New bill arose from DBA member issue

Legislation helps farm families avoid complications when passing on farm equipment

by Chad Zuleger, associate director of government affairs

A bill authorizing nonprobate transfers of farm implements passed unanimously out of the state Assembly and Senate and now heads to Gov. Tony Evers for his likely signing into law.

The process of getting this bill introduced and passed is a great example of member engagement. The idea of allowing nonprobate transfers of farming implements at death was raised by an attorney, Todd Anderson from Grantsburg, who works with our farmer members. Anderson recognized that this type of non-probate transfer would give him and other attorneys another tool to aid farm families in the estate planning and business transition process.

He talked with some of his farmer clients about his idea, and they put him in touch with DBA. From there, the government affairs team worked with Anderson to find a member of the Legislature who would be interested in addressing the issue. Rep. John Macco, R-Ledgeview, stepped forward to offer his assistance and to get the bill drafted. He was later joined on the legislation by Sen. Joan Ballweg, R-Markesan, who owns a farm implement dealership with her husband and also chairs the Senate Agriculture Committee. Both are strong legislative advocates for farmers.

Wisconsin statutes already feature several mechanisms to help estates avoid probate. This includes exemptions of certain types and amounts of property. It also includes transfer-on-death deeds that allow real estate to transfer upon an owner’s death to designated parties outside of the probate process. Macco and Ballweg’s helpful legislation, which enjoyed broad bipartisan support, would create a similar mechanism for the nonprobate transfer of farm implements.

This is important because while a certain amount of personal property is allowed to transfer without triggering a probate proceeding, expensive farm equipment can quickly add up and tip an estate over the threshold requiring it to go through probate. For most Wisconsinites, the current personal property exemptions are sufficient to allow the transfer of one’s personal belonging upon his or her passing. For many Wisconsin farm families, that is not the case, and they must deal with the cost and delay caused by the probate process.

This legislation should save government resources. It is true that the number of probate filings will decrease, and local courts will miss out on the filing fees they get for those cases, but the filing fees never cover the cost to the court system of the entire probate case.

The county courts are not the only ones that will see savings because of this bill. It will also help farmers and their descendants save the time and money associated with going through probate court, which usually involves hiring an attorney. As mentioned above, existing law provides many ways for estates to avoid probate already. This is done because it is advantageous to all parties. The additional carveout provided by this legislation makes equally good sense.

This is the second session in a row where DBA has taken an idea brought to it by membership and shepherded it through the legislative process and into law. During the previous session, we were approached by an accounting firm and corporate member who found a drafting error making it harder  for some farmers to take advantage of the Manufacturing and Agriculture Tax Credit. DBA worked with those accountants to find a champion for their fix-it bill and worked with lawmakers to see the needed change become law.

DBA is just beginning the process of formulating our legislative priorities for the 2023-24 legislative session. The non-probate transfer bill this session and the tax credit bill from last session show the importance of member engagement in this process. We welcome your ideas for changes that would improve the legal or regulatory environment for our state’s farmers. We would love for your idea to be the next success story of how casual conversation with a member can result in legislative change.