Conservation Easements

Nancy G. Henderson (Partner, Henderson & Caverly, LLP, Rancho Santa Fe, California) has recently published her article entitled This Land Is Your Land, This Land Is (Still) My Land: Using Qualified Conservation Contributions to Preserve Cherished Family Properties, 33 ACTEC J. 72 (2007).

Here is the author's description of the article:

This article provides both a primer on qualified conservation contributions (QCCs) as well as an indepth discussion on certain aspects of QCCs, with a particular focus on qualified conservation easements (QCEs). The article is divided into five parts. The first part of the article addresses the federal income tax rules governing lifetime gifts of QCCs, including planning opportunities arising from the Pension Protection Act of 2006, which are due to expire on December 31, 2007. The article then turns to the estate tax benefits of QCCs, and, in particular, post mortem QCCs. Part three of the article addresses the use of QCCs in conjunction with other estate planning techniques, such as family-owned entities and qualified personal residence trusts. Part four examines briefly some of the state tax benefits of QCCs. The article concludes with an overview of the perceived abuses of QCCs and how recent negative attention from the IRS and Congress may affect the future of QCCs as a tax planning tool.