Passing on the Farm: What Works, What Fails and What Gets in the Way - 5 program recorded webinar series for lawyers

Program 1: Stuck with What You’ve Got? Navigating Existing Structures in Farm Succession

For many farming families, succession planning doesn't start with a blank page. It starts with structures that were put in place years ago — often for tax or operational reasons — which may now restrict or complicate the ability to pass on the farm. This session focuses on reading the landscape: understanding what existing arrangements actually mean for succession, and whether they can be worked with or need to be unwound before planning can properly begin. This session explores:

• Real-world examples of existing structures that have constrained or derailed succession planning
• How to assess whether current structures can be adapted or whether a more fundamental reset is required
• The complications created by legacy arrangements, including older testamentary trusts and inherited structures
• The risks and tax consequences of restructuring in the lead-up to succession
• How to frame the structural diagnosis for clients, and when to tell them the hard truth about their options

Program 2: Why Wait? Lifetime Transfers of the Family Farm

With farming clients living longer and remaining actively involved in the business, succession is increasingly happening during their lifetime rather than on death. This session picks up where structural diagnosis ends: once the decision to transfer has been made, how do you execute it well? When structured properly, inter vivos transfers can support a gradual transition of control, provide financial security for the retiring generation and create real opportunity for the next. Get it wrong, and the consequences — legal, tax and relational — can be severe. This session explores:

• The triggers and conditions that make a lifetime transfer the right call, and how to advise when the timing is wrong
• Structuring inter vivos transfers, including key tax considerations such as CGT rollovers and unintended liabilities
• Case studies of successful (and unsuccessful) lifetime transfers, and what drove the outcome
• Balancing control and transition, including how to manage expectations between generations
• Risks associated with premature or poorly structured transfer, including loss of control, relationship breakdowns and changing family circumstances
• Practical strategies to implement staged or conditional transfers that remain flexible over time

Program 3: The Tax Traps in Farm Succession: What Gets Missed Until It’s Too Late

For many farming families, tax is not just a consideration — it often drives the entire succession strategy. However, the real tax consequences are frequently not fully understood until the point of transfer or estate administration, when options are limited and costs become unavoidable. This session examines the key tax outcomes that arise when the farm and related entities are passed on, and how those outcomes should inform planning decisions well in advance. This session explores:

• State tax considerations, including transfer duty and land tax implications on succession
• Federal tax issues, including CGT events, treatment of different beneficiaries and potential tax exposures at the estate stage
• The impact of non-resident or foreign resident beneficiaries, including loss of CGT concessions and exemptions
• Tax implications of transferring land, livestock and business assets across entities or generations
• Common assumptions and planning errors that lead to unintended tax consequences
• How tax outcomes at the administration stage should shape earlier structuring decisions

Program 4: Not Enough to Go Around: Managing Competing Claims in Farm Succession

For many farming families, the real challenge isn’t how to pass on the farm, but how to do so when there isn’t enough to satisfy everyone. Balancing the interests of farming and non-farming children, managing in-law dynamics and differing views of “fairness” can quickly create tension and expose the estate to future claims. This session examines how competing expectations arise, where the pressure points sit and how advisers can structure arrangements to reduce the risk of dispute. This session explores:

• Common flashpoints in farm succession disputes, including unequal contributions, family expectations and pressure from spouses and in-laws
• How competing claims emerge, including family provision risk and challenges to perceived “unfair” outcomes
• Strategies to manage expectations where assets are limited and equality is not achievable
• What has worked (and failed) in reducing the risk of future disputes and claims
• Practical approaches to facilitating early conversations with family members and their advisers
• The adviser’s role in structuring defensible arrangements that can withstand challenge

Program 5: Practical but Imperfect: Protecting the Farm from Family Law Claims

“Why can’t I fully protect the farm?” It’s one of the most common and confronting questions raised by farming clients. While complete protection is rarely achievable, there are practical steps that can significantly reduce exposure if implemented early and correctly. Presented by an accredited family law specialist, this session examines how family law principles apply to farming structures and what can realistically be done to strengthen protection across generations. This session explores:

• How family courts assess property interests in farming cases, including the treatment of farming and non-farming spouses
• The involvement of parents and extended family members in disputes, including as third parties and witnesses
• Structuring strategies at different stages of relationships to reduce exposure to future claims
• Common mistakes that increase risk, including conduct that may give rise to estoppel arguments
• The role of financial agreements, including their practical value even where enforceability is uncertain
• How to position arrangements to better withstand scrutiny in the event of separation