Blog entries

Spending money to save money: expert help to avoid taxes

Paul Catanzaro — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:31:46 +0100

Tools Used:

Family trust for intergenerational transfer
Sale of land to the state

Professionals used:

Land Protection Specialist

Appraiser
Estate Planning Attorney

A good estate planning attorney can be worth his or her weight in gold, a lesson a family in Central Massachusetts learned well.

As they approached their late 70s, Mr. and Mrs. Gordon were toying wiRead More...

The Brown Family - Keeping the peace: family meetings and the role of family trust

Paul Catanzaro — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 14:04:32 +0100

As is the case with many family summer homes and properties, ownership of the Browns’ 500-acre farmstead in a small town in the Berkshires was very complicated and only getting more so as the family grew.

The farm’s ownership was divided between three generations of family members and 29 individuals who all loved the rolling meadows, deep woodlands, and vacations in the Read More...

Alma Jones: Warning! What Happens When you 'Do Nothing'

Paul Catanzaro — Tue, 03 May 2011 15:09:58 +0100

Sometimes the difficult decisions involved in creating a plan for your land can make it easy to delay the process. Unfortunately for Alma, she waited too long and her land and heirs suffered the consequences.

Alma stayed on her family’s farm after her siblings moved away to raise families. She shared with her friends and relatives her desire for her farm to remain the way it was. She talked to aRead More...

Peter and Ellie Johnson: Wrestling with Taxes

Paul Catanzaro — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 19:46:52 +0100

Eleanor Rogers owned 10 acres on Little Pleasant Bay in the Cape Cod town of Orleans and planned to leave the property to her son, daughter, and four grandchildren.

The family loved walking the land as well as kayaking in the bay. Her daughter Ellie Johnson was interested in conserving the property and had some exposure to land conservation from her involvement with a campaign Read More...

Community Outreach: Helping to Inform Landowner Decisions

Paul Catanzaro — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 15:33:06 +0100

Every day, landowners are making decisions about how to manage their land and what to do with their land when they pass on. Many landowners are making these decisions without the benefit of knowing all their options. These decisions not only affect the landowners and their family, but are shaping the landscapes within your community.

As a municipal official, you can play a very impoRead More...

Riley Family: Communicating Your Conservation Wishes to Your Family

Paul Catanzaro — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 18:23:36 +0100

Communicating your wishes for your land to your heirs is a critical first step in estate planning. Even more importantly, your wishes should be codified in your will. Luckily for Beatrice Riley, because she clearly and persistently communicated her wishes to her heirs, they worked hard to carry her wishes through, even in the absence of a legal imperative in her will.

BeatriceRead More...

Your Land, Your Legacy: Deciding the Future of Your Land

Paul Catanzaro — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 13:41:20 +0100

Though much attention has recently been given to the publically owned forests in MA, most of our forests are family forests, owned by thousands of families and individuals. 71% (or 1.2 million acres!) of these forests are owned by people that are 55 years old or older.

In the coming years, these woodland owners will need to make decisions about the future of their land. These decisions will haRead More...

Ch 61B an Excellent Fit for Many Landowners

Paul Catanzaro — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 16:53:33 +0100

Landowners across the state are facing increasing property taxes which can make it difficult to maintain the land as undeveloped. The State’s current use programs (Ch. 61, 61A, and 61B) offer an opportunity to reduce property taxes in return for providing the public benefits that these lands provide.
Chapter 61 has a focus on timber management, and requires a 10-year forest
mRead More...

Learning from Others: Norton's Jennifer Carlino

Paul Catanzaro — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:51:25 +0100

What can towns do to be sure their community's resources are conserved? Learn from energetic and dedicated municipal officials from across the state, like Norton's Jennifer Carlino. In her post as Conservation Agent, Jennifer has the opportunity to do everything from wetland protection to field studies identifying rare species habitat, vernal pool certification, land protection, and coRead More...

On the Right Track with Janet Pesaturo

Paul Catanzaro — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:50:59 +0100

Support for forest conservation can come in many forms. Animal tracking is one great way to engage people and communities while providing valuable information to inform land conservation and land use decisions. Keystone Cooperator Janet Pesaturo is proof of that.

Janet has found herself on a track she didn’t expect, and she’s enjoying where it’s leading. Nine years ago Janet was a practRead More...

