The Larapinta View · Article
Putting the proceeds of a farm sale to work
The money has landed. Now it needs a plan that the accountant, the solicitor and the adviser all work to.
The first weeks after a sale are about patience and arithmetic. The months after that are about something harder: turning one large sum into a plan the whole family understands, and keeping the accountant, the solicitor and the adviser working to the same version of it.
We’ve written before about what to think about in the first weeks after the farm is sold, and about how your accountant and solicitor work together before and after a farm sale. This piece picks up where those leave off. The contract has settled, the real number is known, and the question is what to do with it from here.
At a glance
After a farm sale or sell-down, put the money to work in stages, from a written plan that the family, the accountant and the solicitor have all agreed. Set aside what the family will need over the next few years first. Then invest the rest gradually, entity by entity, once the accountant and solicitor have settled which structure holds what. Spread it well away from the land, one district and one season. Then update the wills, the trust deed and the succession plan for a family that now holds money instead of a farm, and meet together at least once a year. Larapinta Private builds and runs the investment plan and keeps all three professionals working from the same picture.
What should we do with the money after selling the farm?
Give it a plan before you give it a product. The plan doesn’t need to be long. It says what the money is for, who it’s for, which entity holds each part, how quickly it will be invested, and who is responsible for what. It’s written down, the family agrees it, and the accountant and solicitor have read it before anything is bought.
That last part matters more than it sounds. Most of the expensive mistakes after a sale aren’t bad investments. They’re good investments bought in the wrong name, at the wrong time, or without the accountant knowing. A written plan that all three professionals have seen is the cheapest protection a family can have.
How do you manage the proceeds of a farm sale once they land?
In stages, and in order.
- Hold back what’s spoken for. Tax that will fall due, any debt still to clear, a replacement home or block, and what the family will draw on over the next few years. This sits in Treasury (cash, term deposits, government bonds and fixed income), matched to when each amount is needed so it’s there on time.
- Settle the structure. Before the long-term money is invested, the accountant and solicitor confirm which entity holds which part of the proceeds, and what each entity is allowed to do.
- Invest the long-term money gradually. Rather than committing everything on one day, many families invest over a period agreed in the plan. It takes the pressure off picking the right moment, and it gives everyone time to get comfortable.
- Review, then keep going. Check the plan after the first few months, once the family has lived with it, and adjust before the next stage.
Whatever is bought is owned by the family, never by Larapinta Private. Australian shares and ETFs sit on the family’s own HIN. Citi and Clearstream hold international shares, fixed income and managed fund units in custody on the family’s behalf. Cash is held with a major Australian bank in your name and/or the name of your applicable investment entity.
What does wealth planning look like after selling a farming business?
It starts with income. For most families the farm was the pay packet as well as the asset, and after a sale that income has to come from somewhere steadier. So the first piece of planning is a cashflow: what the family spends, what it wants to keep doing, and how the money will pay for it year after year without long-term holdings being sold at a bad time.
The second piece is the structure. Proceeds often land across several owners: the parents, a family trust, a company, sometimes an SMSF. Each has its own rules, its own tax treatment and its own people who get a say. Wealth planning after a sale works through each of them in turn, so every entity has its own job and its own portfolio, and the whole adds up to one family plan. Which entity should hold what is a question for the accountant and solicitor. Our job is to make sure the investment plan fits the answer.
Who does what in the first year after settlement?
| When | Accountant | Solicitor | Larapinta Private |
|---|---|---|---|
| When the money lands | Confirms what’s needed for tax and when | Confirms who owns what, and what each entity can do | Sets aside near-term money and drafts the written plan |
| The first few months | Checks the plan against each entity’s tax position | Reviews wills, the trust deed and powers of attorney, and updates them where needed | Invests the long-term money in agreed stages |
| Every year after | Tax and structure over years, not one return | Keeps the documents in step with the family | Reviews the plan and brings all three together |
The point of the table isn’t the boxes. It’s that each person knows what the others are doing, and that one of them is responsible for keeping the whole thing moving. For most families we work with, that’s us.
Can a sell-down diversify farm wealth without selling all the land?
