Posted by: Kylie Wilson
We had the last day of the very successful succession
and continuity roadshow in Rockhampton on Thursday. There were some
interesting questions in relation to keeping the business separate from high
value assets like land, and Frank Ricci of Entello Group, at the request of one
participant, spent some time explaining the ins and outs of off-market
shares.
Almost all of the Lawrie family attended the
Rockhampton session, and again told participants their courageous story of
overcoming distrust and emotional heartache to come through the succession process
as a very close-knit, happy and supportive family.
Claudia Power again imparted her amazing wisdom,
having been through a very difficult situation with her father's Will, both as
a young child and later with the succession process as a young woman.
This has taught her the importance of succession planning early and she has
used those skills for her own immediate family succession in more recent
years.
John Moore from RCS gave some really valuable tips
to participants arising from the lessons he's learned in his own very difficult
succession process as a grazier and farmer of a multigenerational primary
production business in South Africa. Kate Murfet of RCS spent most of the
roadshow with us and is one of the nicest and most creative people I've ever
met.
Frank Ricci, Tony Garnham and Belinda Piccirillo,
all from Entello Group, provided some fantastic advice to primary producers
about the options for off-farm investments, a very important consideration if
succession planning is to progress smoothly. I have to say, if I ever dab
my toe in the share market again, these guys will be the first people I
call.
Andrew McCormack of Best Wilson Buckley Family Law
not only did a great job of overcoming many participants' initial prejudice
about financial agreements, by showing clearly the advantages for both parties
in a relationship of having clarity, rather than the uncertain and expensive
process of having a family court decide, in the event of a marriage
breakdown. He also imparted some absolute gems from his role as executor,
in one case in relation to a Will that had not been updated appropriately,
causing a huge amount of distress to the beneficiaries left behind. It
again highlighted the importance of ensuring that Wills are updated on a regular
basis and further, that a Will is only part of the succession plan - it should
never be the entire succession plan.
I have to say that it has been an absolute pleasure
and a privilege to work with so many wonderful and inspiring people, both my
fellow presenters during this roadshow, and the committed families who came for
the purpose of obtaining information on how to transition multigenerational
businesses while maintaining family harmony.
I'm now on the long road from Rocky to Brisbane and
I have just passed, quite seriously, the longest coal train I've ever seen in
my life, and I have seen rather a lot of them in my time. The mining boom
might be over but between the coal trains and the explosive trucks I've passed,
it is clear that the process of mining itself up this way is still
continuing.
I have very much enjoyed my time in central
Queensland and am now looking forward to getting home.
