BUSINESS The surprising challenge Why do most succession plans fail? BY JEFFREY S. DEWALD CLU, CHFC, CBEC I n our previous articles we've explored the importance of planning, and why every operation needs two separate succession plans. But even operations that have plans in place sometimes fail to transfer to the next generation. Why is that? For decades, conventional wisdom held that succession plans failed because of economic or environmental reasons: Taxes, particularly estate taxes. The challenge of providing a " fair " inheritance to all the children - those in the operation and those offfarm. Poor financial management. Too much leverage, coupled with a bad crop, or an ill-timed decision to " diversify " into new crops like hemp or barley. Yet an MIT/Johns Hopkins study determined that 60% of failed succession FRUITGROWERSNEWS.COM | 25http://www.hfhauff.com http://www.treco.nu http://www.FRUITGROWERSNEWS.COM