Why More Farming Families Are Creating Family Charters
By Carryn Hills
August 2026
When people hear the words Family Charter, they often imagine a formal legal document filled with rules and corporate language.
In reality, a Family Charter is something much simpler and far more practical.
At its core, a Family Charter is a written guide that helps a family talk about the things that are often assumed, avoided, or left unsaid in family businesses and farming operations.
It is not a legal agreement.
It is not about locking people into decisions.
And it is certainly not about turning a family farm into a corporate boardroom.
Instead, it is a structured way for families to discuss:
How decisions are made;
What fairness means within the family;
Expectations around working in the business;
Succession pathways; and
Risk areas that could create future conflict.
Ultimately, it outlines what the family wants the business to stand for over time
Why Families Are Starting These Conversations Earlier
Historically, many succession conversations only happened when there was a trigger:
Retirement;
Illness;
Relationship breakdown;
Financial pressure; or
There was a conflict already underway.
By that stage, decisions are often emotional, rushed, and reactive.
What we are increasingly seeing is families wanting to start these discussions earlier, while relationships are strong and there is still an opportunity for flexibility and choice.
The purpose of a Family Charter is not to predict every future issue. It is to create enough clarity that families are not relying on assumptions when pressure arrives.
The Issues Families Commonly Avoid
Interestingly, the most valuable parts of a Family Charter are often not the “vision” sections, but the practical conversations families tend to avoid.
Topics such as:
Below-market wages with an expectation of future ownership;
Retirement funding for the older generation;
Housing arrangements on the farm;
Who has authority to make decisions;
Fairness between on-farm and off-farm children;
Expectations around partners and in-laws;
Communication styles and conflict; and
How risks such as illness, separation, or substance abuse would be handled.
These are not easy conversations. But avoiding them does not make the risks disappear. In many cases, the conflict families experience later is not caused by bad intent; it is caused by unclear expectations.
A Family Charter Is About Clarity, Not Perfection
One of the biggest misconceptions is that a Family Charter requires everyone to agree on everything immediately.
It does not. In fact, the process is often more valuable than the final document itself.
The real benefit comes from:
Creating structured conversations;
Giving family members a voice;
Identifying assumptions early; and
Understanding where external advice may be needed.
For some families, the outcome may simply be:
Clearer communication;
Agreed meeting structures;
Defined decision-making roles; or
Acknowledgment that certain areas still require work.
That is still progress.
The Role of Advisors
Family Charters are rarely completed in isolation. Different issues often require different expertise:
Accountants and business advisors to model affordability and succession pathways;
Lawyers to assist with structures, trusts, agreements and asset protection;
Financial planners to support retirement planning; and
In some cases, independent facilitators or mediators to guide difficult conversations.
Good advice does not remove family control; it helps reduce uncertainty and pressure.
Starting Small Is Often the Best Approach
Families do not need to solve every issue overnight. In many cases, the best starting point is simply identifying:
What conversations have been avoided;
What assumptions currently exist; and
What future risks could place strain on both the family and the business?
A Family Charter is not about creating rules for good times; it is about creating clarity before stress arrives. And for many family businesses, that clarity becomes one of the most important investments they make in the future of both the business and the relationships behind it.
At Lincolns, we work with farming families to navigate the creation of a family charter and succession planning with clarity and practicality. If you would like to hear more about getting started with your Family Charter, then check out our upcoming webinar here!
Three Questions Family Businesses Avoid Until They Can't
Every family business reaches a point where a question needs to be asked but hasn't been.
Sometimes it's about pay. Sometimes it's about who takes on more responsibility, and when. Sometimes it's about who gets a seat at the table when the big decisions are made.
These questions rarely go away on their own. Left unspoken, they tend to surface later, at the worst possible time, and often as conflict rather than conversation.
Ahead of Lincolns' upcoming Family Charter webinar, Business Advisory specialist Kym Arnold shares three questions she hears often in family businesses and why getting them out in the open early makes such a difference.
1. Why am I not being paid the same as someone doing the same job?
In a family business, pay doesn't always line up neatly with market value, and there is often a reasonable explanation. It might come down to other costs the business is covering, or the difference between being paid a wage and taking drawings.
The problem isn't usually the arrangement itself. It's that no one has explained it. Without that conversation, assumptions creep in, and assumptions have a way of turning into frustration and resentment. Helping family members understand the difference between wages and drawings and seeing their full package rather than just a payslip figure can resolve a lot of that tension before it builds.
2. What do I need to do to take on more responsibility in the business?
Next-generation family members often want more involvement in the business but aren't clear on what that path looks like. At the same time, the senior generation may not have set out what they're actually looking for before they hand anything over.
A Family Charter helps close that gap. It sets out what the pathway to greater responsibility looks like and the milestones along the way, so expectations are shared rather than assumed.
3. When will my spouse or partner be included in important family and business conversations?
Partners are often deeply affected by decisions made in a family business, yet they're not always part of the conversation. That gap tends to create uncertainty and, over time, tension that has nothing to do with the decision itself and everything to do with feeling left out of it.
A Family Charter can set out how and when people are brought into these discussions. Because the same expectation applies to everyone, it feels like a clear, fair standard rather than a decision made about any one person.
Why this matters
None of these questions are really about money, roles, or meetings. They're about clarity. A Family Charter doesn't remove the difficult conversations from a family business. It gives the family a framework for having them earlier, and on their own terms, rather than waiting for pressure or circumstance to force the issue.
Join the webinar
Presented by Business Advisory specialists Carryn Hills and Kym Arnold, this session will cover practical approaches to succession, decision-making, and long-term planning, followed by a live Q&A.
Date: Tuesday 25 August 2026
Time: 11:30 am – 1:00 pm AWST
Where: Live online, with limited in-person places at the Lincolns Albany office
Whether succession is years away or already underway, this session is designed for farming families and family-owned businesses who want to start the right conversations before they become urgent.
