Brocken's Ag Advice
« By John E. Brockett
W Farm Management Agent
fjj* Lewistown Extension Office
i
What is a will and why do we
need wills? A will disposes of
property owned by a person at his
or her death. The will can also
make provisions for the use and
administration of this property.
The answer to the second part of
that question is a bit more com
plex. It is a “well yes but then
again no” answer. In Penn
sylvania, the state has already
written a will for you. If you are
aware of its provisions and willing
to let things go, then perhaps you
don’t need a will. On the other hand
if you are not willing to leave
things to chance or you don’t want
to leave things that way then you
will probably need a will.
What about a husband and wife
who own everything jointly? One
question on that point is are you
sure? I have had several occasions
to work with families where
presumably everything was jointly
owned, only to find that a truck, a
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car, a piece of land, etc. was for
one reason or another individually
owned. Usually it is no major
problem, but once it was (look at
the Pennsylvania “will” for you
and visualize the possible
problem). Then of course we have
the question “what happens when
the second spouse dies?
As a farm business advisor my
first suggestion on the subject of
wills for farmers is to consult a
competent attorney. Many lawyers
who are good in real estate or court
cases or corporate law are not
good in estate planning and visa
versa. Sometimes you can find out
who the better ones are by asking
your banks trust officer of a
professional life insurance agent
who deals with estate planning.
My second suggestion is to ask
the attorney how he or she charges
and what the cost range would be
for the will, the planning advice,
and settlement of your estate. An
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hourly charge makes you aware of
the sayings you couM make by
gathering and presenting in
formation in an orderly fashion. A
flat fee or a percentage fee can be
considered in your determination
of whether to hire the attorney or
not. At any rate the cost range
given to you gives you something
to plan and budget for. Don’t
necessarily go to the least ex
pensive person.
Other suggestions:
1. Get your will updated if it is
more than 5 years old.
2. Do not automatically divide
farm property equally among
children unless you want the
business to be sold after you die.
3. Ask your attorney how you
could make use of a bypass or non
marital trust without putting your
farm real estate into individual
ownership.
4. Don’t go overboard on gifts
unless you can afford it.
5. Don’t require your executor to
use farm use valuation but call it to
his or her attention.
6. Before you visit an attorney,
have some idea of what you own,
how you own it, what you want to
happen to the property, what goals
your family has for the business,
how much life insurance you have,
who you want to be your children’s
guardian (you can have one for the
person and one for finances if you
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ITHACA, N.Y. As the harvest
season gets underway, forage
filled silo fires become a possibility
in dairy and livestock farming
areas. Such fires pose special
problems for rural fire depart
ments.
Silo fires have earned a
reputation as difficult to ex
tinguish, but techniques published
in a Cornell Cooperative Extension
publication can help to improve the
efficiency of fire fighters and
reduce the dangers.
Fire fighter safety is the highest
consideration, and full turnout
gear and life lines are always in
order for silo fires which vary in
the degree and nature of dangers.
Fire officers should be alert to the
risk of fire-spread, potentially
hazardous gases in the silo, and the
intensity of the fire.
Fire fighting techniques for both
conventional and sealed
atmosphere silos are explained in
“Extinguishing Silo Fires”
(NRAE-18), an illustrated booklet
which is a valuable reference and
training outline for rural fire
companies.
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RDGap PA Box 183
1 Mile North Rt 897 From Gap
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Turn left onto Pleasant Valley Rd
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Farm safety
texts available
“Extinguishing Silo Fires” is
available at $l.OO per copy, which
includes handling and postage,
from Cornell Distribution Center, 7
Research Park, Ithaca, N.Y. 14850.
Also of value to fire and rescue
squads serving rural areas is
Cornell Cooperative Extension’s
handbook, “Farm Accident
Rescue” (NRAE-10, $2.50). This
fully-illustrated, 36-page training
reference describes general and
specific rescue procedures for
farm machinery, structure, and
farm chemical accidents.
“Farm Accident Rescue” is
already widely used by fire,
rescue, and EMT personnel
throughout the Northeast. The
special considerations and threats
posed by heavy farm machinery
accidents under field conditions
make this publication especially
worthwhile for fire companies
serving rural areas.
“Extinguishing Silo Fires” and
“Farm Accident Rescue” can be
ordered from the Cornell
Distribution Center. (Make your
check or money order payable to
Cornell University.)
2 Miles South of Rt 23 Along 772
Thru Monterey RD 1 Ronks PA
At the Country Mart
RD2 East Earl
Route 23 Just East of Blue Ball
717 354 4026