Chris Pfannenstiel, Principal, Pinion, LLC
As a principal, Chris Pfannenstiel is passionate about delivering specialized tax, financial, and estate planning for agriculture producers in Kansas, Oklahoma, and the Corn Belt, particularly Ohio and Indiana. He brings his first-hand farming and ranching experience to the operations he works with.
As a boy, Chris worked on his grandfather’s farm where he ran a tractor and combine, and worked with the cattle. Throughout high school and college, he worked for a grain co-op, unloading, blending, mixing, and preparing grain for shipment. These experiences gave him insights into the realities of running an operation, and the ability to anticipate and understand concerns from a producer’s perspective. He enjoys staying close to operations, establishing connections with producers and speaking their language. These connections make it even more important to stay responsive as he helps solve problems and manages projects to completion.
Recent projects include:
- Designing an estate plan that let a family member transition out of the business bringing a sense of relief for a family running a 7,500-acre farm operation, and increasing assets passed to heirs by $500,000.
- Increasing a cattle rancher’s net worth by $2 million over the past five years with business restructuring.
- For a row crop farmer with $15 million in net worth, preserved $1 million of wealth to be passed to heirs through a new operating structure.
Chris Pfannenstiel is energized and passionate when establishing estate plans for families because, even though it’s a difficult topic that most people don’t want to face, the difference that advance planning can make is substantial. Chris listens and eases concerns and then he handles all the angles, collaborating with other accountants, attorneys, business evaluation specialists, and land appraisers–to ensure that business operations and family members thrive well into the future for many generations to come.
