What is succession planning?

Succession planning is how you choose to set up your legacy as you move into retirement. It takes great effort and time to build up a successful farm operation or business. As such, it is important to consider how you want to shift from being an “active owner” to retirement and what that means for both you and your successors.

Some things to consider:

  • Do you have successors in mind?

  • What funds do you require for your retirement?

  • Do you still want to be involved in some capacity after retirement?

 

A succession plan can take 3-5 years (or more) to fully implement.

It is important for you to have an accountant with a tax-planning practice work alongside you and your lawyer because succession plans may have significant tax implications.

There are no “cookie cutter” succession plans. A succession plan may include:

  • Wills, Enduring Powers of Attorney, Personal Directives

  • Corporate reorganization, if applicable

  • Tax planning

  • Agreements between you and your successors

  • Land transfers

  • Trust agreements