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Wives: Make farm estate plans now, reduce worry
<b>By ANN HINCH<br>Assistant Editor</b></p><p>

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Becky Klumb sat in the front row, notepad ready as she waited for Sara Wyant to speak on the topic of estate planning, especially aimed at farm wives.<br>
Admittedly, she has limited knowledge of her husband’s farming operation. “I know how he goes up when the markets go up, and down when they go down and he has nothing to sell,” she quipped.
But neither Klumb, 56, nor her husband were quite prepared for all the extra work and debt that came from him taking over more responsibility for the corn, soybean, wheat, alfalfa and cattle farm he and his brother had been running.<br>
The brother went through some personal problems and an illness, and for the past year they’ve had to figure out his part of things – as well as their liability and investment for the business.<br>
“He didn’t have a (financial) plan,” she said of her brother-in-law, “so we have to make a plan because he’s not mentally able.” On top of this, she and her husband still have three children at home and one in college, in addition to two adult kids.<br>
Klumb, from Mt. Vernon, S.D., was a perfect candidate for the seminar at last week’s Commodity Classic conference in Nashville, led by Wyant, a veteran farm news reporter and president of Agri-Plus Communications, Inc.<br>
Wyant, who grew up in the Iowa countryside, saw the consequences of lack of farm estate planning at the age of eight, when her grandfather died.<br>
“It was a sad experience,” she said, of growing up not knowing her aunts and uncles on that side of the family – all because the heirs couldn’t agree on how to handle things. It drove a long-term wedge into her family, but she eventually found some good in it – “It was probably also a motivating experience for me.”<br>
As an ag reporter in the early 1980s, Wyant spoke with farmers hit hard by high interest rates and foreclosures, particularly noticing the role women played in trying to keep together fracturing families – and also noticing the lack of planning for what had been significant financial holdings. Because women live longer on the whole than men, and it’s usually men running family farms while they are alive, she stressed the importance of facing reality – that everyone dies – and planning accordingly.<br>
“How many of you already have your gravesite picked out?” she asked her audience, getting many raised hands. “How many of you have wills?” Again, hands.<br>
Wyant’s point was that estate planning is no different and should be viewed as a necessity – the earlier, the better. She remembered one farm wife she interviewed, whose husband had died of complications with the flu … at age 33. They had no will or estate plan, only a life insurance policy.<br>
Nor should a plan be left stagnant once it’s completed, if circumstances change dramatically.<br>
For example, she said Iowa farmland is worth five times what it was 20 years ago – and a lot more than it was just a handful of years ago.<br>
“It’s very, very important that whatever you planned for a few years ago, you update,” she explained.<br>
Make clear goals<br>

Knowing what personal goals one wishes to achieve themselves, with their spouse and with their farm property can help a person plan financially, Wyant said.<br>
For example, making a list of one’s desires can reveal a wish to travel – which requires a certain amount of cash not be tied up in the farm.<br>
Some broad questions Wyant suggested asking oneself are: Do I want to transfer the farm to my kids? Do I want to see the business continue after I die? How much money do I want to keep free? Do I want to help my local community or a young farm family by investing in them? Do I want to retire?<br>
One of the biggest questions a parent may face is how to divide a farm estate among children. If someone has three kids and only one is a farmer, is it fair to arrange for the farm to be sliced into thirds, or sold whole and the proceeds divided among all three children? Wyant suggested fulfilling one’s own goals before attending to inheritance, and that “fair” is not always “equal.
“It’s not about trying to please your kids at this point in time,” she said. “It’s about trying to reach your goals.”<br>
Hiring the right experts to help draft documents, legal or otherwise, is crucial. She suggested asking prospective accountants, lawyers and other experts some questions, as well: What is your background? How long have you been doing this? What is your experience with farming? How much experience do you have in estate planning? Can you provide references? Can you provide a written estimate of cost?<br>
She suggested keeping up with laws that may affect assets, such as the controversial “death tax” that will vanish by 2010, but is scheduled to come back in 2011 unless Congress takes action otherwise.<br>
For documents, Wyant suggested keeping an updated Personal Action Plan that lists everything one’s heirs will need to know upon one’s own death – the location of birth certificate, driver’s license, Social Security number, passport, employment and/or military paperwork, bank accounts, certificates of deposit or other assets, loans and other liabilities, valuable personal property, real property, a list of expert advisors/planners and the like.<br>
Wyant said she’s showed hers to her sons, ages 17 and 19, because without it, “all they might know is that my favorite color is red … and hopefully, I’ll be buried in my red suit.”<br>
Anyone wanting a written copy of this presentation may order a copy of “A Toolkit for Ag Women” online at www.iowawomeninag.org or by calling 515-251-3202. Several states’ extension services also offer financial planning for women under “Annie’s Project” – contact your local office to check for courses.

3/5/2008