Braun & Gresham Announces 2015 Spring Webinar Series
Braun & Gresham is proud to announce our 2015 spring webinar series, kicking off on April 2, 2015 with The Importance of Updating Your Estate Plan with attorney Margaret Menicucci. This series will feature webinars from Understanding Your Property Taxes and Notice of Appraised Value to Water Rights and Rural Land and much more.
April 2, 2015 (12:00 pm – 1:00 pm): The Importance of Updating your Estate Plan
Presented by: Margaret Menicucci
Register for this webinar: CLICK HERE
Passing on legacy land to the next generation presents unique challenges. Without thoughtful estate planning to specifically address these challenges, families could be putting their land’s resources and family heritage at risk. In this webinar, Margaret Menicucci will speak about how specific life events can effect your current plan and address the importance of maintaining an up-to-date estate plan. She will provide information about unique tools she employs to help landowners preserve the legacy of their land, including asset protection, limiting liability, planning for mental disability to avoid conservatorship, dealing with probate, minimizing or eliminating federal estate tax, and the options for leaving land to heirs.
April 10, 2015 (12:00 pm – 1:00 pm): Understanding Your Property Taxes and Notice of Appraised Value
Presented by: Cassie Gresham
Register for this webinar: CLICK HERE
It is a very busy time at our office right now – because it is property tax season. While most landowners know that May 1st is the deadline to submit your open space applications for agricultural, wildlife management, timber and Ecolab, they might not also realize that this the time to review your Notice of Appraised Value and protest your taxes. Cassie Gresham will be going over how to decipher your property tax bill and your notice of appraised value.
April 17, 2015 (12:00 pm – 1:00 pm): Probate: What every landowner needs to know in 2015
Presented by: Thomas Hall
Register for this webinar: CLICK HERE
Courts supervise the distribution of a person’s assets after their death in a process called probate. When a person has a professional estate plan, probate may be avoided or simplified to the filing of a few papers with the court. When a person dies without an estate plan or when their will is unclear, probate can be a complicated legal procedure. In this webinar you will learn about the probate process, how to simplify probate when possible, and how to navigate the probate process when necessary.
April 24, 2015 (12:00 pm – 1:00 pm): Water Rights and Rural Land
Presented by: Margaret Menicucci
Register for this webinar: CLICK HERE
As a rural landowner it is common to know where the boundaries of your property are. However, in Texas water rights depend on whether the water is groundwater or surface water. In this webinar, Margaret Menicucci will define the differences between too and address the importance of knowing your rights when it comes to water on your property.
May 1, 2015 (12:00 pm – 1:00 pm): Risk Management
Presented by: David Braun
Register for this webinar: CLICK HERE
As friends, family, and other guests gather to enjoy your land for recreational activities such as swimming, horseback riding, and off-road adventures, there are many opportunities for unintended accidents. Without a plan to manage these kind of accidents, you could be risking the loss of family land or the forced liquidation of other major assets. In this informative presentation, David Braun will discuss a variety of tools designed to reduce the risk of owning rural land, including the use of business entities, statutory protections, and comprehensive leases and waivers.
May 8, 2015 (12:00 pm – 1:00 pm): Transmission and Pipeline Routing, Condemnation and Easements
Presented by: Patrick Reznik
Register for this webinar: CLICK HERE
The construction of transmission lines, a reaction to the rising demand for electric power in the state, is changing the landscape of Texas, the value of its rural properties, and presenting unprecedented challenges for owners of rural land. Utility companies have to give landowners notice and a chance to participate in the routing process if they are planning to build a power line near their property. However, many landowners are unfamiliar with the complex routing process governed by the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), leaving them feeling powerless against big utilities with big legal teams. In this webinar you will learn about this process, its complexities, and the best ways to protect your land and your rights.
May 15, 2015 (12:00 pm – 1:00 pm): Succession Planning with Rural Land
Presented by: Thomas Hall
Register for this webinar: CLICK HERE
Many landowners say they want to leave their land to their children or other loved ones. Their land is often their most valuable asset, but they don’t usually mean that they want to leave the most wealth possible. If they did, they would sell their land when the market was high and leave the money. When someone leaves land to their heirs they usually are hoping to transfer the passion they have for the land and the values of responsibility and connectedness that they feel for the land. Sadly, more often than not these transfers are not successful. In this webinar, Thomas Hall addresses issues like these and the importance of succession planning in a comprehensive estate plan for rural landowners.