“Estate Planning in the Hill Country: What Every Landowner Needs to Know” will be presented by Thomas Hall, estate planning attorney with Braun & Gresham, PLLC, of Austin. The workshop is sponsored by the Cibolo Conservancy, a non-profit organization based in Boerne that is dedicated to preserving family lands and the natural resources they protect for future generations.
Brent Evans, the Cibolo Conservancy’s executive director, said the workshop is geared toward landowners and potential landowners, farm and ranch real estate professionals, estate planners, financial planners and wealth managers.
“Families who want to protect their land and their family heritage for generations to come will find that a conservation easement can be a useful and highly adaptable tool,” Evans said. “This workshop also provides useful information for ranch real estate agents and brokers and for professionals who counsel individuals on preserving family wealth. We will demonstrate how conservation easements can be effective for helping families achieve their objectives.”
Continuing education credit will be available to Certified Financial Planners who attend the workshop and sign up with their CFP Board identification.
The workshop will focus on provisions in federal income and estate tax law as they affect landowners, Evans noted. He added that the law permits a 30 percent reduction of taxable income for 6 years for donating a voluntary conservation agreement, and it allows farmers and ranchers to deduct a greater percent of their income. These incentives also can be advantageous to cash buyers of real estate who do not plan to develop the property extensively and are seeking tax relief, he said.
The “portability” option to allocate the estate tax exemption between spouses to save federal estate tax also will be addressed, as well as disability planning for landowners and asset-protection strategies to limit landowner liability.
The Cibolo Nature Center & Farm is located at 140 City Park Road at Boerne City Park. The workshop costs $20 per person; $15 for members of the Cibolo Conservancy or the Cibolo Nature Center. Advance registration is requested; visit http://www.cibolo.org/calendar or call (830) 249-4616.