362 | Tax and Legal Strategies for Farm Transition with Menn Law
On the Uplevel Dairy Podcast, Peggy Coffeen concludes a three-part Farm Forward listener Q&A series with Will McKinley of Menn Law and Pat Sturz, a retired CPA and longtime agriculture tax advisor, discussing why legal and tax planning must be integrated in farm succession. They explain how farm growth and asset write-offs can create future tax problems, why “sell the farm on a land contract” can trigger unexpected upfront taxes due to different asset classes, and how early planning, entity choice, and large early gifting can improve outcomes.
They highlight tools like profits interests to share future growth or reward key employees without immediate income tax, strategies like “shadow” partnership entities to move assets out of C corps over time, and the role of stepped-up basis at death. They close with key mistakes, priorities, and the need for readiness and clarity about who will be involved and retirement cash needs.
Contact Will McKinley or Pat Sturz at Menn Law
William-McKinley@mennlaw.com
(920) 731-6631
pat_sturz@mennlaw.com
715-586-0050
Learn more at https://mennlaw.com/
Do you have a question on succession and farm transition you would like to hear Will answer on the Uplevel Dairy Podcast? Send your questions to peggy@upleveldairy.com
01:13 Meet Will and Pat
04:30 Long Term Tax Mindset
06:13 Gifting and Entity Choices
09:43 Avoid Land Contract Traps
12:00 Profits Interest Explained
15:20 Shadow Farm Strategy
18:32 Biggest Misunderstandings
23:19 One Year Retirement Priorities
24:42 Common Mistakes and Wrap Up
