Property and stewardship fund donated to foundation

COLTS NECK - The estate of the late Marion Huber of Colts Neck has donated her home and 5-acre property on Route 537, as well as a stewardship fund, to the New Jersey Conservation Founda-tion (NJCF).

According to a press release from the NJCF, the donation is subject to a life estate to Huber's longtime caregivers who currently live in the house. The stewardship funds will be used for the maintenance of the property, which is surrounded by the Monmouth County Dorbrook Recreation Area, and may be used in the future to maintain other properties owned by NJCF.

"Marion died in 2001 and she had an interest in seeing the property preserved," said Huber's nephew, Michael W. Huber. "She supported various conservation causes over the years and we felt NJCF would maintain the property with the integrity Marion would have wanted. The stewardship fund is also very important because land donated without stewardship money can place a financial burden on the organization charged with managing the land."

The value of the gift from Marion Huber's estate was more than $1 million, according to the press release.

The NJCF said the gift comes at a time when Congress has significantly expanded the tax benefits available to land owners and farmers who donate conservation easements. Until the end of 2007, land owners can take a tax deduction for easement donations up to 50 percent of their income, as compared to 30 percent under previous law, and qualifying farmers can deduct up to 100 percent of their income.

"We are extremely grateful to the Huber family for their generous land donation and stewardship fund, which illustrates their tremendous commitment to saving Monmouth County's land and natural resources," NJCF Executive Director Michele S. Byers said. "This is an excellent time for land owners to think about donating conservation easements because the expanded federal tax incentives only apply to donations made in 2006 and 2007."

Important tools in land preservation, conservation easements are often ideal ways to protect environmentally important lands, according to the NJCF. A conservation easement is a legally enforceable promise to preserve some portion of open space on an individual's property to protect its natural, agricultural and scenic resources. Easement donors continue to own their land and to control access to it; conservation easements can provide public access, but only at the land owner's discretion.

Tax incentives can help motivate those who may not be passionate about protecting their land to donate conservation easements, the NJCF said. For land owners, the federal tax break provides an incentive to donate easements, or sell them at a bargain sale price (less than market value). They receive a tax deduction for making what can amount to a substantial charitable gift.

"The expanded incentives represent an outstanding opportunity to land owners, but those interested should consult with a financial adviser before making any decisions as tax law can be complicated," Byers said. "Over the next year-and-a-half, conservation advocates will work hard to make these new tax incentives permanent. But with the window of opportunity currently set to close after 2007, there is no time like the present to take advantage of this new law."