Farming – April 2025

Preparing for future tax changes

With spring underway, many rural businesses are thinking ahead to the coming tax reforms, particularly concerning Inheritance Tax and Capital Gains Tax.

While the full details are expected in summer 2025, now is the ideal time to review not just your tax position, but also your legal arrangements as a whole.

“One of the most common causes of delay in succession planning or business transactions is uncertainty over property ownership and legal documentation,” said Sarah Parker, Head of Agriculture at Ware & Kay incorporating Pearsons & Ward Solicitors in Malton.

“This can create significant challenges, particularly in rural estates where land has been passed down through generations.

“Unwritten agreements, missing title deeds, and unclear ownership records can slow down transactions, increase costs, and lead to unexpected disputes.”

Key areas to review:

Title Deeds and Land Ownership: Are your records accurate and protected?

● Do your deeds account for all the land you believe you own?

● Are they in the correct names of the actual owners?

● For unregistered land, is ownership properly recorded and protected?

Ensuring your land is accurately documented is essential for avoiding legal disputes, securing future transactions, and protecting generational ownership.

For unregistered landowners, taking proactive steps now can prevent complications down the line.

Tenancies and Partnership Agreements

● Are these agreements in writing?

● Do they reflect the arrangements that the parties believe are in place?

● The start date of tenancies and partnerships is also important—without clarity, potential legal and tax complications can arise.

Unregistered Land

If land remains unregistered, it may be time to apply for voluntary first registration with the Land Registry.

This not only secures legal proof of ownership but also makes future transactions smoother and succession planning clearer.

Why act now?

By ensuring ownership records and agreements are accurate and legally sound, you strengthen your position ahead of potential tax changes.

Sorting out these issues before they become urgent avoids unnecessary delays, costs, and complications.

At Ware & Kay incorporating Pearsons & Ward Solicitors, we specialise in succession planning, agricultural tenancies, partnership agreements, and unregistered land matters.

If you would like advice on reviewing your deeds or legal agreements, we are here to help.

Contact Sarah Parker, Head of Agriculture for expert legal advice on Malton: 01653 692247 or email sarah.parker@warekay.co.uk

Mediation: How to resolve your disputes less painfully

There is little doubt that becoming involved in a dispute can have a massive negative impact on the wellbeing of both businesses and individuals alike.

In the agricultural and farming sectors, disputes arise in many ways including between suppliers, professionals, employees and partners.

Disputes are costly, disruptive and can be highly stressful.

Even these days it is not uncommon to hear individuals aggressively threaten, having watched too many Hollywood movies, “I will see you in court!”.

However, the reality of court action is far from attractive. Court proceedings are extremely slow, expensive, highly emotionally charged and the outcome is often uncertain to predict.

Given these considerations over recent years, alternative methods of dispute resolution have developed. These include arbitration, expert determination but by far the most popular currently is mediation.

So what is mediation exactly? It is a voluntary informal flexible process whereby a neutral third party (the mediator), assists to reach a facilitated agreement.

There are many advantages of mediation as compared to traditional formal dispute resolution methods such as arbitration and court proceedings.

Mediation is confidential to the parties, unlike court proceedings which are often open to the public. It is very cost effective with the costs involved being a fraction of going to court.

It is quick to set up often taking just a few weeks as compared to court proceedings which can still often take well over a year, if not longer.

One of the main advantages of mediation is that it is very flexible in terms of the solutions that can be found.

This can be compared to court action where the judge has limited powers as to what he/she can order when imposing an outcome.

Within the mediation process, the parties are able to explore endless creative solutions which in certain cases actually preserve rather than destroy relationships.

For example recent participants to a mediation were able to reach a solution in terms of the route of a right of way, which suited them both from a practical point of view, rather than focusing on their perceived strict legal rights.

Similarly, parties who were in dispute as to a defective tractor including a claim for repayment of purchase monies, were able to resolve the issues between them by a combination of the supply of a cultivator together with a small payment.

These creative solutions would not have been open to a judge or an arbitrator.

Finally, does mediation actually work? The answer is yes, as reported statistics indicate that 85%-90% of disputes are resolved either on the day of the mediation itself or shortly thereafter as a result of discussions that took place during the mediation process.

So if you are involved in a dispute and are tempted to go for that dramatic Hollywood line, you may want to rethink and indicate “I will see you in mediation!”.

For advice on how mediation may be able to help you solve a dispute, contact Neil Largan, mediator and head of dispute resolution at Crombie Wilkinson Solicitors on 01904 624185.