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Michael J. Ridgeway, Esq.
mridgeway@HRWPlaw.com
I am an experienced agricultural law attorney with a law practice
focusing on the representation of
Montana
farmers and ranchers in the areas of estate planning, business planning,
real estate sales and purchases and real estate financing.
I was raised on a ranch and farm near
Windham
,
Montana
and graduated from UM
Law
School
in 1988 with high honors. Since
1994, I have been in private practice in
Stanford
,
Montana
.
LAND LAW As one
facet of my law practice, I represent
Montana
landowners in the sale, purchase and operation of their real estate.
As a Land Lawyer, I assist my clients in many areas.
With the sale and purchase clients I work with agents, prepare
property information, provide tax advice, negotiate the terms and
conditions of sale, prepare buy-sell and transfer documents, resolve title
problems, prepare lease and water right transfers and coordinate the sale
closing. I also provide
counsel on land leases, easements, tax free exchanges, charitable trusts,
conservation easement issues, leaseback alternatives, debt structuring and
financing alternatives. With
my broad experience in law, agriculture and real estate, I am able to
fully represent my client in the transaction at a very competitive price.
ESTATE & BUSINESS PLANNING The other
focus of my law practice consists of representing
Montana
farmers and ranchers in their estate planning and
business planning matters. With
the average age of landowners reaching 60 years, many of the estate
planning decisions are commonly interwoven with the hard decisions of
whether the land will stay in the family, be leased to a neighbor or be
sold. Having lived in Central
Montana most of my life and represented dozens of agricultural families, I
am keenly aware of the interplay in agricultural planning between the
family’s strong emotional ties to the land, the current difficulties in
agricultural economics, the increasing land value issues and the legal and
tax implications of operating the property and transferring it to the next
generation. Good estate and
business planning is not required but it definitely increases the chances
of continued family success and harmony.
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