Tax/Conservation Easements
William H.T. Frey
We advise clients in the major areas of tax law and the tax implications of a broad range of transactions, including issuing tax opinions, structuring entities (including assisting clients with the tax attributes of choice of entity matters, the allocation of the income and losses of partnerships and limited liability companies), handling tax controversies before the IRS and courts, seeking private letter rulings, and advising on state and local tax issues.
One way we have assisted clients in minimizing their tax burdens (both at death and during life) is through the creation of conservation easements. A conservation easement is a burden that is placed on ranch and farm land, which generally prohibits certain future uses of the land it encumbers. Certain uses (like farming, ranching, hunting and sometimes limited development) are retained by the landowner. Because the landowner gives up certain valuable rights with respect to the use of the land (most commonly large-scale development), he or she is entitled to a reduction in certain taxes during life and at death, including reduced property taxes, lower estate taxes, Federal Income tax deductions for charitable gifts, and Colorado state income tax credits.
