Farmers Legal Assistance Network

To visit the main page of the Farmers Legal Assistance Network, go to:  farmlawhelp.com



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Recent Jury Verdicts Confirm Your Liability Insurance Likely Not Enough to Save Your Farm

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If there is one thing I wish I could get clients to understand is the fact that even if your farm has liability insurance, you are likely under insured with your current liability coverage. Essentially, if you have a million dollars of coverage, or several million, the coverage is peanuts now days.How big a bag of peanuts? Well, here in Indiana we recently had a whopping 35 million dollar verdict against a defendant for causing an accident that left the plaintiff a quadriplegic.Similar verdicts have been handed down across the country as of late.   You can read about it here:  https://www.theindianalawyer.com/articles/45836-recent-35m-verdict-is-among-largest-indiana-jury-personal-injury-awards As one attorney stated “jurors are increasingly less offended by requests for million-dollar-plus verdicts”Whoa.Wasn’t it not too long ago society was up in arms about a woman in Texas getting several million for being burned by hot coffee?It sure was.But, as another attorney stated, “the shock …
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Liability Insurance May Not Save Your Farm, but an LLC Can

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Using multiple LLC's can drastically increase the liability protection for a farm.  This article discusses the layout of doing so. 

First though:  I generally hate disclaimers, but I find it necessary to state a few.First, this article is for general information only and is written for the benefit of fellow farmers to consider in structuring their farms.Second, state laws vary, and this article is not state specific.Third, if you feel the need to comment on whether you disagree or that I’m wrong, please first go to:https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/ppp/ppp-91.pdf.It is an excellent publication from Purdue that is in line with what I am writing about in this article and gives some real life examples.
In the last article, I wrote about how liability insurance is a necessity, but with the trends in jury verdicts, it may not be enough to save the farm.In other words, you could get a judgment against your farm for more than the policy limits of the insurance.  Structuring the f…
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Passing on the family farm: Can the next generation afford it?

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In the not so distant past, economics played a lesser role in farm succession planning.Let’s face it, with 7 dollar corn and 15 dollar beans, their generally was ample money to bring in the next generation into the farming operation and/or have the next generation buy out the older generation.Now, with prices that are break even or below, economics play a much greater role. The question becomes how do we ensure the next generation can financially afford to take over the farm?I was recently asked how does a farm family pass on a farm if the next generation cannot afford it.We all know it is next to impossible for someone to break into farming due to the capital costs of land, machinery, and so forth.So, how do we expect the next farming generation to do the same? In many instances, for the older generation, economics and the need for income is so important that succession plans do not get established because the older generation is fearful if the farm is transferred so does their incom…
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