<p>The aim of this thesis is to present, investigate and especially to analyse the legal rules that apply in the process of changing of the generation of the ownership of Swedish agriculture and forestry family business. The methods that this study include are: unplanned succession of ownership, i.e. inheritance, and planned succession of ownership, i.e. gift and purchase. The succession method that is the most cost efficient must be established in every single case depending on the situation of the current owners and the successors. Even a combina-tion between the different methods is possible. The different legal areas that apply in the process of change of generation are Family law, which is one of the cornerstones, Tax law as well as the laws of finance. The “soft” issues, i.e. relationship related, constitute a great part of the process of succession and are therefore in many ways decisive to a successful change of generation of the ownership of a family business.</p><p>Unplanned succession of ownership is often the result of the owner passing away. In the absence of a legal will the possessions will be portioned to the surviving relatives according to the laws of inheritance, which may lead to undesired consequences. When the estate inventory is registered, among other issues, a tax is imposed on the forestry account. The consequence of this is that the estate, as a legal entity, must remain for several years, in order to avoid high taxation, which leads to, shared ownership between the legatees.</p><p>A change of generation by the methods of gift or purchase, carried out during the lifetime of the older generation, would benefit from considerable planning. Too many and complicated legal rules make it difficult for the owner of a private business to survey what impact each method will have long term. Therefore, it is important to strive for the simplification of these laws. Two of the principles of Swedish tax law, that this thesis analyse, decide in an unsatisfactory way which method to choose for succession of ownership, which is why a change of the law is necessary.</p><p>It is also necessary to simplify the legal rules to entice a new generation of entrepreneurs into agriculture and forestry, who have ambitions of development and growth.</p> / <p>Syftet med denna uppsats är att presentera, utreda och framför allt analysera de rättsregler som blir aktuella i samband med generationsskifte av familjeägda jord- och skogsbruksföretag, bedrivna som enskild näringsverksamhet. De generationsskiftesmetoder som denna uppsats behandlar är vid oplanerat generationsskifte, arv, och vid planerat generationsskifte, gåva och köp. Vilken av dessa generationsskiftesmetoder som är den mest kostnadseffektiva måste avgöras i varje enskilt fall beroende på de förutsättningar som finns hos de enskilda ägarna och övertagarna. Även en kombination av de olika metoderna kan bli aktuellt. De olika rättsområden som berörs i generationsskiftesprocessen är familjerätt, som är en av hörnpelarna, skatterätt likväl som viss företagsekonomi. Relationsbaserade, ”mjuka”, frågor utgör en stor del av den totala generationsskiftesprocessen och har på flera sätt en avgörande betydelse för ett lyckat skifte.</p><p>Oplanerade generationsskiften blir ofta aktuella i samband med att ägaren avlider. Vid avsaknad av testamente fördelas kvarlåtenskapen på de efterlevande enligt den legala arvsordningen, vilket kan få oönskade konsekvenser. I samband med att bouppteckning registreras, skall bland annat medel på skogskonto tas upp till beskattning. Detta får till följd att den mest kostnadseffektiva lösningen kan blir att dödsboet ”måste” bestå i ett antal år för att kunna ta ut dessa medel utan hög beskattning, då samägande blir en av konsekvenserna.</p><p>Vid planerade generationsskiften, genom gåva eller köp, som genomförs under den äldre generationens livstid är god framförhållning av stor betydelse. Många och komplicerade rättsregler gör det dock svårt för den enskilda näringsidkaren att överblicka vad gåvo- och köpealternativen får för positiva och negativa konsekvenser på längre sikt, varför en förenkling av reglerna är att eftersträva. De inom skatterätten förekommande huvudsaklighetsprincipen och kontinuitetsprincipen styr på ett otillfredsställande sätt valet av generationsskiftesmetod, varför en lagändring, enligt min åsikt, bör ske.</p><p>Att underlätta reglerna kring generationsskiften är en nödvändighet för att locka en ny generation entreprenörer med tillväxtambitioner till jord- och skogsbruket.</p>

