Succession & Future Planning
Succession (future) planning
For family agribusinesses
Succession, or future planning, is a critical element in ensuring a family agribusiness survives the test of time and the family’s wishes are achieved. Finding time to talk about a succession plan can be difficult given everyday business and family challenges and it is often a potentially sensitive topic.
We help agribusiness families communicate and work together and create a succession plan that suits everyone’s needs and expectations.
Solutions, not confrontations
Farming families value relationships and tend to prefer solutions, not confrontations. Possessing the skills of a mediator allows Louise to foster a less adversarial approach when working with families. Non-confrontational, solution-based future planning is vital for families who need to continue to work and live together for generations to come.
Successful future planning involves working with families to achieve personal, family and financial benefits for each generation.
Statistics show that families who start the process of future planning early have a much higher chance of achieving a positive outcome for all family members, as well as their agricultural businesses.
Louise has a genuine understanding of family agribusinesses and the relationships between family members through her experience as a Lawyer, Certified Practicing Accountant and Agribusiness operator.
Louise’s skills as a previously Nationally Accredited Mediator assist families through the intergenerational transition by providing direction and clarity of goals, increased financial awareness and security, and increased opportunities for the business.
Early planning leads to better outcomes
- Families who start succession planning early achieve better financial and personal outcomes.
- A clear strategy assists in the prevention of misunderstandings and legal disputes.
- Proactive planning ensures a smooth transition with minimal business disruption.
Structuring your agribusiness for the future
Entity Structuring Advice – Company, Trust, Partnership
Growing wealth through your agribusiness creates many opportunities, but even the most profitable business can struggle if it’s operating under the wrong structure.
The right structure is critical for:
✔ Risk mitigation – Protecting your assets from liability.
✔ Maximising returns – Ensuring efficient financial management.
✔ Optimising tax obligations – Structuring your business for tax efficiency.
✔ Achieving succession goals – Setting up for long-term success.
We help agribusiness families assess, refine, and implement the best structure for their business, whether it’s a company, trust, or partnership. Louise will sit down with you to explain the advantages and disadvantages of each, helping you determine the best path forward.
A Step by Step Approach: Future Planning for Generational Succession
- Information gathering process
- Establishment of family needs and goals
- Identification of key issues
By utilising her mediation, legal and accounting skills, Louise can assist each of your family members in having a say regarding their needs and goals. This environment makes it easier for various family members to ask tough questions and creates a platform to discuss what the family wants to achieve.
This step assists in building the foundations for how your family can work together towards a common goal. Your family, with our assistance from an integrated legal, accounting and business perspective, will work through options and generate solutions. Options and solutions are put forward for your family to review. When recommendations are finalised, you will be ready to implement your plan.
Once your family has decided on an intergenerational succession plan, the implementation phase is put into place through a “Deed of Family Arrangement.” It documents the action plans for your family’s generational succession.
Your family’s generational succession planning is not complete without considering and implementing estate planning processes. Our services are specific to your family needs and include assistance with:
- Wills
- Powers of Attorney
- Advance Health Directives
- Binding Death Benefit Nominations