Heim, Gary J

Will Your Whole Life Insurance Expire Before You Do?

Some farmers have purchased whole life insurance as an integral part of their estate/farm succession plan. Some of our clients, who have purchased whole life insurance as part of their farm succession plan, however, are discovering, unexpectedly, that their insurance may lapse before their deaths, whether automatically or due to unaffordable premium increases. 

Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements in Farm Succession Planning

As part of the succession planning process, most farm owners anticipate the challenge of balancing the older (transferring) and the younger (receiving) generations’ financial needs. And, they know that a difficult decision about the fair distribution of assets among the on-farm and the off-farm children is inevitable. However, equally important in the succession planning process, discussing prenuptial and postnuptial agreements (“marital agreements”) comes as a surprise or is uncomfortable for many from a family or moral perspective.

Termination of Crop Lease by the Landowner

The majority of crop leases are verbal. This informality works in most instances and that is why so many crop lease arrangements are verbal or the original lease agreement has not been updated for a decade or longer. However, when the landowner unexpectedly terminates the lease, the loose legal terms can make the separation more challenging…and potentially expensive.