Two Commonly Overlooked Farm Assets

By Robert Moore

Avoiding probate should be a primary goal in nearly every estate plan. It reduces legal fees, shortens administration time, and prevents unnecessary disruption for heirs. For most assets, avoiding probate is straightforward. Bank accounts, life insurance, and retirement accounts can pass by beneficiary designation. Real estate can transfer through a transfer on death affidavit.

For farm families, however, two types of assets are often overlooked and end up forcing an estate into probate: trailers and cooperative ownership.

Trailers

Most farms own one or more trailers, and many of those trailers have titles. In Ohio, trailers with a gross vehicle weight rating over 4,000 pounds must be titled. Trailers under that weight are only registered. Because trailers are often viewed as farm equipment rather than vehicles, they are frequently left out of estate planning.