Business and Succession Planning for Rural Families – a recorded online conference

Session 1: Legal and Financial Considerations in Intergenerational Farming Business Structures

The decision to re-structure a family farming business requires a full consideration of risks and consequences of change. This session will examine the most common models for intergenerational farming businesses and particular matters that need to be taken into account, including:

• Partnerships:
  • Management and ownership of assets and operations
  • Financial and tax considerations
  • Key deed clauses
  • Flexibility and exit strategies
  • Case studies on partnerships
• Family Trusts:
  • Financial and tax considerations
  • Control now and into the future
  • Asset transfer and management including tax considerations
  • Adding new beneficiaries
  • Dispute resolution mechanisms
  • Case studies on trusts
• Share farming arrangements:
  • Asset ownership and obligations
  • Cost and profit arrangements
  • What should be in the agreement?
• Case studies on using entities in combination

Session 2: Handing Over the Family Farm: Estate Planning for Rural Families

The last thing elderly parents want is for the next generation to be squabbling over the estate after they have gone. The likelihood of this largely depends on what consideration the parents have given to what happens to the farm after death. This session will provide a guide to anticipating estate litigation through effective estate planning for families on the land, including:

• Strategies for approaching and advising farming families on estate planning - is it ever too late?
• Consideration of contributions by, compensation for and special needs of adult children
• How to anticipate and manage competing claims and generational hopes and dreams
• Is a testamentary trust a solution or a problem?
• What to do about the estranged child?
• Pre-empting claims on the basis of promises made: Rodda v Ian Rodda Pty Ltd [2015] SASC 95
• Lessons from family provision claims and other disputes
• When is a deed of family arrangement the answer?

Session 3: Tax Tips and Traps in Rural Property Transactions

Keeping abreast of obligations concerning federal taxes on rural property transactions can be challenging. This session provides an update to practitioners on the latest changes and potential developments in this complex area, including:

• When is land eligible for the small business CGT concessions?
  • What is included in the maximum net asset value $6m test?
  • The passively held asset, affiliates and connected entity test
  • When disposal of a passively held CGT asset happens after business ceases
• Business of primary production or hobby farm (TR 97/11)?:
  • The income tax implications on a land sale
  • The GST implications on a land sale
• Practical strategies for minimising tax obligations on land transfers:
  • How should transfers be structured?
  • Comparing tax treatment of land transfers inter vivos and on death
• When will subdividing and selling of farmland be considered an enterprise for GST purposes? (San Remo Heights v FC of T [2020] AATA 4023)
• Case studies, including review of PBR 1051303645955