Handing down the family farm is about more than transferring assets—it’s about protecting a legacy, honoring hard work, and keeping the land in the family for generations to come.

But let’s be honest: planning that handoff can feel overwhelming.

Who takes over? How do you keep things fair without creating tension? What if no one in the family wants to run the farm? These are real questions that deserve thoughtful answers.

Here’s how to start making sense of it all.

It’s Not Just a Business—It’s Personal

When a family business is passed on, emotions always come into play. That’s especially true with a farm. The land holds memories. The work is personal. And for many families, the idea of “just selling it” feels like letting go of a piece of their identity.

So when it comes time to plan the transition, it’s not just about who gets what. It’s about how you make those decisions—and how you talk about them.

Fair Doesn’t Always Mean Equal

One of the most common challenges in family transitions? Trying to split everything equally among children who played very different roles in the business.

Estate planning expert Justin Schumacher puts it simply:

“Equal isn’t always fair.”

If one child has been working on the farm for years and another hasn’t been involved at all, should they really receive the same share? Giving each child exactly the same piece of the pie might seem like the easiest route, but it can cause long-term tension—or even risk the business itself.

Instead, focus on fairness:

• Who has been active in the business?

• Who wants to keep it going?

• Who would rather receive value in other ways?

Answering these questions—openly and honestly—helps set clearer expectations and avoid future conflict.

3 Simple Steps for a Smoother Transition

If you’re beginning to think about passing down the farm, here are three steps to help things go more smoothly:

1. Get Clear on Everyone’s Role
Take stock of who’s involved in the day-to-day work—and who isn’t. This helps shape your transition plan based on actual involvement, not assumptions.

2. Talk About It Early and Often
Don’t wait until a crisis forces the conversation. Sit down with your family, share your intentions, and invite feedback. When people feel heard, they’re more likely to understand—even if they don’t agree.

3. Bring in Outside Help
Sometimes, having an outside advisor in the room makes all the difference. They can offer objective guidance, keep things from getting too emotional, and help you think through scenarios you may not have considered.

What If No One in the Family Wants to Take Over?

It happens more often than you think. Farming is hard work, and not every child wants to continue it. If no one in the family is interested, you still have good options.

Local buyers are often eager to expand, especially those with operations already nearby. Working with professionals to value the farm and prepare for a sale can help you get a fair deal—and feel good about how the legacy moves forward.

Closing Thoughts: Protect the Legacy Without Creating Conflict

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to handing down a family farm. Every family is different. Every business is different. But the goal is the same: to make decisions that honor your life’s work and protect relationships in the process.

With a little planning—and a lot of communication—you can set the stage for a smooth transition that respects both the business and the people behind it.

Want more insights like this? Check out the episode “Smart Strategies for Passing Down the Family Farm” with Justin Schuhmacher for deeper perspective and practical tips.

Thinking About Selling Your Business? Start Here.

Selling your business is a big deal.

You’ve put in the time, effort, and energy to build something from the ground up. And now you’re thinking about stepping away. That decision can bring a mix of excitement, nerves, and a lot of questions.

But here’s what most business owners don’t hear enough: selling isn’t just about the numbers. It’s about making sure your personal goals, financial life, and emotional readiness all line up.

If you’re starting to think about an exit, these are the four areas you don’t want to skip:

1. Get Clear on What You Really Want

Before you talk to buyers or even think about a number, take a step back and ask yourself:

“What do I want this next chapter of life to look like?”

Maybe you’re ready to retire completely. Maybe you want to stay involved in some way. Or maybe you’re looking for the time and space to start something new. Whatever it is, getting clear on your goals makes every other decision easier—from how to price the business to what kind of buyer you’re looking for.

We’ve seen too many owners get to the finish line and realize they weren’t ready to walk away. Being honest upfront helps you avoid regret later.

2. Clean Up the Financials

Buyers want clarity. They want to understand what they’re getting. That’s why organized, easy-to-read financials are such a big deal.

That includes standard income and expense reports—but also a clear breakdown of owner perks or discretionary spending.

When your books tell a clear story, buyers feel more confident. And that often means quicker deals with fewer surprises.

If it’s been a while since you cleaned things up, now’s the time to sit down with your CPA and go through everything.

3. Don’t Skip the Emotional Prep

This part often gets overlooked—but it matters just as much as the financial side.

Selling a business is emotional. You’ve likely tied part of your identity to the company. You’ve put years into it. So it’s completely normal to feel a bit uncertain—or even resistant—when the sale becomes real.

Take time to picture what life looks like after the sale. Who will you spend your time with? What will you do with your days? The clearer that picture gets, the more confident you’ll feel about making the leap.

And make sure you’ve got people in your corner—a trusted advisor, a CPA, or even a peer who’s been through it before. That support can make a big difference when things feel heavy.

4. Start Thinking Like a Buyer

What would you want to know if you were buying your business?

Buyers often come with questions about customer retention, recurring revenue, key employees, and future growth potential. The more proactive you can be in answering those questions—upfront—the smoother the process will go.

Show them what’s working, where there’s room to grow, and why your business is a smart investment.

Ready to Start the Conversation?

Selling your business isn’t just a transaction—it’s a life transition. And the better prepared you are on the front end, the more confident you’ll feel stepping into what comes next.

