When my parents moved to Southern Kenton County almost forty years ago, the closest grocery store was in Florence, about thirty minutes away, and over my lifetime, I have seen development, all kinds, trickle down like veins from the heart of Cincinnati to buy out and build on farmland in Northern Kentucky. I’ve heard, “You can’t stop progress.”
Progress is onward movement toward a destination, so no, we can’t stop progress. We can, however, affect the destination. How powerful is that?
We should have a voice, and what some people don’t realize, is that they already do. The problem is, sometimes, money speaks louder.
Right now, Kenton County is going through SRI (Site Readiness Initiative), and there's been a lot of frustration with how they're managing the communication and progress and targeting agricultural land.
Sometimes, it takes one. One politician to add you to a distribution list and listen. One group of citizens to organize. One board to update the comprehensive plan and future land use map to reflect the priorities and goals of the residents in that area. One of many to speak up. A collective one.
But sometimes, money still speaks louder.
Protect Your Best Interests
If you are a farmer or business owner interested in preserving and protecting your legacy for future generations, regardless of what you do and where you operate, here’s my advice: build a transition plan. It’s the process of passing ownership, management, and operation of your business to the next generation or successor. It's not just about drafting a will—it's about creating a living plan that addresses:
- Ownership transfer (land, equipment, livestock, goods)
- Management succession (who runs daily operations)
- Financial sustainability (can the business support multiple generations?)
- Family dynamics (who wants to work it, who doesn’t and how well would they work together)
Why Is It Important?
Without a clear transition plan, farms or local businesses risk:
- Legal disputes among heirs
- Forced sale of land or assets
- Loss of generational wealth
- Emotional strain on family relationships
- Tax burdens that could have been avoided (estate, income, gift)
Planning early helps reduce stress, safeguard your assets, and help ensure your farm or business continues to thrive for generations, and if the answer is that it doesn’t continue, then it doesn’t.
Either way, have that conversation now before ownership transfers to determine the best approach (i.e. inheritances based on stakeholders, a structured purchase among heirs, equal division, etc.). Get everyone to the table—spouses, kids, potential successors, and identify your goals. Don’t wait for a health issue or retirement to force your hand.
Work with me or another financial advisor, an estate planning attorney, and a tax professional to compile items, such as a will and trust, buy-sell agreements, powers of attorney, life insurance or other assets to equalize inheritances, and a financial plan. This may also involve forming an LLC or corporation to ease ownership transfer and clarify management roles if you don’t already have it, a financial plan to retire and give, long-term care, life insurance, trusts, or networking to find an outside partner to run the business after transition. Families often avoid hard conversations about money and fairness. Do it now before your property and assets sell to the highest bidder in an absolute estate auction because no one has to “know-how” of a financial path forward.
Your Destination
Our hands create just as easily as they destroy. With thoughtful local business or farm transition planning, you can safeguard your family's future, honor your values, and create a roadmap that works for everyone. I support start-up and local businesses, hands down, especially those that give back to the community, and we need affordable housing in our area. We can do those things in Kenton County while also preserving the rural and agricultural character in Southern Kenton County by narrowing the areas to be commercialized and narrowing the projects we would consider to preserve more of our "prime" flat farmland. If this topic hits home, let’s talk. I specialize in guiding families through transitions like these with empathy, clarity on finances, and advice to act on. A smooth handoff doesn’t happen by accident.
If this topic is also literally your home, comment on this post. Write what you would want to say to those responsible - what do you love about Southern Kenton and Boone counties?
Proverbs Wealth Management and LPL Financial do not provide specific individualized tax or legal advice or services. We suggest that you discuss your specific situation with a qualified tax or legal advisor.
Honey Locust Farms (My childhood home)
Credits: To my Southern Kenton County friends
Key Meeting Recordings: February 6 Kenton County Planning Commission Meeting & July 22 Kenton County Fiscal Court Meeting
Music: Acoustic Guitar 1
Musician: audionautix.com
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode