How will children living off the farm be treated?
Many parents want to treat all children equally. However, this may be unrealistic, particularly when the parents’ main asset is the farm. It may still be possible to treat the children fairly (without necessarily treating them equally) by, for example, utilizing life insurance. • Who will make the management decisions with respect to the farm? This is particularly important if any of the children will be operating the farm with the parents, because the property stakeholders will be affected by management decisions. It’s advisable to document this management responsibility in writing to avoid future misunderstandings. Reducing Tax There are a host of favourable tax rules for the transfer of family farms. Not surprisingly, these rules are exceedingly complex. It’s critical for farmers to review their plans with their tax advisor to help ensure they can avail themselves of the following advantages: • Parents can transfer certain farm property to children for proceeds between tax cost and