Start with your goals. Clean up the numbers. Be honest about how you’re feeling. And work with people who understand how to guide you through the process.

You’ve built something meaningful. When the time is right, you deserve to step away knowing you did it on your terms.

A slightly different format this week. I’ve been reading investment articles, and I thought I’d highlight the parts that interested me. Here is a striking chart from a great article I got from Blackrock. The important lesson here is that very few of our clients actually have the classic 60/40 portfolio. And this chart kind of explains why.  With interest rates down around zero for the next year or two, the yield on bonds isn’t going to be anything to brag about. Our Yield model, which would benefit greatly from 14% yield in Treasury bonds, is heavy in dividend paying stocks.

There is still a place for bonds in the portfolio. They are a useful “insurance policy” when the market gets flustered.

This is a blog I’ve wanted to have for a while now. The chart above shows average returns for various asset classes over a period of time. As you can see, the longer the time frame, the smaller the columns get. This means the range of returns narrows.

Here’s where it matters to us. Part of our job is helping clients make decisions about how to invest their money in order to reach their goals. An early conversation about investing will often include a discussion about “the market” and the potential direction of a particular part of that market. This conversation is heavily influenced by the left side of the chart. That’s where the financial press finds stories. If there is volatility in the returns, that means there may be a way to turn that into a story, “Stock A has unexpectedly gone down, or up. Stock B has done the opposite!” That’s where the drama comes from.

The Story

Charles and Lisa had been clients for years. We had an exemplary advisor/client relationship: open, clear, and regular communication, and mutual trust. We had long maintained a plan that everyone had confidence in when we suggested taking part in a new exercise.  

As trusted stewards of others’ money, we prioritize regularly participating in professional development opportunities. We had recently completed a refresher on the Financial Life Planning program. Our relationship with Charles and Lisa pre-dated this approach, so although we felt we knew them thoroughly, we knew that going back to basics could only strengthen their financial plan. They agreed.

Over the past six months, markets have marched higher almost uninterrupted since the lows back in March, just as the economy was thrown into the deepest recession since the Great Depression. Many investors find this disconnect between the equity market and the economy perplexing and are constantly asking us: is it justified?

The media often interchange the economy and the stock market: when the economy is booming we would expect stocks to behave similarly. This seems logical given U.S companies are based, operate and sell in the U.S. and economic growth impacts company revenue and profits. Likewise, when the economy is in a recession or recovering (as it is now) we would expect stock market movements to mirror (or at the very least be highly correlated) to that changing economic conditions. However, simply taking these assumptions at face value reflects substitution bias.

Substitution bias is the very natural and normal tendency to take mental shortcuts in trying to arrive at a complicated answer, which sometimes leaves us without a complete understanding of the problem itself. Luckily, by leveraging data, checking across sources and, most importantly, being open to a more complex discussion can help in getting around this bias.

While it is always hard to fully attribute where market gains and losses emanate from, we can point out that the economy and the stock market are not in fact 1 to 1 in the U.S. As shown, the composition of the equity market is heavily weighted to technology at 39%, which has done extremely well during this time, yet only 2% of total payroll jobs (Chart 1). Going deeper into the service sector, the industries most impacted by COVID-19 (including retail, hotels and tourism, transportation, entertainment, and restaurants) represent 20% of all payroll jobs and 19% of GDP, yet these same industries only represent about 7% of S&P 500 earnings.

In summary, while the stock market and the economy are linked, they have drastically different compositions, which can lead to the economy and markets appearing to be on different wavelengths. By yielding to substitution bias, investors may think the market rally is not justified, but a deep look under the surface suggests that in fact, it is.

Sector share of GDP, employment, S&P 500

The Story
Ginger has always been good at being thrifty. It’s who she is. Though she had significant sources of income and had saved well, it was challenging for her to feel confident that her savings were sufficient to live on for the rest of her life. This is true for a lot of people: it is difficult to interpret the implications on day-to-day life by looking at one lump sum of one’s worth.
Ginger came to us wanting to know that what she had meticulously saved throughout her life would simply be enough.

The Story
Bill and Mary have both led full, successful careers. Their combined salaries support a high standard of living. They consistently contribute to retirement accounts and have assumed that this is enough to carry their standard of living through retirement. When the couple began discussing retirement, they assessed their accounts. The money seemed like a healthy amount. But for a second opinion, they sought our professional advice. When we translated the sum of savings to a monthly budget, Bill and Mary were stunned. The monthly amount was not nearly what they’d thought it’d be.

The Story
We met Steve when he was in his late 50’s. He had worked as an engineer for all of his life, and he was starting to think about the next chapter. With an excellent pension and an IRA, he knew he was set for a secure retirement – five to seven years in the future. But Steve was ready to
make that future his reality much sooner. We became his partner in figuring out how to help Steve retire on his terms.

The Story
Alicia and her husband, Leon, both found careers in real estate. She’s a broker; he worked with mortgages. But if you met them at a party and were to ask them about themselves, this is not the first thing they would tell you. Instead, they’d likely tell you about their bike tour of The Netherlands last month, and their planned trip to the French Riviera they are currently planning. For them, work has always been a means to an end – not the end itself. This is where our conversations with the couple started.