Yes, and for many families it’s the most natural way to do it. Selling an outblock, a second property or part of the holding turns some of the land into money while the home country stays with the family. The proceeds become the start of wealth that sits off the farm: less exposed to one district, one commodity and one run of seasons.
A sound off-farm investment strategy for regional families follows from that. It spreads the money across asset classes, managers and time, and deliberately away from the things the family already owns plenty of. Buying more land nearby can feel like the safe choice, because it’s familiar. But it adds to the same concentration the sale was meant to ease.
If a sale isn’t on the table, there’s a slower route: building capital beside the farm out of the good years. We’ve written about off-farm diversification while you still run the farm.
How does a family office help with succession and estate planning after a sale?
A sale changes the succession picture, often for the better. Land is hard to divide fairly between the child who stayed and the children who left. Money is far easier to share. But the documents usually haven’t caught up. Wills, the trust deed and powers of attorney may still assume the farm will pass down whole, sometimes through an equal-split will written decades ago.
The solicitor reviews the documents and updates them where needed, and the accountant advises on the tax consequences of any changes. A family office keeps the investment plan and the estate plan pointing the same way: which entity holds what, who controls it after the parents, and how the next generation is brought in. We also make sure the solicitor knows what the portfolio looks like, and that the accountant sees the plan before anything changes.
Who helps farming families with governance, philanthropy and multi-generational wealth?
This is the work a family office exists to do, and it’s the work that tends to be missed when three professionals each look after one part. After a sale, families usually need three things they didn’t need while the farm was running.
- A way of making decisions together. A regular family meeting, a short written investment policy, and clear agreement about who decides what.
- A way to bring the next generation in. Gradually, with real information and a seat at the table, rather than all at once when something goes wrong.
- A considered approach to giving. Many farming families have quietly supported their district for generations. A sale is a chance to do that deliberately, with the accountant and solicitor advising on whether a giving structure suits the family, and which one.
Larapinta Private coordinates all three alongside the family’s own accountant and solicitor. We don’t replace them. We hold the whole picture, so the family doesn’t have to.
Where does Larapinta Private sit?
We look after large sums for farming and regional families after a sell-down, then protect them year after year for the family that comes next. We build and run the investment plan, and we keep the accountant and solicitor working from the same picture. There’s more on wealth management for farmers and farming families, and on the questions to ask before a sale in working with your accountant and solicitor.
A sale ends one long chapter. The next one is usually quieter, but it lasts just as long, and it goes better with the right people talking to each other from the start.
Questions families ask after the sell-down
Should we invest all of the farm sale proceeds at once?
Not usually. Money the family will need over the next few years is set aside first. The long-term money is often invested gradually, over a period agreed in the written plan, so the family isn’t relying on one day and everyone has time to get comfortable.
Which of our entities should hold the investments after the sale?
That’s a question for your accountant and solicitor, because it depends on how the farm was owned, what each trust deed allows and the tax position of each entity. Once they’ve settled it, Larapinta Private builds a portfolio for each entity so the whole adds up to one family plan.
How often should our accountant, solicitor and adviser meet after the sale?
Once together when the money lands, again after the first few months, and then at least once a year, plus whenever something significant changes in the family. Larapinta Private convenes those meetings and keeps everyone working from the same written plan.
Can we keep part of the farm and still diversify?
Yes. Selling an outblock or part of the holding turns some land into money while the home country stays in the family. Investing those proceeds well away from the land, the district and the season is one of the most practical ways farming families diversify.
Does a family office help with philanthropy and the next generation?
Yes. Larapinta Private helps families set up a regular way of making decisions together, bring the next generation in gradually, and approach giving deliberately, with the accountant and solicitor advising on the structures involved.
For the families who built Australia.
Troy Armstrong
Senior Adviser & Founder
BCom (FinPlan), MFinPlan, SSA. Nearly two decades advising agricultural and regional Australian families. Founder of Larapinta Private. Based in the Yarra Valley, Victoria. Authorised Representative (ASIC AR Number 354299) of Capella Advisory Pty Ltd.