Workshops aid forest land transfer to next generation

The University of California is hosting a two-part workshop series on succession planning to help forest landowners learn simple techniques to pass their land and its legacy on to the next generation. The first workshop is being offered at seven locations throughout California. In the central Sierra Nevada, workshops will be held in Auburn on Oct. 3, Jackson on Nov. 13, and Sacramento on Nov. 15. All workshops will be held from 6 to 8 p.m.

During this first workshop, participants will learn the steps needed to plan for passing land along to their heirs. An important first step in this process is clarifying the current owners’ goals and values for their family forest or ranch. This allows landowners to start the discussion with heirs about their long-term vision for the property. Participants will also learn about the financial impacts of ownership transfers across generations. This first round of identical workshops is being held before the holidays, to allow time for families to get together during the winter holidays and discuss their goals.

The second workshop will be held after the holidays and will cover the financial and legal approaches and tools such as trusts, limited liability companies, and easements used in succession planning as well as specific planning approaches used to manage land and resources. Dates and times of the second workshop will be announced later.

The workshops will use a curriculum developed by Oregon State University called “Ties to the Land.” The goal of the workshops is to help empower forest landowners to pass on both their land and their vision and passion for it to the next generation.

Registration for the workshop is $25 per family to cover costs of the family workbook and DVD. Multiple members of each family are encouraged to attend both workshops. If family members do not live in the same location, they are encouraged to attend the workshop location nearest to them as the curriculum will be the same at each location. For information on registration, locations of the central Sierra workshops or the entire workshop series, please see the University of California Forest Research and Outreach Website ucanr.edu/tiestotheland/ or contact Susie Kocher at 530-542-2571 or sdkocher@ucanr.edu.