Land Trusts. What the heck are they???

LAND TRUSTS.

There are two distinct definitions of a land trust:  a private, nonprofit organization that, as all or part of its mission, actively works to conserve land by undertaking or assisting in land or conservation easement acquisition, or by its stewardship of such land or easements.  Webster Dictionary

So what does that mean? 

A trust agreement is a document that spells out the rules that you want followed for property held in trust for your beneficiaries. Common objectives for trusts are to reduce the estate tax liability, to protect property in your estate, and to avoid probate.

Think of a trust as a special place in which ordinary property from your estate goes in and, as the result of some type of transformation that occurs, takes on a sort of new identity and often is bestowed with super powers: immunity from estate taxes, resistance to probate, and so on.

How a Land Trust Works :

Land trusts:

• Purchase land
• Acquire land through donations
• Secure conservation easements on land and monitor the terms of these easements
• Work in partnership with private and governmental conservation agencies

Land trusts vary greatly in size. Over half are completely volunteer, others have only a director or one or more part-time staff members, a few have a large staff, prominent board of directors and a large membership. Annual budgets range from under $10,000 to over $1 million. 32% operate with budgets of $100,000 or more. 84% of all land trusts accept land donations. 75% accept conservation easements. In both instances donors can receive significant tax benefits based on the value of the donated land or easement.
63% of land trusts buy land for conservation. 70% of the funds for purchases come from contributions from members and individual donors in the community. Other finds come from government agencies, foundations, and corporations. Land trusts also borrow money from banks, foundations, and individuals to buy land. Loans are repaid either through fund raising, sales to conservation buyers or, in the case of advance acquisitions for local, state or federal conservation agencies, when public funds are available and the property is repurchased by the government. Although independent, land trusts frequently work with each other, with national conservation organizations, and with government agencies on important projects. www.possibility.com/LandTrus

 

Suppose that you want to set up a trust. Just like with a cooking recipe or building something in your garage workshop, you need to make sure you have everything you need before you start. To cook up a trust, you need these seven basic ingredients:

• Person setting up the trust. The person is commonly known as the trustor, though you may sometimes see the terms settlor or grantor.
• Objective of the trust. You use different types of trusts to achieve a variety of specific estate-planning objectives. You can use some trusts for a single estate-planning objective, while others help you achieve more than one goal.
• Specific kind of trust. Trusts come in many different varieties. Regardless, when you’re setting up a trust, you need to decide what type of trust you want and make sure that you follow all the rules for that particular type of trust to make sure that it’s proper and legal, and carries out your intentions.
• Property. After you place property into a trust, that property is formally known as trust property.
• Beneficiary. Just like with other aspects of your estate plan (your will, for example), a trust’s beneficiary (or, if more than one, beneficiaries) benefits from the trust in some way, usually because the person or institution will eventually receive some or all of the property that was placed into trust.
• Trustee. The person in charge of the trust is known as the trustee. The trustee needs to understand the rules for the type of trust he or she is managing to make sure everything in the trust stays in working order.
• Rules. Finally, some of the rules that must be followed are inherently part of the type of trust used, while other rules depend on what is specified in the trust agreement. You will find still more rules in state and federal law

  What Is a Trust?By N. Brian Caverly, Esq. and Jordan S. Simon

Types of Texas Land Trusts:

Watershed Land Trust: The Watershed Land Trust (WLT) Is a nonprofit charitable organization which was formed to hold land in fee simple and/or conservation easements in perpetuity. Most Land Trust's mission is to hold vast areas of land typically in large sections. With the ability and expertise to work with any Mitigation Bank or In Lieu Fee arrangement, the WLT is unique in that its mission and focus is to preserve watersheds, waterways, streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands, and adjacent (riparian) corridors and green space primarily for the benefit of water quality, ecosystems, and Open Space. Such a Conservation Purpose could be for preservation of fish, wildlife, or plant habitats or ecosystems.

The World Land Trust

The mission of the World Land Trust is:

• To protect and sustainably manage natural ecosystems of the world. To conserve their biodiversity, with emphasis on threatened habitats and endangered species
• Campaigning and lobbying governments to protect our dwindling wildlife heritage is important, and many other organisations do this very effectively, but the World Land Trust was set up to take direct action and has developed the expertise to work effectively with overseas project partners to protect wildlife habitats through land purchase

http://www.worldlandtrust.org/

The mission of the Guadalupe-Blanco River Trust is to preserve the unique natural heritage of the Guadalupe watershed for future generations, by protecting open landscapes, working farms and ranches, and wildlife habitat through conservation easements, education, and outreach that connects people to the water and the land.
Amazingly, in Texas where land is so plentiful, we are losing this open land more rapidly than any other state.
The Guadalupe River is one of the most biologically diverse rivers in the United States, stretching from the springs and canyons of the Texas Hill Country to the marine environment of the Gulf Coast wetlands and San Antonio Bay


The Guadalupe-Blanco River Trust is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit land trust organization that was developed to conserve land in the Guadalupe River Watershed for its natural, recreational, scenic, historic and productive value. It was founded in 2001 by the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority, a conservation and reclamation district created in 1933 by the Texas Legislature. The Upper Guadalupe River Authority (UGRA) has also partnered with the Trust. The voluntary board of directors consists of citizens who share a love of the Guadalupe River - one of the most pristine rivers in Texas. http://www.gbrtrust.org/