Three Estate Planning Suggestions for Kansas Farmers
If you’re a farmer, then you may be well aware that your estate planning needs are unique. Farming involves business, real estate, equipment, and many other things that must be addressed in your estate plan. When you are deciding which estate planning attorney you will work with to plan for the future of your farm, be sure to take your time and select someone who is not only trustworthy but who also understands farming and knows how to create estate plans that help farmers accomplish their estate planning goals.
Throughout your time as a farmer, you have likely worked with many different people as you have done various tasks associated with your business. For example, if you use the services of an accountant, it may have taken you some time to find an accountant who could understand the vocabulary associated with farming enough to keep your books. The same goes for other professionals – if they don’t know what you’re working with, they can’t very well give you what you need. The same principle applies to estate planning attorneys. Estate planning attorneys who serve farmers know what the various types of assets and interests associated with farming are. From leases on land and equipment to production and income figures on your balance sheets, an estate planning attorney experienced in helping farmers draft estate plans will be able to grasp what your farm looks like both on paper and in reality. Perhaps even more importantly, they know what estate planning tools they can use to help you achieve your estate planning objectives.
Unfortunately, it is not enough to find an estate planning attorney who has experience in working with business owners. Farming involves both business operations and land, and an estate planning attorney who is experienced in serving farmers knows whether and when to help their clients make any changes to their business or property that they need to make to ensure that the transition plan that they want to put in place for their farm will work. Treating a farm in an estate plan in the same way as you would treat any other type of business is not likely to produce the results you want.
Estate planning attorneys who work with farmers may seem a bit nosey, but you can trust that any inquiries into your personal and business finances are to give the proper amount of attention to details that are essential to the effectiveness of your estate plan. You will be asked to provide your attorney with heaps and heaps of information, and you may have to spend some time tracking all of it down. While this might be a bit annoying at times, know that your attorney has your best interest in mind and is committed to ensuring that they create an estate plan for you that will do what you want, including collecting all of the details about what you have and how much it’s worth.
If you would like to make plans to meet with a Kansas estate planning attorney, please call the law office of J. Joseph Weber, P.A. today. Our location in Wichita is open weekdays, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. We sometimes offer weekend or evening hours by appointment, and the opportunity to connect with us online through our website.