Can a Trust Keep the Family Farm Out of Probate in Illinois? In many situations, yes, but simply signing a trust document is not enough. For a trust to accomplish its intended purpose, the farm assets that are supposed to be governed by the trust generally need to be properly transferred or otherwise connected to the estate plan. That distinction can be especially important for farm families whose estates may include farmland, LLC interests, equipment, livestock, leases, bank accounts, and other assets held in different forms of ownership.
A well-planned and properly funded trust can help make the transition of…
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Farm Prenups in Illinois: Can a Prenuptial Agreement Protect the Family Farm? For someone who owns farmland, works in a multigenerational farming operation, or expects to inherit an interest in the family farm, a prenuptial agreement can address questions that go far beyond who gets what in a divorce. It can help a couple clarify ownership, protect family expectations, coordinate with an estate plan, and establish how farm property and business interests will be treated after marriage.
Talking about a prenup may not feel romantic. But for farm families, neither is leaving important questions about land, debt, ownership, and succession…
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When Siblings Inherit the Family Farm and Disagree: Can Mediation Keep the Farm Together? It is a question many agricultural families face after the death of a parent or grandparent. One sibling may have spent decades working on the farm and want to continue the operation. Another may live out of state and prefer to sell. A third may want to keep the land as an investment but expect regular rental income. Each person may have a legitimate interest in the property but very different ideas about what should happen next.
When farmland represents both a valuable asset and a…
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Can Mediation Resolve Illinois Farm Boundary, Drainage, Easement, and Access Disputes? For farmers and agricultural landowners, a disagreement with a neighbor can become much more than a strained relationship. A disputed property line can affect where crops are planted. A blocked access route can interfere with equipment movement. Drainage changes can affect productive acreage. An easement disagreement can create uncertainty about who has the right to use a road, ditch, lane, or other part of the property.
Because neighboring landowners often must continue living and farming beside one another long after a dispute ends, mediation may provide a practical way…
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Farm estate and succession planning is rarely just about documents. For many agricultural families, it involves land, business ownership, family relationships, retirement, taxes, livestock, equipment, management responsibilities—and the deeply personal question of what happens to a farm or ranch that may have taken generations to build.
That is why Cari Rincker, founder of Rincker Law, PLLC, is conducting an updated national survey on farm estate and succession planning and is asking farmers, ranchers, and agricultural landowners across the United States to participate.
The goal is straightforward: gather current, real-world information about how agricultural families are approaching estate planning today, what…
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When family members work together on the farm, disputes over pay, roles, and ownership can become especially difficult because the lines between family and business are often blurred. A son may work alongside his father for decades. One sibling may manage the farm full-time while another owns part of the land but works somewhere else. A daughter may handle the books, marketing, or livestock without ever having a formal job description. Everyone may believe they understand the arrangement, until someone asks who is being paid fairly, who has authority to make decisions, or who will eventually own the farm.
These…
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Business Partner Disputes in Agriculture: Can Mediation Keep a Farm or Agribusiness Out of Court? When owners of a farm, agricultural LLC, partnership, or other closely held agribusiness stop agreeing about how the business should operate, the consequences can extend far beyond an ordinary disagreement. Crops still need to be planted or harvested. Livestock still need care. Loans must be paid. Employees need direction. Contracts must be honored. And a dispute between two owners can quickly affect the value and future of the entire operation.
Litigation is sometimes necessary, particularly when there are allegations of fraud, misuse of company property,…
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Farm Lease Disputes in Illinois: When Mediation Can Help Landowners and Farmers Avoid Litigation is an increasingly important question when a disagreement threatens a working relationship, a farming operation, or plans for the next crop year. A farm lease is more than an agreement about acreage and rent. It can affect planting decisions, input purchases, improvements, financing, access to land, and relationships that may have existed between families for generations. When a disagreement develops, mediation may offer Illinois farmers and landowners a practical way to resolve the conflict before it turns into costly litigation.
Farm lease disputes can become particularly…
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Divorce Mediation for Farm Families in Illinois: Can You Protect the Farm Without Going to Court? For many farm families, that question carries far more weight than a typical property-division dispute. A farm may be a family’s home, livelihood, business, retirement plan, and legacy all at once. When a marriage ends, decisions about farmland, equipment, livestock, operating entities, debt, and future income can affect not only the divorcing spouses but also children, parents, siblings, employees, landlords, lenders, and the next generation.
Litigation is sometimes necessary. But when both spouses can participate meaningfully in negotiations, mediation may offer another way to…
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Divorcing a Business Owner in Illinois: What Happens to the Business? can be a much more complicated question than deciding who keeps a house or how a bank account should be divided. A closely held business may represent income, years of work, family wealth, and one spouse’s future livelihood all at the same time.
Whether the relevant asset is an LLC membership interest, corporate shares, a partnership interest, professional-practice interest, farm-business interest, or sole-proprietorship assets, an Illinois divorce may require the parties to determine whether the business interest, ownership interest, or business assets are marital or non-marital property, what the…
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Should a Family Farm Have a Buy-Sell Agreement? What Happens When an Owner Dies, Divorces, or Wants Out? is a question farm families should consider long before an ownership change becomes urgent. A family farming operation may involve parents, siblings, children, cousins, or multiple generations who own land or interests in an LLC or other business entity together. Everyone may get along well today, but death, disability, divorce, retirement, or a family disagreement can quickly change the ownership picture.
A thoughtfully drafted buy-sell agreement can establish rules for those transitions before emotions and financial pressure are running high. For many…
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By Sam Ellis, Esq.
When USDA says no, an unfavorable agency decision does not necessarily mean the matter is over. In “When USDA Says No: Understanding the National Appeals Division Appeal Process,” Sam Ellis, Esq., of Rincker Law, PLLC, explains what farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural program participants should know about challenging certain adverse USDA decisions through the National Appeals Division, commonly known as NAD.
Agricultural producers often rely on United States Department of Agriculture programs for loans, conservation assistance, crop insurance, disaster payments, and other forms of support. When a USDA agency issues an unfavorable decision, the financial and…
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Starting a Business With a Friend or Family Member in Illinois? Put These Agreements in Writing First may not sound like the most exciting advice when two people are enthusiastic about launching a new company. But some of the hardest business disputes begin with people who trusted each other enough to believe they did not need formal agreements.
Friends, siblings, spouses, parents and adult children frequently start businesses together because they already have a relationship. That trust can be an advantage, but it should not replace clear documentation.
This article focuses primarily on limited liability companies (LLCs), which are a…
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