Next-Gen Stewardship
Legal Team Provides Full-Suite, Full-Family Estate Planning
“Mother always said what a special piece of property Little L Ranch was,” says Sherry Walker. “She and Dad realized how beautiful and diversified it was, which is why they bought it just after he returned from his service during World War II – and why we’re working to preserve it for future generations.”
Sherry grew up spending most weekends out at the ranch with her mother, Dorothy Walden Little, and siblings, while their father, John Little, M.D., tended to his busy medical practice in town. Little L Ranch – originally 723 acres of North Texas land along the Brazos River with a single century-old farmhouse – was named for the Littles themselves, with the “L” representing the Likiep Atoll, part of the Marshall Islands of the Pacific Ocean where John was stationed during the war.
In 2008, Dorothy died, passing the ranch along to her three children. Sherry, her siblings, and her husband, Bob, continued enjoying Little L along with Sherry and Bob’s twins, Austin and Kaitlyn, as the kids grew up.
“We often went out on weekends,” Kaitlyn, now 29, remembers. “We had a lot of country fun and good times, and we did a lot of hard work helping maintain the ranch. It was character-building in lots of ways, for sure.”
By 2023, Sherry’s brother had passed, and her sister, Sue, was no longer able to assist with ranch management. With their children being the only family representing the next generation, Sherry and Bob made two decisions regarding Little L: (1) They wanted to try to reclaim 99 riverside acres that the Brazos River Authority (BRA) had bought in the 1950s; and (2) they wanted to explore putting the remainder of their land into a conservation easement to preserve it in perpetuity.
Sherry and Bob Walker were referred by Shane Kiefer, CEO of Plateau Land & Wildlife, to Braun & Gresham, and Attorney & Counselor, Cassie Gresham, answered the call. Talking with the Walkers, she quickly realized their goals weren’t about just the ranch; they wanted to plan for the trajectory of the next generation – and they wanted that next generation involved in the planning process.
“Most people just take it all on themselves and think, ‘Our kids will figure it out when the time comes for them to take over,’” notes Attorney & Counselor, Cory Raven, who teamed with Gresham on the Walkers’ case. “But the Walkers aren’t waiting for something tragic to happen before bringing their children into the fold; they’re sharing the estate, succession, and risk planning with them in the present. And they’re making sure there are no gaps in knowledge for stewardship of the property.”
While Raven and Gresham began talks with the river authority about the riverside acreage, they simultaneously began movement toward a conservation easement for the rest of their remaining ranch. In this case, achieving the Walkers’ goals meant the Braun & Gresham team employing and coordinating an extensive and varied assemblage of specialists and polished professionals – from geologists and appraisers to specialized co-counsel and CPAs.
“B&G never shies away from taking a team-based approach. For this conservation project, strengthening our team by adding conservation attorney Margaret Menicucci became highly important. As a group, we worked to update the ownership model of the land by deeding the ranch into a new limited liability company (LLC) that we formed for them,” Raven explains. “The LLC helped us create solid mechanisms for family communication as it relates to important business and the conservation easement, with the additional benefit of limiting the risk exposure that all landowners face when holding rural property. The LLC also offered Austin and Kaitlyn the opportunity to participate in important conversations on understanding the framework for the ranch’s management roles.”
Next, Raven, Menicucci, and Gresham completed the conservation easement of the family’s 624 acres through the Texas Land Conservancy, forever protecting their cherished property from fragmentation and development, while maintaining the Walkers’ right for the family’s traditional use and enjoyment.
“Often, we see current landowners make all of the decisions about how to make sure the conservation easement meets their present and future needs,” relates Raven. “This time, the next generation of stewards were sitting in on the meetings, weighing in on the documents, initiating calls and questions – and honestly, it makes perfect sense, because it mostly affects them.”
“Our parents instilled in us through our experiences on the ranch the importance of having such a special place,” Kaitlyn concurs. “So, thankfully, Austin and I agreed with just about everything they were proposing, and Cory, Margaret, and Cassie really involved us, too, actively seeking our input and feedback all along the way.”
Sherry and Bob then turned to updating their estate plans to incorporate their new intentions for the ranch – and getting Austin and Kaitlyn to create estate plans of their own.
“People often have an existing will, but, at a bare minimum, it should be revisited about every ten years,” recommends Raven. “Whenever significant life changes happen, you need to properly assess their impact and revise accordingly. Even though they are just in their 20s, the Walker children understood the significance of having estate plans as well – even though they don’t have family of their own yet – particularly to ensure the land is taken care of the way they all want and have agreed to.”
“Many clients do one of these things, conservation easement, LLC, or will, but not all of them,” Raven attests. “We used every available tool to minimize the Walkers’ risk and maximize their estate plan for Little L Ranch. They were persistent about getting it all done and will surely have a smoother transition in the decades to come because of it. Using these tools in concert with one another is the gold standard and they should be very proud of the gift they have bestowed upon this land by doing so.”
While the BRA declined to return its Little L Ranch-adjacent acreage to the Walkers, Braun & Gresham did negotiate family access to the land as well as conservation and management terms for the property consistent with the Walkers’ easement.
“The [Braun & Gresham] team handled everything beautifully, and worked with us weekly for many months,” asserts Bob. “They had to jump through some hoops to solve problems we had no clue how to handle. We can’t say enough good things about them.”
“Cassie and Cory were extremely responsive, resourceful, and knowledgeable,” Sherry agrees. “They were very invested in helping us. They clearly love their work and care about the land, too, which was really important for us.”
The Braun & Gresham team was equally as impressed with the Walker family’s extraordinary dedication to their Texas native land at Little L Ranch.
“Sherry, Bob, and Sue have put a lot of time and energy into the learning and education of landowning,” comments Raven. “Most people just do what their parents did, and that can be successful, but the Walkers are developing their expertise year upon year, and teaching their children to do the same. The kids have a great understanding of the property’s needs, the flora, and the fauna. Where most people tend to focus on their use of the land, the Walkers are putting great effort into making sure the ranch is as healthy as possible in terms of stewardship.”
Indeed, the family is very involved in the Texas Master Naturalist Program, hosting one or two River Cleanup events each year, with about 100 people coming out, camping on the land, cleaning up, and attending nature trainings. The Texas Land Conservancy will sponsor a similar fishing for conservation weekend with nature classes, and the Texas Wildlife Association is planning a youth event for a small group of disadvantaged teens and their adults to spend a weekend with a hunt master on the property.
“Through the process of preserving this meaningful piece of land, we’ve come to understand that land ownership is sort of a misnomer,” Bob concludes. “We’ve realized we’re all going to be gone eventually, so we’re really just custodians of the land; we’ve got to do what we can while we’re here.”