Succession isn’t one conversation. It’s years of decisions, discussions and planning.
Family farms, family businesses and the people who run them. Byfields has been guiding WA's intergenerational handovers for nearly seven decades.
Succession is the most important decision a family business will ever make, and the one most likely to be put off. Every family business is different, which means no succession plan is ever one-size-fits-all. It involves money, emotion, fairness, in-laws, the next generation's plans, the previous generation's identity, and a tax code that doesn't make any of it simple.
We work with both generations to help achieve the best outcome for the family and the future of the business. We know the difference between a succession plan that looks tidy in a folder and one that holds up when somebody dies, divorces, or decides farming isn't for them.
What succession planning actually involves
Done well, succession is built across years, not weeks. There are five overlapping streams of work, and we run all of them.
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Who wants what, who's coming in, who's stepping back. We facilitate the conversations that families often can't have at their own kitchen table.
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Equal isn't always fair. Off-farm children, working-on children, and partners new to the family all sit in different positions. In many farming businesses, land values have risen far faster than off-farm assets, which can make balancing fairness across generations increasingly difficult. Working out what 'fair' looks like, and how it's funded, is the heart of succession.
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Trusts, companies, partnerships, SMSFs and the right mix. The structure that built the business is rarely the structure that hands it on.
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CGT, stamp duty, small business concessions, primary-producer concessions, the family farm exemption, intergenerational transfer rules. We run the numbers across multiple scenarios so the family can choose with eyes open.
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Wills, enduring powers of attorney, binding death benefit nominations on super. Your succession plan and your estate plan need to talk to each other, we make sure they do.
Why families come to us
We’ve sat in these conversations with WA families for decades and we understand how personal they can be.
Succession planning has always been a core part of how we work with farming families. We've seen what works at the 10-year mark, not just at the signing table.
We bring senior people to it.
A director leads every succession engagement. You won't be passed to a junior on the most important conversation of your business life.
We work with your other Advisers.
Your lawyer, your banker, your insurance broker, your facilitator if you have one. Succession works best when everyone is in the same room.
We understand that farming businesses today are serious operations with serious complexity.
Land values, commodity volatility, equipment cycles, water rights, share farming, off-farm children with their own businesses. We start the conversation already understanding the variables.
“Succession isn’t a one-size-fits-all situation — it starts with conversations long before documents.”
- JACK HAYES, DIRECTOR
When to start
Ideally, succession conversations start before the next generation has even fully committed to returning to the business. Succession is built in stages, early conversations, structure work, tax planning, gradual control transfer, fairness mechanisms, finalisation. Most families need at least five years to do it well. Many regret not starting sooner.
What a Byfields succession engagement looks like
An initial 'succession readiness' conversation, free, no commitment, on your farm or in our office
A structured family meeting program (we facilitate; you decide)
Modelling and scenario-testing across structures, tax and fairness mechanisms
Quarterly review meetings as the plan moves from concept to action
Coordination with your lawyer, banker and other advisers
Annual check-ins post-implementation, because life keeps moving
DISCLAIMER
This provides general information only, current at the time of production. Any advice in it has been prepared without taking into account your personal circumstances. You should seek professional advice before acting on any material. Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.