The Family Ranch: Land, Children, and Tradition in the American West

Planning for Succession: Handing It Over

Planning for Succession h a n d i n g i t ov e r The sentiment of a generation of Americans for land is easily understood . In these times of change and world unrest, a lifetime commitment to anything is to be respected. Devotion to land and to the production of food has ensured the health of our people and the strength of our country . The transfer of that land to the next generation is as important as the original effort of building the business. Planning, and the commitment to seeing the process to the end, are essential if family-owned ranches are to be maintained as viable operations beyond the current generation. The information contained herein may serve as a guide to those setting out to protect their land and their family’s interest. Laws controlling the elements of succession will vary according to each state. It is important that those laws are understood and adhered to. Surprises are never appropriate in business or law. Some of the families in this book have struggled with the loss of their home ranches; others are determined not to. It is to them, and succeeding generations, that this chapter is dedicated. the stoddarts, having moved back to Crooked Creek Ranch, are currently working with the family corporation to ensure that they will have a voice in the management of the home ranch, and to solve the transition of property to the younger generation amicably. The Tyson family resolved their issues of legacy in a unique way, but even as carefully as the arrangement was designed, there are changing laws they must be cognizant of. The Hammond family lost their generations-old ranch because there 188 | t h e fa m i l y r a n c h was no structured plan to save it from a forced sale. Dorothy and Carl are taking an active role in determining their future. The McKays recently discovered that there are family members who don’t fully support the adoption of their children and intend to block the transfer of the family ranch to them. Years of work for expansion may be sacrificed to unanticipated family differences. The Harper family knew going in that they were on a lease program at the Little Humboldt. They have built a rental property into a family ranch that is their home. It would not be to their liking, but if the lease were no longer available, their assets are all on four hooves and can be moved on a moment’s notice. The Walkers’ title to the land is secure. Their people have been there for 15,000 years; they hope to be there for 15,000 more. it may seem a generalization, but surveys prove out that rural families are ill prepared for succession. Parents who watched their parents “drop in the harness” expect the same may happen to them, and when their turn comes, their heirs will likely go on working just as they did. If the transition of land and assets is left to chance, and if there is no change in the inheritance laws, their kids will be lucky to end up with the pink slip on the feed truck, when it’s all said and done. The Trigg Ranch “the last family ranch left standing” “‘Gaaaawwd-daaaammn, let ’em fight over it when I’m gone.’ That was my Uncle Steve’s estate planning,” Linda Decker said of the last operator of the historic Trigg Ranch. “Someone counted the number of Dad’s Gaaaawwd-daaaammns in every sentence,” said Steve Trigg’s daughter Sally, “and it was more than four and five and tended to slow down a conversation.” The Trigg Ranch, situated in northeastern New Mexico, has been under the control of an eclectic parade of land barons: iguanodon dinosaurs, Planning for Succession | 189 Jicarilla Apaches, Comanches, and Spanish explorers. In 1824, it was established as a land grant ranch by the king of Spain. Fifty years later, it was a route for Charles Goodnight when he trailed cattle to Kansas. It was bought by a developer in the 1880s. Graves and rock ruins of homestead claims abandoned during the Great Depression were absorbed into the 750,000 acres of the Bell Ranch in the 1890s and bought by Tuck Trigg and his children in 1917. History. Today, three generations later, the Trigg Ranch is owned...