Succession planning is a subject that is difficult for many farm and ranch families to address.
Dave Specht, a transition planning consultant, says that’s because there are so many “taboo” topics involved.
“First of all, no one wants to talk about money—and in farm transitions, obviously, there’s assets and things like that that need to be talked about,” says Specht. “So you’re going to have to confront some of those brutal issues.”
Another taboo topic, Specht says, is talking about someone’s mortality.
“No one wants to think about their own demise. If you’re a child, you don’t want to even talk to your parents about their passing eventually,” he says, “and so between that and money, there are many uncomfortable conversations that sometimes need to take place—and for that very reason, those conversations don’t take place—and it makes farm succession a real challenge.”
Specht says one of his goals is to eradicate the “secret estate plan”.
“That’s basically where maybe Dad or Mom have a plan, but they haven’t shared what that plan is with their children or their heirs. And so it becomes a big surprise at someone’s funeral, which is almost always a disaster—or, at least, it leads to hurt feelings or confusion as to why they chose to do what they did.”
Specht has written a book entitled “The Farm Whisperer," which he hopes will help preserve families and perpetuate farms through the challenges of generational transitions. Specht has also launched a free app called “Inspired Questions for Farmers” which he describes as “questions that every farm family should answer about generational continuity."
Source: www.brownfieldagnews.com