Yogi Berra is reported to have said: “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll probably end up somewhere else.” The same is true of succession planning. I am presenting at a series of seminars put on by IFA in November throughout the state of Utah on the topic of Succession Planning for Farmers and Ranchers. In preparing I have been studying again the four pillars of planning applicable not only to farmers and ranchers, but really, all family owned businesses.

When I speak about estate planning, one of the first questions I ask the audience is: “Who has an estate plan?” Invariably only a few will raise their hands. I then proceed to explain that, in fact, we all have an estate plan. The real question is did we determine the terms of our plan or did the government.

We all remember from the story of Cinderella how she was given a great opportunity to attend the Prince’s ball, but that the magic would wear off at midnight. With just over two months left in 2012, this year appears to be the estate planning equivalent of the Cinderella story. Under current law, before the clock strikes midnight on December 31, every American can transfer up to $5.12 million free of federal gift, estate and generation-skipping transfer tax. If Congress does not act by the end of this year, the exemption in 2013 will be just $1 million. This exemption, when coupled with historic low interest rates and valuation discounts, mean families can transfer significant assets at little or no tax.

As I work with farms and ranches as well as other family owned businesses, one of the most difficult tasks is identifying the right successor. A recent post on AgWeb News discussed this issue in regards to the commitment required of the succeeding generation to spend the time understanding all aspects of the operation including business management. I would agree that this commitment is mandatory.

Saturday, September 22, 2012 was the 50th anniversary of a landmark article written by Eunice Kennedy Shriver in the Saturday Evening Post. The article was catalyst for change and ignited a revolution in the way we treat people with intellectual disabilities. In recognition of this anniversary I thought I would share some thoughts on planning for those with special needs.

The formerly popular television game show asked the question: Who wants to be a millionaire? When estate planning is lacking, individuals may inherit in a fashion that feels like they just won the game. While this makes for great television it rarely makes for happy endings and it is certainly never good planning.

I read an article over the weekend in the Deseret News discussing the concerns of those who are aging yet still caring for a disabled child. Of course the needs and abilities of both the disabled individual and the caregiver will change with age. Ultimately, if the disabled individual outlives the caregiver, transition to a new caregiver will be necessary. This may need to happen sooner if the caregiver becomes unable to provide that care. Transition is a fact of life.

I was involved in a lively online discussion the other day with several estate planning professionals from around the country. The topic of the discussion was the ever difficult choice of how to divide ownership of the family business among the children. The question is really one of how many cooks are too many?

Often in estate planning the first question asked is - what will the children receive? But, I would encourage a different first question. That question would be - how much of your estate should be given to charity? In most cases the good that could be done by a charitable bequest is far greater than the importance of any gift to a child. So remember, you stand on the shoulders of giants. You have benefited from the generosity of others along the way. Pay it back by paying something forward to your church, a school, etc. Maybe even all that you have.

I heard a great quote recently from Winston Churchill. He said: “Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities... because it is the quality which guarantees all others.” One of the greatest challenges people have when planning is making choices.

As an estate planning attorney I spend a lot of time talking to people about their money or other assets. But as I was blessed to spend several days this last week with my wife and children at a family reunion I was reminded again that good estate planning is not about the money. The reason we plan our affairs is to truly to show our love to those we care about.

Like many, I have spent the last couple of weeks watching the wonderful athletes from around the globe compete in the 2012 Olympics. One of the common stories has been the attention to every detail that these world class athletes engage in when training. In a story about one of my favorite athletes, Lolo Jones, she talked about how she learned every detail about every movement her body made so that she could be as efficient as possible once on the track. Usain Bolt, the world’s fastest man, is able to take advantage of his height by taking only 41 steps in completing the 100 meters as opposed to 44 by the silver medalist. Amazing, but when the difference between victory and defeat is measured in fractions of seconds, the details matter!

One of the concepts I stress in discussing estate planning with my Clients is that title is king - meaning that how assets are owned will trump everything else. Trusts, wills, beneficiary designations, everything will fall victim to a failure to properly title assets.