[Hvcatskillcewg] Merger of Title

[Allan Bowdery]

Our easements have a clause in them stating that there will be no merger of
title under the circumstances that you posited. Whether that would hold up
is an open question?
Allan Bowdery
Wallkill valley Land Trust

On 8/2/07, Heidi Bock <heidi at clctrust.org> wrote:
>
>  Hello All,
>
>
>
> A question of interest has come up here at CLC and I was wondering if
> there is any insight out there about it
>
>
>
> Here's the scenario put forth by our land protection folks:
>
>
>
> "Some nice wealthy landowner donates a conservation easement to a Land
> Trust in New York State and thus benefits from a substantial charitable
> deduction.
>
> Land Trust records said easement and goes about its business.
>
> Nice landowner kicks the bucket and bequeaths the property subject to the
> easement to the same Land Trust.
>
> Presto!  Merger of Title – the same entity cannot hold both the fee
> ownership and conservation easement on the same property so the easement
> miraculously disappears.
>
> The Land Trust could now sell the property for its full fair market value,
> unencumbered by a conservation easement?
>
>
>
> But how can this be? Conservation Easements are granted in perpetuity.
>
>
>
> The original deed of conservation easement is still gumming up the land
> records (no release or cancellation is filed).
>
> Donating a conservation easement does not bank development rights with the
> land trust – those development rights are extinguished.
>
> I don't think the IRS would be very happy to grant a substantial
> charitable deduction on a gift of real estate, just to have that valuable
> real estate reconstitute itself in a few years time and start all over
> again.
>
>
>
> It seems to me that Merger of Title is really an issue of how to deal with
> the legal complexities during a presumably temporary period of fee and
> easement ownership under a single entity.  To consider Merger of Title as an
> automatic cancellation of a conservation easement threatens the very
> principles of perpetuity and the extinguishment of development rights that
> are the bases of a land trust's land conservation program."
>
>
>
> Any thoughts, suggestions, comments…
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
>
>
> ~heidi
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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>
>


-- 
Allan Bowdery
33 Mountain Rest Road
New Paltz, NY, 12561
845 255 6690 fax 845 255 2327
agb38 at columbia.edu
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