Note: These documents are intended as idea generators and as a basis for informed conversations with professionals (lawyers, foresters, and similar) and are not meant for do-it-yourselfers.
Legacy Planning
Conservation Easements and Retained Rights
- Actual “Working Forest” Easements:
- Broome County, held by Chenango Land Trust (154KB Microsoft Word) or (280KB PDF)
- Allegany County, held by Genesee Valley Conservancy (85KB Microsoft Word) or (56KB PDF)
- Actual property transfer and retained rights agreement:
- Rensselaer County (14KB Microsoft Word) or (88KB PDF)
- Sample Conservation Easements:
- State of Vermont (5.2MB PDF)
- Delaware Highlands Conservancy (57KB Microsoft Word or (141KB PDF)
- Land Trust:
- Deed of rights to the Land Trust (15KB PDF) or (16KB Microsoft Word)
Sources of Legacy Planning Information
- Cornell Cooperative Extension sponsored workshops. Contact your County Extension office.
- Land Trust Alliance lists trusts and conservancies by county in New York.
- USDA’s Estate planning for forest landowners: what will become of your timberland?
- Your Land, Your Legacy – Deciding the Future of Your Land, University of Massachusetts Amherst
- New England Forestry Foundation, 32 Foster Street, PO Box 1346, Littleton, MA 01460. Information on succession planning and including copies of redacted existing conservation easements.
- Protecting Your Legacy, A New York landowner’s guide to conservation-based estate planning, 2019.
- Ties to the Land – Your Family Heritage. Planning for an Orderly Transition. Intergenerational Family Forest Project. Oregon State University – Austin Family Program.
- Rensselaer Land Trust. Guide to Land Preservation Options. renstrust@renstrust.org