Farm Succession Planning – Schedule Regular Meetings to Review Your Progress
September 23rd, 2009 Filed under: ab trust,Executor Fees,sample wills,Trusts attorney — Estate Planning Author
The farm succession planning process, and it is indeed a process, generally begins when someone has convinced a member of the family to have that first family meeting. The idea, at least in the minds of a few is that this meeting will set in motion, like a snowball rolling down hill, the succession planning process with enough momentum to sweep aside any detractors.
The sad truth is that so much effort went into getting people in the same room at the same time that first time, it gets harder and harder to get them to repeat the process. If things went smoothly they’re likely to feel that “they don’t need me” and if there was a room full of yelling and disagreement many will want to avoid a repeat performance.
Often those in favor of the status quo are the folks with the power, so when they finally agree to the first meeting they want to have it at the coffee shop. They’ll say it’s so they won’t be interrupted but it’s really so they can control the agenda, walking out because they “have to get back” to the farm.
Or they’ll insist that the family meeting take place at the end of the usual Monday morning meeting. The help will be hanging around wondering what’s going on and everybody will be anxious to get back to work – so that should cut the meeting short and stifle a any potential enthusiasm for a follow up.
The secret to a successful farm succession planning meeting – one that moves the ball forward, gives people the feeling that progress is being made and convinces them that they don’t want to miss what’s coming is actually straightforward.
They should be special meetings called for that single purpose and that purpose alone. Everyone in attendance every time. And it’s not usually important whose house the meeting is at – just that there are no interruptions.
There are all sorts of potential psychological triggers – where the meetings are held may be an important consideration for your family or not. Perhaps you’ll rotate the location so everyone who wants to host a meeting can do so.
At the first meeting, no matter whose idea it was or where it is held, someone must be anointed as the planning coordinator and charged with – among other things, setting the date/location of the next meeting.
Space the meetings far enough in advance that there will have been actions taken and tasks completed to report on when people get together the next time. No one enjoys getting together just to rehash was wasn’t done. What’s the point of that?
The time between meetings will be when the actions taken are communicated with the planning coordinator. That person, maybe a member of the farm’s successor generation will assemble what has been done to create the agenda for the upcoming meeting – where either they or the person responsible will be delivering the results to all in attendance.
The meeting opens with updates of what has happened or not followed by a discussion – how everyone feels about what they’ve learned and what other options seem to be presenting themselves based on the new information. That tends to lead the discussion toward the next steps to be taken.
The planning coordinator and the rest of the family decide on what the next actions should be and who should be responsible for them. These are the tasks to be completed by the next meeting where they’ll be reported on and discussed.
There will always be those who say they’ll be responsible for some task or another and then fail to follow through. The natural tendency, especially in families, is to focus a lot of attention on why they didn’t do what they said they were going to do and how it is holding up the whole process.
I have seen the entire farm succession planning process come to a screeching halt because someone, intentionally or otherwise, dropped the ball – never “got around” to giving the lawyer their permission to speak with the planning coordinator or were always “too busy” to have their accountant do the various calculations needed as part of the discussion.
They had used their power to bring the process to a halt foolishly believing that ignoring and putting off the planning will somehow make the consequences of their inaction go away.
That’s why the appointment of a strong person as the planning coordinator at that first meeting is so important. That first meeting, or within hours afterward, is when that planning coordinator should be given the authority – in writing if necessary – to ask the questions required of everyone involved.
With that authorization in hand the planning coordinator can push for the details and for the subsequent meetings.
These meetings are the key to keeping the planning for succession process moving, keeping the advisors on task, and provide a visible opportunity to put checkmarks in the boxes of the steps that have been completed.
These farm succession meetings keep the process on everyone’s mind, reassuring them all that this is important and it is being addressed – not just something than gets rolled out once a year to keep them quiet.
When Don Jonovic PhD and I wrote Passing Down the Farm the OTHER Farm Crisis”, in 1986 – based on my experiences helping farm families plan for the future of their business during and beyond their lifetimes and Don’s insights into family business dynamics. We submitted a draft of each chapter to a panel of farmers, ranchers, and agribusiness owners – who checked it for accuracy and clarity.
The result. It was packed with universal truths about relationships and the need to take charge of the activities that surround planning for the future of the farm. It remains a favorite of farmers and their advisors to this day.
When I decided it was time to create a version for the new millennium, we first had to ask and answer three important questions. “In two decades, what’s changed, what’s stayed the same, and what should we do?”
If you are serious about farm succession, or if you are a professional involved in farm succession planning – or an farm association executive, click the link below and I’ll invite you to a free introductory conference call when Passing Down the Farm in the 21st. Century� is released. http://www.passingdownthefarm.com/about