The aim of this thesis is to present, investigate and especially to analyse the legal rules that apply in the process of changing of the generation of the ownership of Swedish agriculture and forestry family business. The methods that this study include are: unplanned succession of ownership, i.e. inheritance, and planned succession of ownership, i.e. gift and purchase. The succession method that is the most cost efficient must be established in every single case depending on the situation of the current owners and the successors. Even a combina-tion between the different methods is possible. The different legal areas that apply in the process of change of generation are Family law, which is one of the cornerstones, Tax law as well as the laws of finance. The “soft” issues, i.e. relationship related, constitute a great part of the process of succession and are therefore in many ways decisive to a successful change of generation of the ownership of a family business. Unplanned succession of ownership is often the result of the owner passing away. In the absence of a legal will the possessions will be portioned to the surviving relatives according to the laws of inheritance, which may lead to undesired consequences. When the estate inventory is registered, among other issues, a tax is imposed on the forestry account. The consequence of this is that the estate, as a legal entity, must remain for several years, in order to avoid high taxation, which leads to, shared ownership between the legatees. A change of generation by the methods of gift or purchase, carried out during the lifetime of the older generation, would benefit from considerable planning. Too many and complicated legal rules make it difficult for the owner of a private business to survey what impact each method will have long term. Therefore, it is important to strive for the simplification of these laws. Two of the principles of Swedish tax law, that this thesis analyse, decide in an unsatisfactory way which method to choose for succession of ownership, which is why a change of the law is necessary. It is also necessary to simplify the legal rules to entice a new generation of entrepreneurs into agriculture and forestry, who have ambitions of development and growth. / Syftet med denna uppsats är att presentera, utreda och framför allt analysera de rättsregler som blir aktuella i samband med generationsskifte av familjeägda jord- och skogsbruksföretag, bedrivna som enskild näringsverksamhet. De generationsskiftesmetoder som denna uppsats behandlar är vid oplanerat generationsskifte, arv, och vid planerat generationsskifte, gåva och köp. Vilken av dessa generationsskiftesmetoder som är den mest kostnadseffektiva måste avgöras i varje enskilt fall beroende på de förutsättningar som finns hos de enskilda ägarna och övertagarna. Även en kombination av de olika metoderna kan bli aktuellt. De olika rättsområden som berörs i generationsskiftesprocessen är familjerätt, som är en av hörnpelarna, skatterätt likväl som viss företagsekonomi. Relationsbaserade, ”mjuka”, frågor utgör en stor del av den totala generationsskiftesprocessen och har på flera sätt en avgörande betydelse för ett lyckat skifte. Oplanerade generationsskiften blir ofta aktuella i samband med att ägaren avlider. Vid avsaknad av testamente fördelas kvarlåtenskapen på de efterlevande enligt den legala arvsordningen, vilket kan få oönskade konsekvenser. I samband med att bouppteckning registreras, skall bland annat medel på skogskonto tas upp till beskattning. Detta får till följd att den mest kostnadseffektiva lösningen kan blir att dödsboet ”måste” bestå i ett antal år för att kunna ta ut dessa medel utan hög beskattning, då samägande blir en av konsekvenserna. Vid planerade generationsskiften, genom gåva eller köp, som genomförs under den äldre generationens livstid är god framförhållning av stor betydelse. Många och komplicerade rättsregler gör det dock svårt för den enskilda näringsidkaren att överblicka vad gåvo- och köpealternativen får för positiva och negativa konsekvenser på längre sikt, varför en förenkling av reglerna är att eftersträva. De inom skatterätten förekommande huvudsaklighetsprincipen och kontinuitetsprincipen styr på ett otillfredsställande sätt valet av generationsskiftesmetod, varför en lagändring, enligt min åsikt, bör ske. Att underlätta reglerna kring generationsskiften är en nödvändighet för att locka en ny generation entreprenörer med tillväxtambitioner till jord- och skogsbruket.

