Davenport Evans Trusts and Estates attorney Matt Van Heuvelen appeared on KELO NewsTalk Radio 1320 AM/107.9 FM July 24 to discuss Estate Planning and Succession Planning for Farmers. The interview was part of an on-going news segment called “It’s Your Business,” with Bill Zortman, which features local business people discussing topics of interest relating to agriculture, business and medicine.
KELO NewsTalk Podcast on Estate Planning for Farmers with Matt Van Heuvelen
Click on the podcast band below for a quick overview of Estate Planning and Succession Planning for farm families.
Estate Planning and Succession Planning Concerns for Farmers
Farmers often have major concerns about Estate Taxes. They also face the challenge of handing their farm down to their kids or making other plans, called Succession Planning. A farmer tends to hold significant assets, including land, machinery, insurance, and commodities as well as the funds in their bank accounts. Typically, an individual can leave approximately 5.5 million and married couples can leave approximately 11 million to heirs without incurring a federal estate tax. Additional assets are, in general, taxed at 40% of value. When farmers come to Davenport Evans for an estate plan, we can work to mitigate, or even eliminate that estate tax burden.
Succession Planning outlines who will run and own your farm when you no longer desire or are no longer able to run and own your farm. At Davenport Evans, we get to know our clients and discuss their family dynamics. Is a son or daughter involved in the farm or are they uninterested in the operations? Do they get along well? Sometimes the grown children get along very well at family dinners but couldn’t run a business together. We discuss a variety of options that account for these factors. Our goal is to preserve the peace in the family and foster smart business decisions. When everyone sits down to a well-documented plan with clear expectations, you can hopefully prevent fights that separate a lot of farming families.
What Happens When a Farmer Comes Into Davenport Evans for an Estate Plan?
When a farmer makes an appointment for an estate plan at Davenport Evans, we discuss their family dynamics, hopes for the future, and assets including a basic inventory of land, large equipment, insurance, cash investments and other significant assets. We can usually discuss some preliminary succession planning options that first day. In some cases we may prepare a written proposal we send to the farmer for their review and schedule a follow-up meeting to get everything confirmed. It helps if folks have some documents to work from but many have a working knowledge of their assets to get us started. We welcome the opportunity to visit with you about your estate plan or success planning. Call 605-336-2880 or email info@dehs.com, or contact a specific estate planning attorney below:
Davenport Evans estate planning attorneys include: Sarah Richardson Larson, P. Daniel Donohue, Terry N. Prendergast, Matthew W. Van Heuvelen (SD, IA),and Mark R. Krogstad (SD, MN).
Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith, LLP, located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is one of the State’s largest law firms. The firm’s attorneys provide business and litigation counsel to individuals and corporate clients in a variety of practice areas. For more information about Davenport Evans, visit www.dehs.com.