Preserving Family and Community Lands


"I remember, as a skinny seven-year-old, standing on our dock after dinner skipping rocks on the blackening water. Grandfather would sit on the wooden bench he'd built, watching the sun slip behind the mountains, every now and then handing me a particularly flat stone. He'd tell me stories about his youthful summers on Winnipesaukee and say, "one day, you'll be sitting here with your grandson, you know.'"

Most people, when leaving family lands to their children or heirs, assume those inheriting the land will go on to manage or steward it as they wish. But in many cases, families are faced with paying substantial inheritance taxes soon after the passing of a loved one. Without sufficient cash in the estate, heirs may be forced to sell the family land to meet tax obligations.

Careful estate planning can help avoid the need for an unwanted sale, and can preserve undeveloped family land for the enjoyment of generations to come. Establishing a trust, donating land, or providing a gift of a conservation easement to the Lakes Region Conservation Trust can reduce, or even eliminate, estate taxes. Advice from your attorney or tax advisor and assistance from the Trust can help to ensure that your property stays in the family.

"My aunt was one of those self-taught botanists - of course, she'd never call herself that. "I just like plants," she'd say. But she could identify every green and not-so-green thing living in these hills - and tell you what ailment the Native Americans used it to cure. I still come back here every year to see the painted trillium in bloom. These hills, spotted with cellar holes and old cemeteries have a unique character I would hate to see lost."