Jeff M Brown

“Democrats think Trump is randomly doing stuff… he’s like 17 steps ahead of [NATO] and by the time they figure it out it’s too late to do anything about it”

Trump: "If I want to really crush the housing market, I could do that so fast, and people could buy houses ... I always say, look, you know I can crush the hell out of the market, we can drop interest rates to a level -- and that's one thing we do want to do."

DELAYED: TORNADO ON THE GROUND Blue Mound, Illinois @NWSLincolnIL @jacobdickeywx #ilwx #wxtwitter

Going to go talk to my banker asap

Our firm is in the heart of farm country. So I get to design & review truckloads of farm succession/estate plans. While each is unique as a snowflake, here's the 10,000 ft view of a robust one to give you some ideas: Phase I: While both spouses are alive → Set up a revocable living trust (RLT) This is the backbone of their plan. Both spouses are trustees & beneficiaries. → Set up Operations, LLC Owns all the non-land farm assets. (i.e. equipment, crops, cows, etc) Gives them liability protection plus a tool to transition the farm operations to the on-farm son. → Set up Land, LLLP Owns all the ag land. Gives them 1) additional liability protection, 2) provides "liquidity" so they can transfer ownership while not splitting up land, and 3) shrinks the $$ value of the land for death tax purposes. → Property Power of Attorney, Healthcare Power of Attorney, and Living Wills These kick in if one of the spouses can't make decisions on their own. Succession Component Each year, Dad & Mom gift up to their annual exclusion amount of LLC interest to the on-farm kid. Also, on-farm kid has a standing option to buy up to 10% of the LLC at 80% FMV. Phase II: First spouse passes The RLT splits into an A trust (Survivor's trust) and B trust (Family trust). Land, LLLP goes into the Family Trust (irrevocable) and the LLC & off-farm assets go into the Survivor's Trust (revocable). If Dad is the first to die, on-farm son has the option to buy out the rest of the LLC at 80% FMV on a 5 year contract. Also, on-farm son becomes Manager of the LLC. Phase III: Second spouse passes → Legacy Land Trust (LLT) set up This will own all ag land or any entity owning ag land (i.e. the Land, LLLP). It's designed as an irrevocable dynasty trust. Two of the three kids are co-trustees. This restrictive trust is very detailed and lays out all the terms of land management, like: • On-farm kid gets option to rent at discount* • On-farm kid has option to buy at discount* *Assuming he's "actively farming" • All 3 kids benefit from the net income • Land can be mortgaged to pay estate taxes and buy more ground • Kids can leverage up to their 1/3 beneficial interest • How it can be terminated • And many more details → Kids' Sentry Trusts set up • Remaining LLC interest (if any) to on-farm kid • Off farm assets & life insurance split between all three (20% to on-farm kid, 40% to each off-farm kid) Rather than the three kids getting inheritance in their name only, they receive it via their own Sentry Trust They're the trustee of their own trust. It protects their inheritance from: 1/ Divorcing spouse 2/ Most creditors 3/ Estate taxes when they die So there you have it. A high-level overview of a fairly comprehensive plan. Just note that each is customized to the family needs, wishes, and asset types. There's a ton of tools at our disposal that aren't included in this plan, so talk to a solid estate/succession attorney about the vast array of options for your operation. Thank you for your attention to this matter. The end.