The hardest part of a family dairy or ranch isn’t running it — it’s passing it on. Land values have outpaced operating income for three decades, which means the estate tax exposure on a working dairy can be larger than the dairy’s annual cash flow. Without planning, the generation that inherits the operation often has to sell the operation to pay the tax on inheriting it.
Our estate planning service exists to prevent that outcome. We work alongside your estate attorney to evaluate Section 2032A special-use valuation elections, structure operating entities and real estate holding companies for succession, coordinate gifting strategies across years, and build the recordkeeping that makes a 706 filing defensible if the election is challenged.
What we help with
- — Section 2032A special-use valuation analysis and documentation
- — Succession structures: LLCs, limited partnerships, grantor trusts, IDGTs
- — Lifetime gifting strategies and annual exclusion planning
- — Valuation discounts for minority interests and lack of marketability
- — Coordination with estate attorneys, appraisers, and life insurance professionals
- — Basis step-up planning and post-mortem optimization