How Do You Plan For The Cost of Succession?
Most people look forward to retirement with anticipation, often imagining it as the end of their working life. In many cases, the retiree does not plan to worry much about financial planning and investing after retirement. A recent Forbes article describes the reality as far different. “Forty percent of baby boomers expect to work until they die, according to data from AARP.” In order to retire financially secure, you must have a plan. But what should it include and how do you put it together? Are their other details we should be worrying about; which ones?

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When Do You Transfer Management Skills for the Operation?
The right time depends on numerous factors, including who will take over, what skills they have to qualify them, how long the founding generation wants to be involved, whether the operation needs to expand to support more family members, as well as the strategy for passing on these skills and how the family envisions the next generation taking over. Planning early and not only identifying who will take over, but also how that process will unfold is important to the long-term success of the operation. It takes more than just telling the next generation when and how to do things, but also getting into why things are done the way they are.

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Why Don’t Family Businesses Plan for Succession?
Nearly everyone will recognize the importance of a succession plan for successfully transferring a business to the next generation. Doing no planning or choosing to avoid the issues involved almost always leads to disastrous results. However, less than 40 percent of agricultural businesses have a succession plan. What’s the hold up?
   Logic would suggest that developing a succession plan would be an obvious step toward transferring management and business ownership. However, complex forces are at work and, despite recognizing the importance of a plan, most farm owners and managers decide to do nothing about succession.

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Why Grow Relationships with the Next Generation?
There are many challenges to managing the relationships between generations in any family. But consider that the farm or ranch family is unique as a business entity. Often agricultural families are more involved and work more closely than other family business arrangements. One of the most important ways to address these challenges is to establish a culture of open communication, one where everyone feels free to express themselves as appropriate. Where family members are involved from multiple generations, each needs the opportunity to share their thoughts and perspectives on the operation. They also want to feel that they are heard and that their opinions matter.

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