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Oil & Gas ProPermalink Reply by Dion Warr, CPL on June 23, 2010 at 12:07

Baron:

Also a very good suggestion. I have seen where some families will transfer the bulk of their assets into such an entity and use the LLC to transfer interests outside of succession, leaving shares of little or no par value to be inherited without having to run at loggerheads with forced heirship implications (as they currently remain).

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landownerPermalink Reply by Shaleeee on June 23, 2010 at 16:53

Dion & Baron - You can not know how much I appreciate the information you have given me - the LLC seems to be the way to go - would my husband and I be part of the LLC and have use of the fruits of the LLC - and should something happen (God forbid) to one of our children would their spouse and children be part of the LLC or just their children - and if they are minors how would that work - look, I know you can not continue to answer questions about this situation but thanks for all of the information. We will see an estate attorney and get our ducks in a row - this will be our last gift to them and we want it done right!

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landownerPermalink Reply by Henry on June 24, 2010 at 0:19

Shaleeee,
Some of my cousins created an LLC for their family land. The purpose was to ensure the land stayed in the family. As they explained it to me, they wrote in things like land only goes to someone's children when they die, not to the surviving spouse. (The purpose was to prevent the land from going out of the family if the surviving spouse remarried.) The LLC had a rule that no member of the family could sell out, except by selling back to a member of the LLC. It also prevents any family member's land from being lost, if one of them were sued. As they described it to me, management of the LLC was fairly simple -- one of the family members had the authority to make all the adjustments of ownership (say, if one family member sold out to another), without having to go back to the lawyer. They were very happy they did it.

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landownerPermalink Reply by Shaleeee on June 24, 2010 at 1:17

Henry, this family's LLC sounds like the one we would want - I did not know you could get this specific in an LLC - Thanks

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landownerPermalink Reply by Mac Davis on June 24, 2010 at 8:39

Can I ask roughly how large the properties are? Are they in prime areas of the Haynesville Shale?

If there's lots of money involved, it's probably worthwhile to go to the trouble of setting up the fancy legal mechanisms such as LLC, trusts, etc.

There's lots of good advice here, but the right answer varies a lot between 1 acre, 10 acres, 100 acres, and 1000 acres.

A few warnings.

1) There are lots of "true believers" who really believe they have the "magic bullet" and push their favorite idea and don't see the drawbacks. Listen to what they say, but look for the landmines. Sometimes the true believers are more dangerous than the outright crooks.

2) Even the honest professionals tend to oversell the things that make them money. This isn't necessarily dishonest. Even honest people tend to believe in what they sell.

3) There are lots of less than honest people who consciously stretch the truth or outright lie about what services they sell.

4) Be sure that whatever you set up leaves YOU in charge. Be sure you can dissolve whatever legal mechanisms you create.

5) Be prepared for the heirs to fight. They'll be stressed out even if there aren't any "real" problems. There will be lots of self doubt. It's really easy to get mad at each other. It's stressful even when everyone gets along.

6) Document things really well. Be sure someone has a clear idea of "the will is here, this is where the bank accounts are, etc." This will be a BIG blessing to the kids when it happens. Get your living will, durable power of attorney for medical affairs, etc. Not only does it help a lot in terms of the kids being able to find things. It forces the kids to mentally prepare.

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landownerPermalink Reply by Shaleeee on June 24, 2010 at 15:27

Thanks Mac, really good advice - It is important to me that my children and their families stay as close as they are now and that is why I want to do this - and make it as fair as possible.

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