Preserving the Family Farm Starts With Better Estate Planning

Passing down a family farm through generations takes more than tradition and goodwill—it requires careful, strategic estate planning. Without a solid plan, even the best intentions can unravel, leading to family conflict, court battles, and the loss of a valuable legacy. One recent case highlights how things can go wrong when the estate plan doesn’t fully protect the property or the people involved.

In a case covered by Morning Ag Clips, a mother left her farm to her son and daughter in a will that granted them each a life estate. After their deaths, their respective shares were to pass to their children. When the mother and then the son passed away, the son’s two sons inherited his share of the property.

There was just one problem: the two grandsons weren’t interested in keeping the farm. They filed a lawsuit to partition the property—essentially asking the court to divide or sell the land so they could receive their share of the value. Their aunt, the daughter of the original owner, was still living on the farm and objected. She argued that as a life estate holder, the property shouldn’t be subject to partition until after her death.

Unfortunately, the court didn’t agree. It found that the will had created a tenancy in common, not a joint tenancy with right of survivorship. That meant when the son died, his share legally passed to his sons, who had every right to seek a partition—even though their aunt still lived on the farm and held a life interest in her half of the property.

Now, the aunt faces an impossible situation: either come up with the funds to buy out her nephews or lose the farm entirely to a sale. If the farm is sold, not only will she lose her home, but the family legacy will be lost as well.

How Better Estate Planning Could Have Prevented This

This situation could have been avoided with a more carefully crafted estate plan. Here are a few ways it might have been handled differently:

• Joint Survivorship Protections: Instead of a simple life estate, the mother could have structured the plan so the surviving sibling inherited full ownership upon the other's death. This would have delayed the transition to the next generation and avoided premature control by disinterested heirs.
• Using a Trust: A trust would have allowed the mother to dictate exactly how the farm should be managed and when and how it should pass to future generations. Trusts provide greater flexibility and can help prevent forced sales or disputes.
• Establishing an LLC: By transferring the farm into a Limited Liability Company (LLC), the mother could have created a structure where heirs inherited ownership interests in the LLC. The LLC could include provisions requiring majority consent for a sale, effectively blocking a forced sale by individual heirs.

Protecting Family Assets Takes Planning

Farms, family businesses, and other multigenerational assets need more than just a basic will. They require an estate plan that anticipates potential disagreements, protects the property, and supports both current and future generations. That means working with an experienced estate planning attorney who understands the unique needs of legacy planning.

At the Werner Law Firm, our experienced estate planning attorneys understand that family legacies like farms and small businesses deserve more than just a basic estate plan. With the right tools—like trusts, LLCs, and survivorship provisions—we can help protect your family’s property and preserve it for future generations.

If you have any questions, schedule a free appointment with us through our online appointment page.

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Reference: Morning Ag Clips (March 6, 2026) “How Inadequate Estate Planning Led to Likely Sale of Family Farm”