ONLINE: Estate Planning: Creating Wills & Trusts

media release: Wisconsin Farmers Union is presenting a series on Estate Planning: Creating Wills & Trusts. The trio of December workshops will help farm families think through the estate planning process.

The sessions are set for noon on the first three Wednesdays in December. Each workshop will be led by attorney Anthony Schmoldt of Schmoldt Law Office, Chippewa Falls.

Session dates and topics include:

• December 2 – Introduction to the Documents

• December 9 – Writing Wills and Trusts

• December 16 – Advanced Trusts and LLCs

Farmers looking to the future have many issues to consider. Succession planning includes analyzing the current farm finances, planning for the current generation’s later years, estate and tax planning, and, in some cases, developing management skills of the successor. However, before these areas are addressed many conversations should take place around the values and goals of involved family members or farming partners.

“Given the higher debt-to-asset ratio at which many farms are operating today compared to a generation ago, estate planning has become more complex,” said Wisconsin Farmers Union President Darin Von Ruden. “It’s important to start thinking through the future of your farm, and these workshops will help get the ball rolling. Whether you’re thinking about passing the farm on to the next generation, considering other creative options, or are pondering your livelihood in retirement, estate planning is an important process.”

Attendees will learn about the options available in estate planning and will start to develop a working plan. Register for the events at www.wisconsinfarmersunion.com/events.