From her work as an agricultural solicitor and chartered tax advisor, Aisling Meehan has said that there are “issues of land ownership rights” for women seen across the country.
Meehan spoke at the latest round of discussions held by the Women in Agriculture Stakeholders Group (WASG) in Portlaoise, Co. Laois this week.
In the case of succession planning, the land owner must be able to show that they have owned and farmed the land for 10 years.
While many husbands and wives may be co-owners of the land and may both work on the land and provide money for farm inputs, Meehan said that it is typically the husband who has registered for taxes, especially if the spouse is working off the farm.
Women in ag
Meehan said that her “key advice” for women is to always follow up with an accountant if they are a listed co-owner of land in order to form a registered farm partnership.
Meehan said that without a partnership, it has led to cases where a husband wants to hand over the farm to a niece or nephew, and the wife “is left with no say”.
Equally without a farm partnership, it can lead to a wife having to transfer their share of the land back to their husband as “a work around” in order to gain retirement relief, according to Meehan.
Meehan added that there needs to more discussions about pre-nuptial agreements in Ireland, as it is one of the only countries in the world that does not have such contracts in place.
“I know loads of women farmers that are really nervous about committing to a life partner because they don’t want to put a family farm that they own for generations at peril,” Meehan said.
Pre-nuptial agreements currently have no basis in law in Ireland, and as a result, they are not strictly binding. However, a couple deciding to marry can still form the agreement.
Making a will
Meehan said that some other “key advice” for farm families to follow is to make a will as soon as they can.
In the unfortunate incident where a death in the family occurs and there is not a will in place, possessions are automatically divided among family, with a spouse receiving two thirds and children receiving one third.
“If parents sit down and have that conversation about a will, it can stop families ending up sorting the division of land out in a solicitors office.
“It can stop the confusion of why decisions were made. If families could sit down and parents could explain their decisions and why they have come to that conclusion. And then people could learn to live with it or plans could be amended,” Meehan said.
She said that once instructions are “clear”, the process can be simple and put families minds at ease.