For this week’s Guest Post Friday here at Musings, we welcome a new face and newly solo attorney, Lee Stephens. Lee (@leestephenslaw) has represented dozens of landowners who successfully placed conservation easements on their property, ranging from a farm of 1,800 acres to a lot of 0.85 acres, all over the Commonwealth. Lee currently sits on numerous boards around Virginia and serves as counsel to Northern Neck Land Conservancy. Lee graduated from University of Virginia (1979), served as a surface warfare officer in U.S. Navy (1979-’84), studied law at William & Mary (1987), and was President of The Tides Inn (1989-2001). Lee headed up the Irvington office of Spotts Fain as a shareholder until…yesterday! June 1, 2012 is the first day of his new firm, Lee Stephens Law, PLC.
You may have heard of a “conservation easement” and the benefits or problems that landowners have realized. These legal instruments are potentially wonderful ways to protect your land and collect tax benefits, but if done carelessly you can regret it.
A conservation easement is like a trust. It is an enforceable agreement between a landowner and an easement holder (think “trustee”), which may be a government agency or a land trust charity. What you give up is the right to develop the land, such as building houses.
