By Alice McFarlane

New will and estate pre-planning tool available for Canadian farmers

Dec 13, 2023 | 3:46 PM

Farm Credit Canada (FCC) has created a new tool for producers to start the process of planning for the future of their operation.

The Farm Transition – Will and Estate Pre-Planning Tool is based on Dr. Tom Deans’ Willing Wisdom Index platform platform which was adapted to reflect the unique needs of Canadian farm owners.

Once registered, farmers will get their own personalized recommendations and checklist minutes after answering a series of questions. The checklist will identify what is being done well and any existing gaps in estate planning.

The tool is meant to give urgency to a conversation that families often find difficult to start, according to Deans, an intergenerational wealth transfer expert, speaker and author.

“There’s no other industry where a business owner forges such a close emotional connection to the business,” Deans said. “You live on the very thing you are working. It’s more than a business, it’s an identity and to transition it to someone else is excruciating and a deeply emotional subject.”

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The tool can be used to start a conversation between family members on how to bring in and use resources like lawyers, accountants and wealth advisors in their plans.

Deans said once families get started on it, they are remarkably resilient at moving through the planning process.

“Often the second generation is waiting for their parents to say, ‘hey we need to talk about where the farm is going’, but the kids don’t know how to start the conversation and the parents are afraid of the conversation and then if someone dies, it’s a mess,” he said.

Deans encouraged people to point to the report as a reason to start talking about will and estate planning and avoid the erosion of family relationships and wealth.

“A farmer will take eight to 10 minutes, go through the checklist, hit enter, get the report and see what they have to do. The recommendations will be clear and a common one will be to sit down and talk to the family,” he said. “You can blame the index and say ‘hey I did this, and it says we should sit down. What do you guys think?’ Blame the report but now you have something in your hand that you can point to which is very different than saying ‘we need to talk.’”

FCC manager of advisory services Greg Thomarat said many people in the agriculture industry have said will and estate planning is such an overwhelming task that it’s common for producers to avoid it.

“This tool complements the FCC’s Advisory Services who are already helping Canadian farmers begin these conversations,” Thomarat said. “By using the tool, producers will gain greater insight into this important step in their transition journey, as well as come away with a list of questions to bring to their advisors in advance of those plans.”

The will and estate pre-planning tool is free, anonymous and confidential. The personalized checklist and recommendations producers receive include actions that can be taken immediately. They can then go back to the tool multiple times to see their score improve and checklist change based on what they have accomplished.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @farmnewsNOW