Houston Estate Planning and Elder Law Attorney Blog
If you own a farm or a ranch, it is important that you are thinking through best practices for including that property in your estate plan. Life is full of the unexpected, and you never know when you might need a solid plan in place for what will happen to your land after you are gone. What are the basic considerations for farm and ranch estate planning in Texas? Today’s blog answers that very question.
Giving the Land to One Heir
The first consideration with farm and ranch estate planning is who you might want to inherit your land. If you have one heir that is involved in the farming or ranching process, this can be an easy question to answer: you can include in your estate plan that the entirety of your farm or ranch goes to your farming-focused heir.
Giving the Land to Multiple Heirs
If you have multiple heirs that you might want to inherit your land, the decision can be a bit more nuanced. You could either choose one heir to inherit the land in its totality, or you could physically divide the land between your heirs. Another option available to you is to allow each heir to inherit parts of the land that align with their lifestyles. You could, for example, give the land itself to a farming-focused heir, while you give the gas and mineral rights to a non-farming heir. This strategy works well if your heirs get along and will work effectively together. Lastly, you could set up a structured purchase plan, which would require one or more heirs to purchase the land from another heir over a long period of time.
Seeking Reliable Advice
It is important to make sure your estate plan is thoroughly written if you have a farm or ranch to give away. You will need, for example, to account for the land itself, the machinery and equipment, the livestock, the gas and mineral rights, and any rental properties on the acreage. If your estate plan leaves one or more of these elements to chance, your loved ones could have costly disputes down the road about who is entitled to which part of your land.
Do You Need a Houston Estate Planning Attorney by Your Side?
If you are thinking through the specifics of your estate plan, give our team of Houston estate planning attorneys a call at McCulloch & Miller. We have been serving our Texas community for decades, and we are well versed in the intricacies of farm and ranch estate planning. When you have spent your lifetime building up a respected business, you want to make sure your business is left in the right hands under the right conditions. At McCulloch & Miller, we can help you achieve just that.
For a consultation with a Houston estate planning attorney from our team, give us a call as soon as possible at (713) 333-8900. You can also fill out our online form to tell us about your circumstances and have an attorney reach back out to you as soon as possible.