Expert agricultural and rural land solicitors
Our specialist agricultural solicitors in Bath, Frome, Sherborne and Wells have the knowledge and experience to manage any legal issues affecting your farm or rural business.
Whether you are looking to set up a new partnership, sell your farming business, create a succession plan or settle a dispute, our team of agricultural lawyers can help. With our detailed understanding of agricultural law, commitment to personal service and excellent relationships with local agents, we can minimise issues and help you protect the future of your farm.
Our agricultural law services
Partnerships & Farming Structures
Structuring a partnership agreement is essential for any farming business. It’s particularly important where there are specific tax planning requirements, and to aid succession planning.
Our team of expert agricultural solicitors can advise on partnership agreements and limited company structures, as well as dissolutions, joint ventures and tenancy agreements. Working closely with your accountant and other professional advisers, we make sure your legal arrangements take your personal circumstances fully into account.
Farm Sales & Estate Purchases
Our experienced agricultural property team understands that buying or selling a farm or estate requires specialist knowledge. We are prepared to help you overcome the unique challenges that often accompany an agricultural or rural land transaction.
The agricultural lawyers at Mogers Drewett also advise on a range of related matters such as:
- Land that is restricted by tenancies
- Rights of way disputes
- The granting of overage or the discharge of any overage obligations attached to the land
● The granting of any leases or tenancies that might be required
Agricultural land for sale/ development
Our farms and estate experts deal with all types of property disposals, ranging from small paddocks to hundreds of acres of land.
We can guide you through the sales process, which includes considering any leases, licences, rights of way or easements that exist or need to be granted to access land that has been retained. Our team of agricultural solicitors will liaise directly with your agent throughout the process to complete the sale of your property as smoothly as possible.
Farm succession
Succession planning can be a complex, emotive and challenging process. But it is essential to ensure a smooth transition of the management and ownership of any business.
Having a succession plan in place is particularly relevant with farming businesses, where family and business are often very much intertwined. A succession plan will not only help to secure business continuity but also prevent a lot of heartache for loved ones in the future.
Our team of succession planners will work with you to ensure all your life’s work passes to the next generation in the most tax efficient way and with minimal disruption to the business and family life.
Farm tenancies
Farm business tenancy agreements are always very particular to individual circumstances, and must be tailored to suit both landlord and tenant. Before entering into a tenancy agreement, it is important to have a full understanding of the implications for you, your business, and your family from a tenant’s or landlord’s perspective at the earliest possible stage.
Our team of agricultural lawyers can provide advice and guidance for both landlords and tenants to ensure the tenancy works for all parties both now and in the future. That includes:
Farm Business Tenancies
- Creating new Farm Business Tenancy (FBT) agreements
- Advice on existing FBTs with regards to occupation rights and compensation claims
- Share farming and contract agreements
- Profit of pasturage agreements
- Grazing licences
- Single Farm Payment Scheme advice
Agricultural Tenancies Act
- Resolving issues regarding tenancy termination
- Investigating current tenancy agreements
- Dealing with Agricultural Land Tribunal proceedings
- General tenancy disagreement resolution
- Succession dispute advice for tenants or landlords
Renewables and diversification
As farm businesses face increasing challenges in terms of economic stability and traditional production methods, more and more farmers are considering diversifying. Whether it’s tourism, hospitality, wind farms or solar farms, our team of agricultural solicitors can help you understand the tax implications, the business structure and planning permission required. We also provide guidance on the grants and funding options available.
Rights of way
When your land is part of your livelihood, issues with rights of way and public access can be damaging and costly.
Whether you are a landowner wanting to divert public access from your land or a developer wanting to stop plans to create a right of way, our team of rural land solicitors can help protect your land and your livelihood. Our rights of way experts include Jonathan Cheal, one of the country’s leading practitioners in this type of work.
Find a clear direction with rights of way assistance on:
- Dedication agreements and deposits
- The challenges posed by applications
- Diversions and extinguishments
- Permissive paths
- Village green
- Coastal access
- The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (CROW) rights
Agricultural disputes
Agricultural disputes can range from boundary or rights of way issues to more personal issues such as inheritance disputes or farm ownership problems following a separation. Disputes in an agricultural setting require an agricultural law expert who understands the unique challenges faced by those working in the sector. Only then can a dispute be resolved effectively while also preserving relationships, a business and assets for future generations.
Contentious Probate and Inheritance Disputes
It’s not unusual to have several generations of the same family working a farm. So if clear instructions about who gets what after the death of a senior family member are not documented, then there is enormous potential for things to become contentious. This not only disrupts day-to-day farming operations, but the impact on the family can be severe and long lasting.
Our team of experts have extensive experience of helping farming families resolve disputes quickly and efficiently with the aim of preserving the family business for years to come.
Next steps: get in touch to discuss agricultural law
If you need legal advice on a agricultural matter, contact our agricultural solicitors on: 0800 533 5349 or enquiries@mogersdrewett.com
Meet the team
Frequently asked questions
An overage clause allows the seller of land to benefit from any subsequent increase in the land’s value after having sold it. It is usually contained within a commercial property or land sale contract. For example, if the buyer increases the value of the land by obtaining planning permission, then the buyer agrees to pay the seller extra money on top of the agreed sale price.
Having an easement on your property means that a third party has permission to use your land for a particular purpose. The most common easements are right of way or a right to light.
A farm tenancy is an agreement that allows a farmer who does not own the land to farm it. Before entering into a tenancy agreement, it is important to have a full understanding of the implications for you, your business and your family.
Having a succession plan in place will not only help to secure business continuity but also prevent a lot of heartache for loved ones. This is particularly relevant with farming businesses, where often family and business are very much intertwined.
For a start, many farm properties include the family home, and there will be family members who do not want to take on the family business but who you still want to benefit from a share of the assets. Failure to plan could result in a dispute involving the farm business and your family.
In the event of divorce, farms can be more complicated than other assets. Farms are often inherited by one party prior to a marriage and can be owned by various members of a family. As such, there can be other parties’ rights and interests to consider. Additionally, many farmers will want the asset to be retained because it both generates their income and there is often a desire to leave it to future generations.
Many of these issues can be prevented if the parties enter into a prenuptial agreement before they get married. It is also possible to come to a similar agreement during the marriage. This is known as a postnuptial agreement.
The agreements create the opportunity to discuss what would happen to the family farm in the event of separation and can be very persuasive when coming to a financial settlement. They can also prevent lengthy solicitor negotiations or Court proceedings at a later date.
Disputes among farming families in relation to inheritance of the family farm are common. The only way to accurately record your wishes is to draft a Will and put in place a clear succession plan that is discussed with everyone involved in the family and the farm before a senior member of the farming family dies.
