Does incorporating a family farm before transferring it change the estate planning options in Ontario?

Yes — incorporating a family farm before transferring it opens up estate planning options that generally aren't available when the farm is run as a sole proprietorship. Once the farm operates through a corporation, ownership is represented by shares rather than a direct interest in land, equipment, and quota. That makes it possible to gradually transfer voting or non-voting shares to a child over time, use a family trust to hold shares for multiple children, or put in place a shareholders' agreement governing what happens if an owner dies, retires, or wants out.

Incorporation can also support techniques like using a secondary will for the shares, since privately held corporate shares generally don't need to go through probate the way other assets do, which can reduce the portion of the farm's value exposed to Estate Administration Tax. That said, incorporating has real costs and tradeoffs — corporate formalities, different tax treatment on an eventual sale, and less flexibility for informal family arrangements. Whether incorporating first makes sense depends on the size of the operation, how many children are involved, and the family's specific goals, so it's worth working through with a lawyer and accountant before transferring anything.