LAND CAN BE VALUABLE TO US IN MANY WAYS. To an investor, the value of a parcel of land is in the profit to be made from its sale. To an owner of commercial property, the property’s value is in the rents which can be collected for its use. But to some of us, the value of land is more deeply rooted: in family memories and commitments; in our cultural heritage tied to the land; in a clearing by a stream or a forest’s rich solitude; in the integrity which our land has brought to our lives. There is thus a bond between people and land, a bond which can be passed on from generation to generation. However, the ownership of prime property as a family asset creates the need for careful and specialized estate planning.
Due to the dramatic increase in property values in recent years, a family of otherwise modest means may own land of considerable appraised value. Upon the death of the last surviving parent, the heirs may face the obligation to pay state and federal estate taxes without having the financial resources to meet that obligation. Their only recourse may be to sell all or part of the land which was left to them, despite their own desires and the expressed wishes of their parents. In short, the failure to plan for the future of valuable family land after death may grant control over that land to the taxing agencies of government. Fortunately, there are alternatives.
