Future Ownership Choices
As you consider what you want to happen to your land after you can no longer manage it yourself, keep in mind the five general options that are available to most woodland owners. There are many variations of these five basic options. Each one of the options deserves its article to explain it in proper detail, but are listed below for your consideration.
Sell the land to another buyer with no restrictions on it. Let the buyer do with the land what he or she wants to. Hopefully, the buyer will want to leave it in woodlands.
Give or sell the woodland to a land trust or community with or without a conservation easement on it. Or, keep the land, but place a conservation easement on it to restrict the allowed uses for the future. This can protect the land from development, but potentially reduce its resale value.
Give the woodlands to one of your heirs. This follows the old European custom of giving the assets to the oldest offspring.
Subdivide the woodlands equally among the future heirs. This creates smaller lots with still no control of how the land will be used in the future. Restrictive easements could be used.
Create an arrangement, such as a limited liability company, in which the heirs can own shares. Have one person act as manager and report back to the board of owners. This allows for the land to continue in its present state into the future. Ownership can change within the family but the land remains as it has been. Management directions or restrictive easements can define the allowed uses for the future. This also allows the current owners to transfer ownership over a period of time.
– Rich Merk
Maine Woodland Owners is committed to helping small woodland owners develop succession plans so they can know their life’s work will be passed to someone who will continue their
stewardship efforts. Here’s another topic to stimulate landowner efforts to develop and improve their plans.