Estate Planner in a Box

Randy McKee: Estate planning in a box


By Amanda Radke, TSLN

“It used to be what separated people was between have and have nots; but today, it's more split between who is informed and who is ignorant,” said Randy McKee, of McKee Companies, at the South Dakota Cattlemen's Association (SDCA) 62nd Annual Trade Show and Convention in Aberdeen, SD on Dec. 1, 2010.

McKee is a nationally-recognized estate planner, who developed “Estate Planner In A Box,” an easy-to-understand course designed to teach families how to put together an estate plan for an agriculture business. At the convention, he offered his advice on what farm and ranch families should think about as they prepare for the uncertainties of tomorrow.

“Estate planning can't wait,” said McKee. “There are three solid ways to eliminate federal estate taxes; if you pay even one penny for your estate, it's voluntary now. We can help you eliminate or reduce the costs for your heirs.”


McKee noted that while there are so many factors in the agriculture sector that can't be controlled, such as prices and the weather, there is one thing producers can have control on – the future of their family business.

“Our product teaches you how to gain control,” said McKee. “You don't want a judge determining the outcome of your operation. We can help you get on track to making those big decisions in your estate plan.”

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Most of the time you hear me focusing on issues like animal rights and food production.  There's no doubt that retaining the social license to produce food in this country is one of our biggest challenges.  But the other one that I see as a threat is the complicated process of passing a farm or ranch to the next generation.  Too many times this process doesn't seem to work out like everyone had hoped or else the task seemed so daunting that no estate plan was ever put in place.  Estate Planner in a Box is by the far the best program I have ever found for dealing with this difficult subject.  Many times the hardest part of estate planning is just getting started.  That's exactly what this helps you do.  Randy is a nationally respected expert on estate planning, but maybe even more importantly, he's a ranch kid from South Dakota.  Agriculture is something that is near and dear to him and he has helped many families plan for their future.