Andrew Bower
For generations, farm succession in Western Australia followed a familiar path. The eldest takes over the property, everyone else gets something the parents consider fair, and the family stays together. No dispute. No lawyers.
That model held for decades. Today, it’s becoming harder to pull off and far more expensive when a disgruntled family member disputes it.
Our latest research shows why. As farmland values climb and families grow more complex, the quiet assumption that farms “just pass down” is quietly becoming one of the biggest risks a farming family faces.
Summary
- The traditional “eldest takes the farm” succession model is breaking down as land values soar.
- Regional WA is more Will-ready than the city, but underestimates its own dispute risk.
- Surging farmland values have turned modest buyouts into multi-million-dollar grievances.
- Divorce is a major, under-managed threat to keeping a farm in the family.
- Failed farm succession scatters families and hollows out regional communities.
Regional WA is better prepared – but underestimating its risk
Our 2026/27 Inheritance State of Play Report surveyed 882 Western Australians on their inheritance preparedness. Looking closely at the regional data, a concerning picture emerges.
On the face of it, the regions are ahead. Regional West Australians are more Will-ready than city dwellers – 61% of regional respondents have a Will, compared to 54% in the metro area. And 37.4% of regional respondents rate receiving an inheritance as “extremely important” to their financial security, against 27.5% in the city.
That makes sense. For a farming family, an inheritance isn’t a windfall. It’s the continuation of a working enterprise – the business, the livelihood, and the land under your feet.
But here’s what gives us pause. Only 30% of regional respondents anticipate an inheritance dispute, compared to 37% in the metro area. In communities where trust runs high and the belief that farms simply pass down remains powerful, families may be badly underestimating their own exposure.
Families are not wrong to trust each other, but wrong to trust the status quo.
The $5 million conversation is now the $30 million conversation
Farmland values across WA have surged, and that changes everything.
What used to be a straightforward question – who gets the property, and how do we look after the siblings who moved to the city – now involves asset values that fundamentally shift the legal and relational dynamics. The size of the prize has transformed the stakes.
At this scale, informal arrangements often fall apart. Good intentions collide with competing expectations. Siblings who once would have accepted a modest buyout now have legitimate financial grievances running into the millions. And a spouse who married in when the farm was worth a modest amount may leave – through divorce or death – when it’s worth many times more.
That last point deserves its own conversation.
12 commons pitfalls to avoid in protecting yourself, your loved ones, and your legacy.
Divorce: the farm succession risk no one is managing
Across our work with farming families, we see a consistent and concerning gap – the failure to protect farm assets against the risk of divorce.
When a farming child marries and that marriage later ends, the consequences for the family business can be severe. Without the right structures in place, a departing spouse may have a legitimate claim to a share of the farm. At today’s valuations, that can mean forced sales, fragmented ownership, or assets leaving the family altogether.
Managing this risk usually means putting the right foundations in place early, such as:
- Binding financial agreements between spouses.
- Carefully constructed testamentary trust and ownership structures.
- Clear, documented asset ownership across the family enterprise.
It isn’t comfortable to plan for a marriage ending. But increasingly, it’s a necessary risk to mitigate.
The stakes go beyond the family
When a farm succession dispute is left unresolved, or resolved badly, the fallout isn’t just a family tragedy. It’s often shared by an entire community.
Farms carved up through contested estates are frequently sold to large corporate operators or foreign investors, because no family member can afford to buy the others out. Families who anchored regional communities for decades scatter. And Western Australia loses another piece of the agricultural and social fabric the regions depend on.
Food security, community cohesion, regional economic health – these aren’t abstractions. They’re the downstream consequences of estate planning that failed to keep pace with asset values and family complexity.
What farming families and advisers need to know
The regional data reveals something that should inform every farming succession conversation: low perceived conflict risk is not the same as low structural risk.
The families most likely to say “we’ll be fine” are often the ones running on legal, financial and relational frameworks designed for a farm worth a fraction of today’s value. The inheritance conversation for a farming family isn’t optional. It is, quite literally, the business.
Getting it right means bringing your estate planning and business succession structures up to date together – so the plan reflects what the farm is worth now, and who needs to be protected.
The takeaway
The old succession model was built for a simpler, smaller time. As land values climb and families spread across the state and beyond, the gap between “how we’ve always done it” and “what the law and the numbers now demand” keeps widening. Closing that gap early is how farming families keep the farm, and the family, intact.
If you advise farming clients and want to understand what the data says about regional WA’s succession gap, we’d welcome a conversation. And if your own or are involved in a family farm that doesn’t yet have the right plans in place, let’s make the time to get the right plans and protections in place for you.
Speak with our lawyers about protecting your farm and your family’s future.
Frequently asked questions
What is farm succession planning?
It’s the process of deciding how a farming enterprise passes to the next generation — covering ownership, the Will, business structures, and how to treat family members fairly, whether or not they work on the land.
Why is farm succession riskier now than it used to be?
Farmland values have surged. Modest buyouts have become multi-million-dollar questions, so informal, handshake arrangements no longer hold up the way they once did.
How can we protect the farm if a marriage breaks down?
Structures such as binding financial agreements, trusts and clear asset ownership can help shield farm assets from a divorce claim. These work best when put in place early, not in a crisis.
Do we really need a formal plan if our family gets along?
Yes. High trust is valuable, but it doesn’t address the structural and financial risks that come with today’s land values, sophisticated asset pools and complex family dynamics . A good plan protects relationships as well as assets.
Need advice? We’re just a phone call away
Our team are here to guide you. Take the first step towards resolving your legal matter in a smart and efficient way with Solomon Hollett Lawyers.
