Equitable distribution (“ED”) is the allocation of the marital estate in a divorce. Importantly, not all states are equitable distribution states; instead, states like Texas and California are community property states. The majority of states are equitable distribution states, but it is important to confirm this with a licensed attorney in the applicable jurisdiction. In way of background, property in …
Prenuptial agreements are oftentimes viewed as taboo; instead, farmers, ranchers, agribusiness owners, and food entrepreneurs should view prenuptial agreements like an insurance policy for a marriage. Nobody gets on an airplane thinking that it is going to crash, but you still go over the safety instructions. A prenuptial agreement simply notes the safety instructions in case the marriage terminates for …
Most parties going through a divorce do not consider the option of keeping the farm business intact. Everyone’s brains (including the lawyers’) typically go to dividing the farm/ranch assets, along with its inventory. However, there is another option: keeping the business intact. This has several advantages, especially if this is a multi-generational farm family business. This requires careful planning and …
It is uncommon for agriculture producers and business owners to consider estate planning and succession planning for their agriculture operation in the midst of a divorce; however, divorcing farm families should consider this while negotiating the division of marital assets. These assets may include the farm or ranch business and its assets. After all, divorce is one of the Big …
Principal Attorney, Cari Rincker, will visit East Central Illinois Women Attorney’s Association (“ECIWAA”) on Tuesday, November 19th at 11:45am and speak about food and agriculture law. She will be at Biaggi’s along with the ECIWAA crew that day. Cari is a proud member of ECIWAA and supports women in the practice of law.
I was recently asked to speak about agri-tourism and it made me sit back and think about the benefits of agritourism into our community. A big part of having an agriculture business is the relationship with the communities. Most people with an agricultural business have a passion for it and want to share this with others. People visiting an agritourism …
Excited to participate in the virtual agritourism conference sponsored by EscapeMaker. My presentation was on tools to mitigate risk with agri-tourism including business entities, insurance, general releases and liability waivers, contracts, and labor law issues. Proud to be a part of the 14 women speakers on this important topic.