The article is titled "Is Your Estate Plan Right?" by Dr. Donald J. Jonovic – (Staff. Agricultural.com) It is an interesting article because agricultural, farm and land trusts can be particularly complicated with respect to inheritance. In the example offered, only one family member worked the farm, but the other family members were deemed entitled to inheritance (of equipment and machinery).
If you own agricultural land, the article is well worth the read and our thanks to Dr. Jonovic for posting it.
A wonderful quote by Dr. Jonovic from the article: "Estate planning often gets little more attention than writing a cake recipe: Combine 100 acres of this, 50 shares of that, stir in tax efficiency, then store in a file somewhere. Retrieve only on death, follow instructions, set the oven at grief, and bake for the rest of your life…."
Estate Planning is not a "once and finished" project. I have written previously about the importance of reviewing an estate plan periodically (ideally on an annual basis, or whenever a "life event" takes place")
As with any estate plan (and trust documents), it is critical to "test the recipe".
Note: Donald J. Jonovic, PhD (Ohio) is an advisor to business owners since 1973..His website is familybusinessmgt.com He is co-author of "Passing down The Farm: The OTHER Farm Crisis"
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