Avoiding succession planning doesn’t prevent conflict – it creates it. Planning early and communicating openly may feel difficult, but it is also the only way to remain in control of what happens next.

Every farm family has a story, and I have had the joy of spending two days with 380 Nebraska women in agriculture at their 40th conference. In her session, Katie Samples Dean, a very direct and farm-owner lawyer, suggested that many plans for succession and transition are foiled or are the wrong plan because Grandma did or does not understand the consequences of her decision-making.

I recently coached a wealthy farmer to have an individual conversation with each of his nonfarm heirs. He had never thought that this was something he could do. Were his children wanting land, money or something else? If it terrifies you to even think of asking the next generation, consider why.

A common scenario among many farmers is that one of their children wants to continue the farming business while their other children do not. What can farmers do in a situation like this as they plan for the future?

Your personal wealth bubble is having some flexibility in your wealth creation beyond the wealth you are creating in farm assets.