difficult task that requires a multi-step management plan. It’s a conversation that needs to be started about a serious topic that may be undesirable to think about, but it vastly affects not only heirs and family members, but also community stakeholders and business partners. It takes time to develop a successful plan and to define everyone’s roles when it’s time for the next generation to take over.
Those who attend one of the sessions this fall will then have the opportunity to attend a follow-up session in January to continue the process and get transition planning happening. The intension of the two sessions is to get transition planning in place for farm families – not just talk about it.
To register for the dinner meeting on November 13, go to https://bit.ly/WVUEstateSeries. Call the Lewis County Extension Office at 304-269-4660 if you have difficulty with the registration. There is no cost to attend.
