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When A Divorce Requires The Division Of A Farm

Unique property division issues come into play when marital property includes one or more farms. A divorce including farmland and associated commercial operations is never a simple process. Working with an attorney who has ample experience in divorce for farmers is essential and a worthwhile investment for either spouse.

Clients of Messick Law, PLLC, benefit from our deep knowledge and extensive experience in farm couple divorces. We welcome the opportunity to help you understand the path ahead as your marital dissolution moves forward. We take our role as counselor of our clients seriously and invite clients’ input whenever there are necessary decisions to make.

Some Likely Elements Of Your Divorce As A Farmer

When we meet with you to discuss your pending divorce and its implications for your family farm, we will acknowledge the double identity that the farm may have as both a commercial operation and a family home. Understanding the ties to the land that one or both of you may have had all your lives (and possible expectations for your children’s future participation and inheritance) are key parts of the valuable get-to-know-you process – and consequential in your divorce.

With those basics out in the open, we will move on to business aspects of your Minnesota divorce that involves a farm, such as the complexities in the valuation of the following:

  • Land, buildings and equipment
  • Cash crops
  • Livestock and dairy assets
  • Contracts of all kinds, including agreements with growers who produce income on your farm and/or rent cultivation or grazing space from you
  • Assets that are tied up with partnerships with the federal government
  • Ambiguous business partnerships with third parties such as extended family members
  • Intangible assets such as your farm’s Century Farm status, which could be threatened if the farm is divided
  • Debts and encumbrances
  • Improvements made on the property during your marriage

If you choose an attorney at our firm to represent you in your Minnesota divorce that includes farm real estate and/or cash-making ventures, we pledge to work cost-effectively to protect your most important priorities.

Don’t Let Anyone Tell You This Will Be Easy

It will not be easy. But if it is necessary, we are ready to help you plot your course toward a reasonable outcome that will allow you and your children to move forward.

To schedule a consultation about your Minnesota divorce that includes farmland or agribusinesses, call us at 651-505-2655 or email us.