Earth Care Farm Transitions to Next Generation

About: Jayne Merner-Senecal runs her family’s farm, Earth Care Farm, located in Charlestown, RI and plans to take over ownership of the farm in the future.  Earth Care Farm was started by Jayne’s father, Mike Merner, forty years ago and has a diversified production of produce, meat, and compost.  They use organic practices though they are not organic certified (fun fact: Mike Merner wrote the original organic standards for Rhode Island).

Legal Need: Jayne and Mike sought legal assistance to better understand how best to transition the farm to Jayne from a tax and estate planning standpoint.  They also wanted guidance on when best to make this transfer and help determining the optimal relationship between the farm business LLC and the land.

The Relationship: The Legal Food Hub matched Jayne and Mike with attorney Deb Foppert of Archer & Foppert.  Deb and her partner specialize in tax planning, small business and corporate work, estate planning, and real estate. Through their work with  Archer & Foppert, Jayne and Mike were able to make a succession plan suited for their needs.