GUIDE: Questions to Answer Before Meeting

Ty moved back to the farm where he grew up two years ago after saving money working in the oilfields. He had always planned to return, but over the past year, his management role in the operation increased faster than he had anticipated. His father’s dementia has progressed rapidly and his mother, who once made the majority of the business decisions, has spent more and more time as caretaker.
   Ty is not the only one with a desire to farm the land. His sister, Lily, also would like to take part. They know the estate will be split 50-50 when their parents pass, but the current situation is more complicated, with planting decisions to be made and their parents still holding title to the assets. Lily has been away from the farm for many years. She has earned several advanced degrees and now runs a consulting firm she can manage remotely. The slower pace of rural life and her desire to help care for her father all beckon her back.
   Ty is excited to have his sister join him in their small town—for one thing, there are few young people around and it would be nice to have some company. However, he also knows Lily’s knack for business decisions could undermine his own standing within the operation. She has already made several suggestions to explore new markets that Ty must admit have resulted in better margins than he expected.
   Ty would like to have a conversation with Lily about how farm management decisions will be made and who will make them before she moves back. He is apprehensive, for obvious reasons, about even opening the topic for discussion. However, he is convinced that they have a better chance of working things out to everyone’s satisfaction if they have the discussion before the conflicts begin.

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