• Home
  • Our Team
  • Practice Areas
    • Estate Planning
    • Elder Law
    • Traffic Matters
    • Criminal Defense
    • Real Estate
  • Testimonials
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Senior Law Day
  • Reviews
  • Resources
Collins & Hepler, PLC
Contact us: (540) 962-6181
     275 W. Main St., Covington VA 24426
     202 S. Randolph St., Lexington VA 24450

Needs Funds?  There's money hidden in your land.

12/3/2015

0 Comments

 
conservation easement Michael Collins
Maybe it’s a leaking roof.  Maybe it’s an expensive piece of farm equipment, like a tractor, that you just can’t live without.  There are many reasons why you might be strapped for cash, but the good news is there’s a little-known way to pull money from your land.  It’s called a conservation easement, and it can not only help you get the windfall you need, it can also preserve and protect your property for future generations.

When you place a conservation easement on your land, you are donating your land to conservation.  That usually means you prevent it from ever being subdivided or developed.  This is a great way to protect your land and its resources.  It’s also a great way to fill your pockets with much-needed cash.

But how much are we talking?  A conservation easement in Virginia comes with highly valuable tax credits.  In fact, Virginia’s Land Preservation Tax Credit (LPC) is the most substantial in the entire country.  The lover’s state offers tax credits worth a generous 40% of the value of the charitable donation.  For example, if the value of your conservation easement is $80,000, you could receive $32,000 worth of tax credits.  Tax credits can be sold for cash in hand right away. 
That means as soon as you donate your conservation easement, the tax credits can be sold immediately, giving you the funds you need to make improvements, purchase equipment, or to spend on whatever your heart desires.

But the profit doesn’t stop at state tax credits.  A conservation easement can also give you valuable federal tax benefits.  You could expect a huge federal tax deduction, potentially equal to 100% of the value of the donation.  For example, if the value of your donated easement is $80,000, you could potentially qualify for a federal tax deduction of $80,000. (The value of the easement is determined by an appraisal of your property).

A conservation easement could benefit you tremendously in terms of finances, but it can benefit you and future generations even more significantly by preserving the integrity of the land you donate.  A conservation easement offers permanent protection for your land and all its resources, including water, timber, migration routes, air quality, and of course, its natural beauty.

Interested?  We can help you donate a conservation easement and guide you through the process of selling tax credits.  Contact us for a free consultation.
0 Comments

5 Great Reasons to Get a Conservation Easement

10/9/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture

​You probably already know that a conservation easement is essentially a restriction placed on a piece of property in order to protect its resources.  For example, a landowner can place a conservation easement on farm land to prevent it from ever being subdivided or developed, or place a conservation easement on forested land to prevent its destruction. This protects the land and its resources for future generations.  But if you’re looking for more motivation besides the stewardship of Nature, here are five great reasons why a conservation easement could be of value to you:


1.     You can get valuable federal tax benefits.

​
A conservation easement could come with a huge federal tax deduction, potentially equal to 100% of the value of the donation.  For example, if the value of your donated easement is $80,000, you could potentially qualify for a federal tax deduction of $80,000. (The value of the easement is determined by an appraisal). Furthermore, a conservation easement can lower your property taxes and the estate taxes affecting your property’s heirs.
​
​
 2.   You can get valuable state tax benefits.

The tax benefits of conservation easements can be substantial.  In fact, Virginia’s Land Preservation Tax Credit (LPC) is the most substantial in the entire country, offering tax credits worth a generous 40% of the value of the charitable donation.  For example, if the value of your conservation easement is $80,000, you could receive $32,000 worth of tax credits. 

3.    You can get cash in hand right away. 

A conservation easement in Virginia comes with state income tax credits that can be transferred or sold for cash in hand.  These tax credits can be sold immediately for cash, providing funds for the landowner to use for any purpose.  This can be very helpful, for example, for a small farm in need of money for improvements to its structures or equipment. 

4.     It’s an effective estate planning tool.

A conservation easement can also be a valuable estate planning tool, and can be incorporated into a comprehensive estate plan for the protection and control of the land during the landowner’s lifetime and for continued protection and control of the land after the landowner’s death.

5.     Donating your land to conservation is one of the finest legacies you can leave to future generations.

The first and most important purpose of a conservation easement is to conserve your land.  A conservation easement offers permanent protection for all the resources associated with your land such as timber, water quality and clean air, not to mention the natural beauty of open spaces unmarred by industry and development.
​
A conservation easement can help protect valuable wildlife habitats and migration routes.  They can also safeguard our heritage by protecting farms and historical sites.  Conservation easements play an important role in preserving the virtue of our beloved natural spaces.

0 Comments

    Collins & Hepler, PLC

    A small firm with big abilities

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    August 2021
    March 2017
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015

    Categories

    All
    Conservation Easements
    Criminal Law
    Divorce And Family Law
    Elder Law
    Estate Planning
    Events
    Farm & Land Protection
    Legal News
    Real Estate
    Traffic Matters

    RSS Feed

Home

Our Team

Practice Areas

Testimonials

Blog

Contact

Serving clients in Covington, Clifton Forge, Warm Springs, Bath County, Lexington, Buena Vista,  Alleghany County, Bath County,  Rockbridge County Virginia and surrounding areas.
​
Because the results obtained in specific cases depend on a variety of factors unique to each case, past case results do not guarantee or predict a similar result in future cases undertaken by a lawyer or law firm.
Copyright © 2016