March 6, 2009

All small business owners, including farmers, should have a strategy for successful business succession. The specifics of the strategy will be different for every business and will depend on a number of factors.

Learn more about how to develop a plan for passing on your farm business at an Estate Planning Workshop Thursday, March 26 in Lincoln. It will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Lancaster County Extension Center at 444 Cherrycreek Road. Registration and refreshments start at 8:30 a.m.

Guest speakers will be David Goeller, UNL Department of Agricultural Economics, and Joe Hawbaker, attorney.

Topics

The most important factors governing the specifics of the estate planning strategy are:

• Will the farm business be sold, which presumably will result in leaving a personal estate or will it be passed on to the next generation before or upon your death.
• Do you have an up-to-date will?
• Probate — what you and your heirs need to know.
• The impact of state inheritance tax and federal estate and gift tax.
• How will the property and other assets be divided — do you believe every heir must receive an equal share to be treated fairly or is there a difference between equality and fairness?

Registration

Pre-registration with payment is required. Cost is $25 for the first person from a family or business and $15 or $20 for each additional family member, depending on whether they get a separate set of handouts. The registration includes lunch. Due to space limitations, participation is restricted to the first 40 paid registrations.

For more information see the workshop flyer in the Hot Topics section under the Lancaster County Extension Acreage, Farm and Ranch Web page.

Thomas Dorn
Extension Educator in Lancaster County