At one point or another, most food and agriculture operations form a partnership with another person or entity. Perhaps it is a partnership on a single head of livestock (e.g., stallion, bull, boar, show heifer) or perhaps it is a more long-term partnership where profits and losses will be shared among family members or multiple people and entities. Partnerships can happen …
Ask Cari: What are the Common Mistakes Farmers Make When Creating Their Estate Plans
I was asked this question by a farm journalist. My response is below. Mistake #1: Believing that having a Last Will and Testament is an “estate plan.” Many people think that “estate planning” is really just hiring a lawyer to draft a Last Will and Testament; however, it’s more complicated than that. A good estate planning attorney will have you …
Happy Fourth Year Anniversary to this Blog (and my law practice)
I hope my readers had a great Fourth of July. I just got back from the Berkshires. You can see some of my pictures on Instagram. Back to business.. I had a great first, second, and third anniversary for this blog, but I have to say – Year 4 has been the best. Thank you for support from my blog …
Picking the Right Management for Your Limited Liability Company
So you’ve decided to form a limited liability company — congrats on your new business venture. After filing the Articles of Organization with the Department of State and complying with any publication requirement, the next step is to draft the LLC’s operating agreement. In doing so, you must decide whether you want your limited liability company to be member-managed or …
My Presentation for Morrisville State College Equine and Dairy Students
I had a wonderful opportunity this week to speak to equine and dairy science students at Morrisville State College via Skype on a select legal issues affecting the New York livestock industry. I spoke about New York lien law, livestock animal cruelty law and business organizations. I have included the presentation below. [slideshare id=15486068&doc=nylivestocklaw2-121204102537-phpapp01] New York Agri-Women had its first …
NBI Webinar: Estate Planning for Farmers and Ranchers
The National Business Institute (“NBI”) will be having a substantive webinar on October 3, 2012 from 11:00am to 6:00pm ET (that’s no typo – it’s a 7 hour webinar…). It’s a little pricey for a webinar but if you are interested in this topic (like me) then I think it’ll be worthwhile. Topics for the webinar include the following: (1) …
My Presentation on Drafting Farm Partnership Agreements
Last fall I spoke at the American Agriculture Law Association (“AALA”) 32nd Agriculture Law Symposium on partnership agreements for farms and ranches. Although there is likely a better choice of entity, general partnerships are common among the agriculture community and easily overlooked when there is a good relationship among the partners (or family members). Even so, I highly recommend memorializing …
So What Exactly Is “Big Ag?”
I spoke last month on sustainability in “Big Agriculture.” It got me thinking. What exactly is “Big Agriculture?” How do we define what is or is not “Big Ag?” And when did it become a bad name? Is it whether a farm is owned by a family or a corporation? 97% of farms are family owned. What if shareholders of …
Professional Service Limited Liability Companies in New York
Recently, during a real estate closing a borrower looked at my business card and asked me what a “PLLC” was. I thought it would be worth clarifying on this blog for my readers. Pursuant to Article 12 of the New York Limited Liability Company Law, a professional service limited liability company (PLLC) may be formed by one or more attorney …
Looking For New Year’s Resolution? How About Disaster Preparedness
Okay, so it’s not the most exciting New Year’s Resolution but it may be a whole lot more doable than dropping 30 pounds in 2012. On page 5 of this month’s Grassroots newspaper by New York Farm Bureau (“NYFB”) includes a nice submission by A. Edward Staehr of NY FarmNet about coping with a disaster (including grief counseling, recreating lost …
“Fridays with Cari” Webinar Series Kicks Off Today
I’m excited for my new webinar series titled “Fridays with Cari.” I will be discussing a variety of agriculture issues with my Friday webinar series ranging from livestock animal cruelty law to estate planning. I believe that legal information should be affordable for everyone in the food and agriculture industry and I hope that my webinars will be educational to …
Looking Back: Two-Year Blogging Anniversary
Seems like just yesterday I was driving across South Dakota with my dog Taylor before starting Rincker Law, PLLC and this blog. It’s been a great ride so far. Big thank you to my friends, family, colleagues, contract attorneys/legal assistants, clients and blog readers for all your support. It’s been a busy year indeed. Over the last year, I am …