It’s not uncommon for farming or ranching families to have hundreds of thousands – if not millions – of dollars locked up in equipment, livestock, structures, and land. That can make for a pretty impressive net worth. But when you look at the cash flow, it’s another story entirely.

Unfortunately, estate taxes are based on the current market value of all your assets. In other words, your heirs may have to pay real money based on millions of dollars that only exist on paper.

And if they can’t readily come up with the cash from other sources, selling off assets to pay taxes and other costs may be their only recourse.

How do you avoid this? By planning ahead.