Donating a Conservation Easement in Nelson County

If you are familiar with conservation easements and the tax incentives available to landowners and have decided to donate an easement, please use the following steps to guide you through the process. If you would like more information on conservation easements and how they save land and money, please call the Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) at 540.347.2334 or the Virginia Outdoors Foundation at 804.293.3423.

1. Call the field officer for the Virginia Outdoors Foundation and arrange a site visit. VOF’s field officer for Nelson County is Sherry Buttrick, 804.293.3423.

2. Discuss the broad terms of the conservation easement with Sherry. What conservation values would the easement protect? What kind of restrictions do you want to put on the use of the property? What level of protection would be acceptable to your easement holder?

3. Consult your attorney or tax planning professional if you have questions about how an easement will benefit your financial and estate planning goals.

4. Draft the conservation easement using VOF guidelines and a sample easement. Your attorney should review the draft easement. If there is a mortgage on the property, the lender must subordinate to the easement. If you would like information on local attorneys that handle conservation easements, please call Rural Nelson at 804.263.5000.

5. If you plan to take a tax deduction for your conservation easement, arrange a property appraisal at this point. If you would like information on local appraisers familiar with conservation easements, please call Rural Nelson at 804.263.5000.

6. Ask Sherry to schedule your easement for VOF’s board review. The VOF meets four times a year, usually in March, June, September and December. Easements should be drafted and applications completed at least one month before each board meeting. To be complete, an application should contain the draft easement, a letter from you to VOF stating that you wish to give an easement on your property and describing why you wish to conserve the property and a signed consent form.

7. After the VOF Board has met and approved your conservation easement, record the easement in your county courthouse. For the IRS, the date of the gift of easement will be considered the date that the easement was recorded in the county courthouse.

Thank you! Your easement helps insure the endurance of Nelson’s wonderful rural landscape.