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

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.”

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.