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DTM Legal
5/5
350+Reviews
Chester Office: 01244 354 800
Liverpool Office: 0151 321 0000

Business and Agricultural Succession Planning

Plan ahead to protect your business, farm or estate and create a clear route for ownership and responsibility to pass to the next generation.

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For many business owners, farmers and landowners, personal wealth and business assets are closely connected. Deciding who should take ownership, who should manage the business and how other family members should be provided for, can therefore require careful planning well before retirement or death.

Business and agricultural succession planning can help establish a clear route for the future of a company, family business, farm or rural estate. This may involve reviewing Wills, trusts, ownership structures, lifetime gifts, tax reliefs and the arrangements governing the business itself. For farming families in particular, land ownership, agricultural tenancies and the different roles played by family members may also need to be considered together. DTM Legal already advises agricultural clients on succession, wealth protection, Wills, trusts and estate administration.

Our Trusts & Estates team advises business owners, farming families, landowners and rural businesses on practical succession strategies designed around both the assets involved and the people who will ultimately inherit or manage them. Where appropriate, we can work alongside our Corporate & Commercial and Property teams so that your estate planning and business arrangements support the same long-term objectives.

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Business and Agricultural Succession Planning Legal Services

We can help you develop and implement a succession plan which reflects your family circumstances, business objectives and longer-term estate planning.

Our services include:

  • Succession planning for family businesses and owner-managed companies
  • Agricultural and farm succession planning
  • Reviewing Wills as part of a wider business or agricultural succession strategy
  • Advice on lifetime gifts and transferring assets between generations
  • Establishing and reviewing trusts for succession and wealth-preservation purposes
  • Inheritance Tax and Capital Gains Tax planning
  • Reviewing potential eligibility for Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief
  • Planning for the succession of shares, partnership interests and other business assets
  • Considering how land and property ownership interacts with business succession
  • Advice concerning farming partnerships and family ownership arrangements
  • Planning for children or other beneficiaries who are not involved in the day-to-day business
  • Lasting Powers of Attorney and contingency planning for incapacity
  • Coordination with shareholder agreements, partnership agreements, company articles and other business documents
  • Working alongside accountants, financial advisers, land agents and other professional advisers where appropriate

Why Instruct DTM Legal?

Effective succession planning is rarely just about tax. A technically efficient arrangement may still create difficulties if it leaves control of a business unclear, divides agricultural land in an impractical way or fails to recognise that some family members work within the business while others do not. We start by understanding what you want the business, farm or estate to look like in the future and then consider how the legal arrangements can support that objective.

We provide:

  • Practical succession advice based on your long-term objectives
  • Experience advising business owners, farmers and landowners
  • A joined-up approach to personal, business and agricultural assets
  • Advice on Wills, trusts and lifetime planning
  • Consideration of current Inheritance Tax reliefs and potential tax exposure
  • Support with complex family and ownership structures
  • Coordination with DTM Legal’s Corporate & Commercial and Property teams where required
  • Collaboration with your accountant, financial adviser or other professional advisers

Get in Touch

Whether you are planning the future of a family business, farm or rural estate, early advice can help you understand your options and put arrangements in place before circumstances force decisions to be made.

To discuss your requirements, contact us by emailing trustsandestates@dtmlegal.com or calling 01244 354 800 / 0151 321 0000.

Key Contact
Partner, Trusts & Estates
DTM Legal
5/5
350+Reviews

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Key Considerations for Business Owners, Farmers and Landowners

Read our Key Considerations guide to understand some of the points a solicitor may wish to discuss when responding to your enquiry. It can help you prepare the relevant information and make your initial conversation more productive.

View Key Considerations
DTM Legal
5/5
350+Reviews

Trusts & Estates Team

Heather Lally

Partner, Trusts & Estates
Richard Thomas

Head of Business Recovery
James Timmins

Solicitor, Property Litigation
Michelle Roby

Chartered Legal Executive, Employment & HR
Chloe Cribb

Legal Assistant, Residential Conveyancing

Frequently Asked Questions

Commonly asked questions about business and agriculture succession planning legal services.

There is no need to wait until you are approaching retirement. In many cases, beginning several years in advance gives you considerably more flexibility.

Early planning allows time to decide who should own and manage the business, review Wills and business agreements, consider the tax consequences of different options and make changes gradually. It also gives family members an opportunity to discuss their expectations and prepare the next generation for greater responsibility.

Succession planning should also be reviewed after major changes such as a death, marriage, divorce, business restructuring, significant land transaction or change in tax legislation.

Potentially, but a lifetime transfer needs careful consideration.

Giving away shares, land or business interests can have consequences for Inheritance Tax, Capital Gains Tax, your own financial security and the future control of the business. You should also consider what would happen if the recipient later divorced, died, experienced financial difficulties or no longer wished to remain involved in the business.

There may be circumstances in which transferring assets during your lifetime forms part of an effective succession strategy, but the legal, tax and commercial consequences should be considered before ownership changes.

From 6 April 2026, 100% Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief is subject to a combined allowance of £2.5 million for qualifying agricultural and business property. Qualifying value above the available allowance generally receives relief at 50%, meaning some estates which previously expected full relief may now have an Inheritance Tax liability.

The rules are detailed and whether particular land, businesses, shares or other assets qualify depends on the circumstances. It is therefore sensible for owners of significant agricultural or business assets to review valuations, ownership structures, Wills and succession arrangements rather than assume that historic planning remains appropriate

Fairness does not necessarily require every asset to be divided equally.

Where one child is actively involved in running a farm or business, dividing ownership equally between several siblings may create practical difficulties or threaten the long-term viability of the business. Alternatives may include leaving the trading business or agricultural assets to the family member who will continue operating them while using other property, investments, insurance arrangements or trusts to provide for other beneficiaries.

The appropriate solution depends on the value and composition of your estate, the needs of individual family members and whether retaining the business intact is a priority.

Yes, these documents should be reviewed together.

A Will may say who you want to inherit your business interest, but company articles, shareholder agreements or partnership agreements may contain separate provisions governing what happens to shares or partnership interests following death. If those documents point in different directions, your intended succession plan may not operate as expected.

What our Clients Say

See what our customers have to say about their experience

Review Solicitors Stars
5/5 350+Reviews
Simon Poole
17/07/2025
Recently used DTM legal for Estate Planning and Will Making. We received a very efficient & professional service. I would highly recommend and use DTM Legal again
Ginny
19/04/2026
Worked with DTM Legal for many years and I would highly recommend. Very friendly and helpful staff, really supportive of my elderly mother during her appointment.
Layla
19/10/2023
Excellent knowledge and superb explanations.

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