Hilltown Land Trust: Combining Land Conservation and Forest Management

Paul Catanzaro — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 04:00:00 +0100

For an all-volunteer organization, the Hilltown Land Trust has a substantial list of accomplishments. Founded in 1986 by community members who were concerned about the potential loss of their open space, the trust has acquired 23 (soon to be 25) conservation restrictions, three agricultural preservation restrictions, and it owns six properties, all within the nine westernmost towns of Hampshire County. &Read More...

Conservation's Front Line with Keystone Cooperator Jassy Bratko

Paul Catanzaro — Mon, 18 May 2009 04:00:00 +0100

Jassy Bratko is committed to conservation. A 10 year member of Hubbardston's Open Space Committee, one of a handful of remaining founding members, she has been instrumental in a number of the committee's key achievements. Though originally from England, Jassy settled with her husband, who was born nearby, in Hubbardston 25 years ago, and considers it her home. Her desire to be sure theRead More...

WHIPping the Land into Shape: The Adams Property

Paul Catanzaro — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 04:00:00 +0100

Albert Adams seems to have fulfilled at least one of his dreams when he purchased some land five years ago, and he's been improving on it since. A sportsman and wildlife enthusiast, Albert was thrilled to get a good deal on 29 acres of woodland in Windsor, a parcel that abuts other woodlands and sits across the street from a wildlife management area.

"The Westfield runs through the back of the properRead More...

MassWoods Version 2 is Launched

Paul Catanzaro — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Three years ago we launched our website, MassWoods, to promote informed forest conservation (management and protection) decisions. We monitor the use of the site and have been very pleased with its success. Since its launch, MassWoods has had over 23,000 visits (an average of 24 per day), with an average visit length of over three minutes and almost four pages viewed per visit.Read More...

Help Inform Landowner Decisions, Celebrate Dinner Day!

Paul Catanzaro — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0100

When a Pennsylvania family wanted to find a way to make the world a better place, they convinced the Pennsylvania legislature to create an official state holiday called "Invite Your Neighbor to Dinner Day", on the second Saturday of January. Dinner day is a designated time when people invite not-so-familiar neighbors to have dinner with them with the hope that friendships will be formed which in turn will increase the strength of their communities. If this seems like a very small waRead More...

Keystone Training Announced

Paul Catanzaro — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100

In ecology, a keystone species is one whose impacts on its environment are larger and greater than would be expected from one species. Like the Coverts program before, the Keystone Project educates forest owners and community leaders who have a significant impact on their communities. Help us identify these important people who can make the conservation difference!

Keystone Cooperators can either own forestland, be involved in the care and stewardship of a property, or be an acRead More...

Cases of Conservation: Borton Family

Paul Catanzaro — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100

When landowners need to decide the future of their land, it can be very helpful to learn about the decisions that other landowners have made. There is much to be learned from the stories of other landowners who have faced similar decisions. One way we try to encourage this is through our Cases of Conservation, case studies of landowners who have used different conservation tools to meet their personal and financial objectives. A great example of a case study that demonstrates how conservationRead More...

Foresters and the Care of Your Land

Paul Catanzaro — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 04:00:00 +0100

"Foresters and the Care of Your Land", a newly revised and updated pamphlet, is now available. The publication describes: what a forester is; the types of foresters; services provided by foresters; and how to find a forester in your town.

Woodlands are a wonderful and complex natural resource. Often the only difference between rewarding, enjoyable woodland ownership and poor, even disastrous decisions is good information.

Foresters are local resources to help landownRead More...

Conservation Tax Incentive Bill Renewed

Paul Catanzaro — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 04:00:00 +0100

2008 is an excellent year for landowners considering land conservation! The recently passed farm bill renews conservation tax incentives for landowners. The incentive had expired January 1st, but is now retroactive to the beginning of the year and will last through 2009.

The value of your conservation donation can now be deducted up to 50% of a person's Adjusted Gross Income, increased from 30%. The deduction can also be carried forward on the donor's federal taxes for 15 years, increRead More...

Annual Training Graduates 25 Keystone Cooperators

Paul Catanzaro — Mon, 12 May 2008 04:00:00 +0100

In ecology, a keystone species is one whose impacts on its environment are larger and greater than would be expected from one species. The UMass Forest Conservation's Keystone Project invests training and resources in keystonepeople, landowners and community leaders, with a disproportionate impact on their communities in a position to make a significant conservation difference. In return, those that are trained, called Keystone Cooperators, commit to working to support forest conservation in Read More...