Richard and Shirley Thomas, seated at left, founded the family ranch in Montana and have passed it to their son Bruce, pictured with his wife, Tammy. Their succession plan includes the next generation of Bruce’s family. Standing, from left, are family members Ben and daughter Heather Ritner; son Kurt and Jessica Thomas, with granddaughter Kynlee; and daughter Amber and Travis Jenkins, with grandsons Conner and Cooper. > “This program is about making the conversation easier with your family.” — Brent Olson, CHS Insurance 14 MAY/JUNE 2016 But the fit wasn’t right. “I didn’t feel good about the players, and Mom and Dad didn’t feel right, either. We all thought, ‘Wait a minute, these people are in over their heads,’” recalls Thomas. Part of the reason was the firm’s poor awareness of the emotions of the moment. Nobody wants to talk about doing a will or an estate plan, says Olson. “It’s a tough conversation. This program is about making the entire conversation easier with your family. It helps eliminate the emotion of the unknown, the frustration of not knowing what to do and being overwhelmed by the process. But even though there is a lot of emotion and stress, this program offers a structured process that can guide you to the end result.” Frank conversation is a large part of the process, says Thomas. “We sat down with the previous firm and we just weren’t having conversations that needed to be had.” There is a close relationship between how well a family communicates and its probability of success in putting together a succession plan, says Shuntich. Planning for key conversations is critical. Having failed at their initial attempt, Thomas and his family set aside succession planning for years. That was until Richard and Shirley Thomas attended a seminar conducted by Nationwide about Land As Your Legacy. A Step Forward “A significant part of any succession plan is determining who takes leadership in the next generation,” says Shuntich. It’s a natural moment for new leaders to step forward. “This program offers a great opportunity for individuals who are interested in becoming a part of the operation, but may not have expressed it yet — it gives them a talking point,” says Kathy Swenseth, a marketing specialist with CHS Insurance who often speaks with younger producers across the country about Land As Your Legacy. “It also allows them to say to the older generation, ‘I’m taking a proactive step to do something for the operation, because its success and viability are important to me.’” After Thomas’ parents attended the seminar, they met with two advisors to begin the planning process. “It was all but immediate that they felt good; they were on board 100 percent. It was time,” says Thomas. The program allowed the Thomas family to define the business and create a clear path CHSINC.COM