Your situation is a credit to your parents, who clearly trusted your capabilities. A great example for the rest of us!It is concerning that the business aspect is left to the father and son working at home has not been involved in the actual ‘business’ side of things. It’s not unusual though, because my brother and I are totally different in that regard and I’ve been involved, or made myself involved in management since before I left school and with my mother’s encouragement we both became official partners in the business when he was 20 and I 21. He has no interest in the management and financial affairs though and is unmarried. His choices. He has his own house and lives independently in the village.
The farm assets were transferred to the both of us well before father retired so there was no tax on his or my mother’s recent deaths. I have made sure that we have more than adequate pension plans and savings and indeed mortgage free property for our old age and to hand over to my only daughter when the time comes. Indeed we are in discussion currently about transferring a house into her name with the least tax issues.
The point being that the son in this original post really must get a grip of what is going on in the business and gain some security and an understanding of his possible responsibilities and obligations with regard to the business debt and assets. Both father and son should work towards the future security of the business and the handing over of assets to the son, who is the future of the business.
Far too many farmer parents just don’t get it. They have no clear idea of where their business is going and why they are doing it. It can get to the point that the father becomes jealous of the son and wants to retain complete control of it into his dotage with a son or sons at home having to sell assets to pay off sisters established elsewhere, leaving the sons with zero assets and not even their own homes to live in when their parents die. Hopefully, as tenants, they have already secured their own homes, not being tenants there as well, if they do happen to lose the tenancy of the farm at some point. All parties need security.
It can all get very complicated and every family and farm business is different, but able, intelligent sons and daughters should take responsibility for their own interests and welfare, including their wives and children, not leaving it to their parents on trust. That trust is often sadly broken, especially but not exclusively where sons are concerned.
These days, I understand that if the owner transfers land or assets before they die, there is a big capital gains tax bill.
UK tax law encourages people to hold on til' they die, so their spouse received a tax free transfer then passes it on.
This introduces risk that the surviving spouse has other ideas, and the next generation don't own anything outright til they are old themselves.
(It's complicated so others may be able to add detail on the above).