TOO many farm businesses are held back from making real long-term progress due to a lack of proper succession planning, according to new legal firm, Rubric.

“We are increasingly finding that farm businesses, especially those with several generations involved, are avoiding difficult discussions at the expense of setting clear long-term objectives,” said James Howell, a partner in the firm.

“This all-too-common lack of transparency can result in huge stress and have a significant impact on business progress.

“Factors such as who takes responsibility for the business, how older generations are provided for and how to treat family members fairly can make the whole process of succession very emotionally charged and, as a result, many farmers simply ignore it,” he added.

As well as being emotionally challenging, such matters are also complex in terms of the legal and financial consequences, with nuances in the law making it difficult to ensure that family wishes are met without specialist advice.

“Estate planning, wealth protection, tax mitigation and partnership law all feature in most farming succession and errors can leave a family or business thousands of pounds worse off – a mistake could even lead to assets having to be sold to pay a tax bill,” James explained.

“We’ve established Rubric to make it easy for farmers and landowners to manage their way through these complex legal and tax issues and our experience working in agriculture means we are well placed to advise on all aspects of succession and inheritance.”