Virginia Cooperative Extension Generation NEXT workshops to help families plan land transfers

Beginning in August, Virginia Cooperative Extension and the Virginia Department of Forestry will co-host Generation NEXT workshops to provide information and tools for families looking into forest and/or farmland transfers.

Running through December, the workshops will span Farmville, Harrisonburg, Roanoke, Lebanon, and Providence Forge.

Generation NEXT is an award-winning and nationally recognized program that helps guide landowners and their families as they navigate a subject involving difficult conversations. While there is an expense to planning an orderly transfer of land to the next generation, the cost of not planning that may put the future of the land, and even family unity, in jeopardy. By researching and planning ahead of time, landowners can ensure their wishes are met, and minimize financial costs and emotional challenges while securing their woodland legacy for generations to come.

Join Virginia Cooperative Extension, the Virginia Department of Forestry, and partners in hands-on workshops with free legal guidance from professionals experienced in intergenerational land transfer, as well as landowner testimonials of estate-planning steps and strategies they have used.

Speakers include legal and financial experts experienced in estate planning as well as natural resource professionals who work with landowners to conserve land and plan the future. Program elements include family dynamics, communication, and engagement; conservation tools; financial considerations and mechanisms; legal planning tools, pitfalls to avoid; and more.

For more information and a full list of upcoming Generation NEXT workshops, visit: https://ext.vt.edu/generationnext-va. The registration process opens two months prior to each event: https://forestupdate.frec.vt.edu. For more information, contact Jennifer Gagnon ([email protected], 540-231-6391).