Your Legacy, Your Land Monthly Worksheets

Each month we will be providing a worksheet(s) related to our Your Legacy, Your Land webinars.  These worksheets will help you as you start to plan for the legacy of your land, each one represents one step in the process of your planning.  We ask you to work on the worksheets before the webinar so we can answer your questions during the first part of the webinar.  We will be introducing each subsequent assignment at the end of each webinar. 

Just starting the process?  Then start with the first step and when you are done, work on the subsequent steps/worksheets.  We will be adding new  worksheets every month to help you work on the individual steps it takes to develop your legacy plans for your land. 

Make a commitment to your legacy, take the legacy pledge. 

Step One: Create an overview of your estate

The Forest Property and Estate Overview Worksheet (from the Ties to the Land program), from the February 25 webinar:   Please note this assignment is strictly for your use, to help you through the process of planning for your legacy.  We will not be collecting any of this personal information.  However we will be able to address questions you might have while completing this assignment during the February webinar.  Also available as a pdf. 

Step Two: Set goals for your legacy and your land

Goal Setting Worksheets (from the March 24th webinar):

• The Heirloom Scale: Where are you on the Heirloom Scale?  What about your co-owner(s)?  Take some time to complete the scale and then share it with your co-owners.
• Individual Values and Goals: Have you thought about what your long term goals are for your land?  This assignment will help you document these thoughts.  Then share with your co-owner(s) and ask them to complete it individually. 
• Shared Values and Goals: Once you and all your co-owners have completed the first two worksheets, then sit down and discuss your individual results.  You might not all agree on everything but see if you can work together to develop your shared values and goals for the long-time future of your land. 

These assignment are available online with the links above, where you can complete the worksheets and get your results emailed to you.  You can also easily share these links with your co-owner(s).  Word documents of the three assignments are available to download at the bottom of this page.  All of these assignments have been adapted by from the Ties to the Land program at Oregon State University.

Take some time to document the story of your land.  You can use the worksheet 12: Story of My Land, available as a word or pdf.  Or you can log into your MyLandPlan.org account and in the overview of your land, select the property history and record your story there. 

Step Three: Outline  who does what on your land and plan for who will do it in the future

Who Does What On Your Land worksheet, from the April 28th webinar:

•  This worksheet will help you document the current jobs/roles for your land.  Take some time to sit down and figure out who does what, who are some of the professionals that you work with, what are some of the routine tasks and when you might need a  special permit.  Once you have documented these roles, then you can start to think about who could take over them in the future.
• Also available as a pdf.

Step Four: Gathering your documents

Documents You Need For Your Estate Plan: Do you have all the important documents that you will need for your estate plan?  Does your family know where those documents are?  This worksheet will help you document this information. Also available as a pdf.

Step Five: Identifying and communicating with your heirs

Planning For The Next Generation worksheets for the May 26th webinar:

• Selecting Your Heirs: look at who your potential heirs are, think about how engaged they are with your land and how you might be able to increase that engagement. Also available as a pdf.
• Is a Charitable Donation Right for You worksheet for the August webinar? 
• In August we reviewed the different options for your estate including charitable donations.  Do you want to see if a charitable donation might be right for you?  Then take some time to complete the Is a Charitable Donation Right for You? worksheet and do your research to ensure that your long-term goals for your land would match those of the organization.  Also available as a pdf.

Step Six: Planning and hosting your family meeting

Planning For Your Family Meeting worksheet for the June webinar:

• This worksheet will help you plan a successful meeting.  It includes why family meetings are important, steps to help you set up your meeting, and a planning checklist for reaching out to your family members, creating an invitation and agenda for your meeting.
• We also have this worksheet available as a pdf for those who have trouble downloading the word document.

Running Your Family Meeting worksheets for the July webinar:

• For July, we have tips for running a family meeting and the Nippers provide their tips for a successful meeting. 
• We also recommend that you share The Heirloom Scale and Individual Values and Goals with your family members.  These worksheets can be useful to start the discussion with your family about the legacy of your land.

Step Seven: Reviewing the different ownership and estate options available for landowners

• Worksheet 10: Ownership Options
• Worksheet 11: Understanding Different Ownership Options

Step Eight: Finding and meeting with an estate planning attorney

• Worksheet 12: Story of My Land (word doc) and (pdf)
• Worksheet 13: Tips for Working With An Estate Planning Attorney