Family Succession
Passing the Torch: Helping Farm Families Secure Their Future
For Maryland’s farm families, the land is more than just soil and crops—it is history, legacy, and the promise of a future. But, when it comes to handing that legacy down, families often find themselves facing one of the hardest conversations of all: how to ensure a smooth and fair transition from one generation to the next.
Recognizing the emotional and financial weight of these decisions, the University of Maryland Extension (UME) has launched Succession Coordination Sessions, designed to help families navigate the difficult waters of farm succession planning.
At the heart of this new service is Alexander Chan, a faculty specialist in family and consumer sciences and one of only three professionals in the state certified to mediate these unique family dynamics. Chan has seen firsthand the tension that arises when retiring farmers and their heirs have different visions for the future.
“Oftentimes there’s tension between the owning generation and the inheriting generation,” Chan explained. “I’m there to make sure they can express themselves, that they’re heard, and that the whole family is working together towards a workable solution for the future.”
For many families, the difficulty lies not just in the financial planning—dividing assets, ensuring retirement security, and sustaining the farm’s operation—but in balancing those practicalities with long-standing family dynamics. Without a structured process, Chan said, families often put off discussions until it’s too late. “This is a difficult conversation, especially when there’s disagreement and people want to avoid conflict,” he noted. “So they don’t talk about things until there’s an urgent situation, like someone’s dying or already dead.”
The coordination sessions provide families with materials, exercises, and structured dialogue to help answer fundamental questions: Where do we stand? Where do we want to be? How do we get there? By guiding discussions on financial “buckets”—such as operating costs, retirement needs, and inheritance planning—the process ensures that all generations are considered, both personally and professionally.
Chan stresses that these conversations should happen not just at retirement, but whenever change enters the picture—whether it’s a child returning to the farm, a shift in land use, or a change in health. “Anytime there is a change, there is an opportunity to have a discussion about your succession plan,” he said.
In a community where family and farm are inseparably bound, the message is clear: planning ahead isn’t just good business—it’s an act of love that protects both the family and its legacy for generations to come.