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate and analyze existing law concerning joint owner-ship in agriculture and forestry businesses. Joint ownership often arises through a succes-sion of ownership, therefore we will go through the most useful methods.Even if the owners of agriculture and forestry businesses are getting older, the numbers of succession of ownerships are still low. A succession of ownership is important to plan and its time is demanding. Often it takes three to five years for the completion of a succession of ownership. Therefore, owners must start their planning in time and think about what is to come of their business. During the planning, a decision must be made concerning who they want to take over and how it should be performed. When it comes to succession of ownership in agriculture and forestry businesses, three different methods are used. Those methods are inheritance, gift and purchase. These methods are also divided into unplanned and planned succession of ownership. For example, inheritance is unplanned and a gift and purchase, together with testamentary aquisitions, are planned.Inheritance occurs when the older generation passes away and the survivor inherits the property. If there is no survivor, the legal inheritance order decides who will inherit the property. Gift and purchase means that the owner gives away or sells the property to the younger generation. A combination of the methods can also be carried out. In that case, it is the compensation that decides if it is to be considered as a gift or a purchase. When the compensation exceeds the assessed value, the transfer is considered a purchase. Formerly, it was common that the oldest son took over the business. In this day and age, that does not happen as frequently. Far too often it is hard to find one person that wants to take over. Instead a succession of ownership is carried out to all the siblings. The reason for this is that the owner wants the business to stay within the family. This, even though joint ownership is to be considered as a bad solution that often leads to conflicts.Surrounding joint ownership, there are some problems that can arise at its origin during the joint ownership and in connection with the disposal. The choice of method, to transfer the farm, is of significance if a license is needed in order for the acquisition to be valid. It is also important to think through which stipulations that are put into the contract in connec-tion with the transfer. In the case that those stipulations are contrary to law then they are not valid.The problems that can arise during joint ownership often leads to disagreements. Examples of problems that will be mentioned in this thesis are which rules of law are applicable if a part owner has the right to farm the land and if the joint ownership is to be considered as a company. In the case of torn out conflicts, a possibility is presented implying that a de-mand can be made by any part owner that a sale shall be carried out at a public auction.

<p>The purpose of this thesis is to investigate and analyze existing law concerning joint owner-ship in agriculture and forestry businesses. Joint ownership often arises through a succes-sion of ownership, therefore we will go through the most useful methods.Even if the owners of agriculture and forestry businesses are getting older, the numbers of succession of ownerships are still low. A succession of ownership is important to plan and its time is demanding. Often it takes three to five years for the completion of a succession of ownership. Therefore, owners must start their planning in time and think about what is to come of their business. During the planning, a decision must be made concerning who they want to take over and how it should be performed. When it comes to succession of ownership in agriculture and forestry businesses, three different methods are used. Those methods are inheritance, gift and purchase. These methods are also divided into unplanned and planned succession of ownership. For example, inheritance is unplanned and a gift and purchase, together with testamentary aquisitions, are planned.Inheritance occurs when the older generation passes away and the survivor inherits the property. If there is no survivor, the legal inheritance order decides who will inherit the property. Gift and purchase means that the owner gives away or sells the property to the younger generation. A combination of the methods can also be carried out. In that case, it is the compensation that decides if it is to be considered as a gift or a purchase. When the compensation exceeds the assessed value, the transfer is considered a purchase. Formerly, it was common that the oldest son took over the business. In this day and age, that does not happen as frequently. Far too often it is hard to find one person that wants to take over. Instead a succession of ownership is carried out to all the siblings. The reason for this is that the owner wants the business to stay within the family. This, even though joint ownership is to be considered as a bad solution that often leads to conflicts.Surrounding joint ownership, there are some problems that can arise at its origin during the joint ownership and in connection with the disposal. The choice of method, to transfer the farm, is of significance if a license is needed in order for the acquisition to be valid. It is also important to think through which stipulations that are put into the contract in connec-tion with the transfer. In the case that those stipulations are contrary to law then they are not valid.The problems that can arise during joint ownership often leads to disagreements. Examples of problems that will be mentioned in this thesis are which rules of law are applicable if a part owner has the right to farm the land and if the joint ownership is to be considered as a company. In the case of torn out conflicts, a possibility is presented implying that a de-mand can be made by any part owner that a sale shall be carried out at a public auction.</p>