What is a land trust in Montana?

Generally, land trusts focus on two areas: They work with private landowners to conserve private lands through voluntary agreements called conservation easements. They also work to build and maintain community trails and local parks and expand outdoor recreational opportunities.

How do I set up a land trust in Montana?

How to Create a Living Trust in Montana

Select an individual or joint trust.
Take inventory on your property to determine what to store in your trust.
Select a trustee to manage your trust.
Create a trust document by hiring a lawyer or using a computer program.
Sign the document in front of a notary public.

What is a land trust organization?

A land trust is a nonprofit organization that, as all or part of its mission, actively works to conserve land by undertaking or assisting in land or conservation easement acquisition, by its stewardship of such land or easements, or by encouraging or assisting with good land use practices.

What does a land trust do?

Land trusts are organizations that take legal ownership, stewardship, or partial control over property at the behest of the landowner. Title-holding land trusts, also known as Illinois land trusts, protect landowner anonymity and keep property out of probate.

Are community land trusts good?

Community land trusts keep housing affordable in the long term, allowing lower-income households to continue to have access to neighborhoods that are increasing in price. Community land trusts recycle a single public investment in affordability.

Will versus trust in Montana?

Trusts do not need to go through the probate process to become valid, unlike a will which must be approved by a court and then put into effect. A trust can distribute assets immediately after your death if you wish, whereas assets passed by a will must wait for probate to conclude.

Should you put land in a trust?

Engaging an estate planning attorney to create a trust for the property can bring substantial benefits. “It may protect your family from estate taxes, creditors, divorce and lawsuits, and it defines your wishes as to how you want that land to be taken care of and by whom,” Myhra says.

Why community land trusts are bad?

The main criticism of CLTs is their lack of financial self-sufficiency. Since they can’t survive off just ground lease fees, they must turn to external funding from private backers and the government.