FAQs
What is a Land Trust?
What does the Land Trusts Association do?
Are all Land Trusts the same?
What are the benefits of becoming a Land Trust?
How can I become a member of the Land Trusts Association?
What is a Land Trust?
Trust is essentially a relationship between three parties, the donor of some assets, the trustees who hold the assets in perpetuity and the beneficiaries (those people who are eligible to benefit from the charity). When the trust has charitable purposes, and is a charity, the trust is known as a charitable trust. The governing document is the Trust Deed or Declaration of Trust, which comes into operation once it is signed by all the trustees and registered by the Charity Commission.
A Land Trust is simply one that consists primarily of land and property and may be seen as lying between private and public ownership. The original donor transfers the direct control which came with private ownership, while surrendering the practical and financial problems which beset private ownership.
What does the Land Trusts Association do?
The LTA was formed in 1979 and is an association of individuals either directly involved in the management of rural property, or in advising those who own or manage such property, which has been dedicated to some charitable purpose. It acts as a facilitator, exemplar, coordinator and provider of information and, through its Case Studies, seminars and membersí visits, provides by example information and practices that others may emulate or adopt which might assist with the creation of new land trusts dedicated to some public benefit, leading to a clear sense of purpose in perpetuity.
Are all Land Trusts the same?
Every Trust is unique and established by their Settlors for different, if often similar, reasons. The charitable object could be any one, or a combination of several, of the thirteen charitable purposes established through the Charities Act 2006.
What are the benefits of becoming a Land Trust?
Charitable Land Trusts occupy a unique niche within a continuum of British landed estate ownership models. Arguably they stand the best chance of survival in the future and can serve to illustrate the best of traditional rural estate management practices together with innovative thinking underpinned by their need to be managed so that they may survive in perpetuity. Continuity of ownership and the permanency afforded to Land Trusts usually leads to long-term views that may be taken with the benefits of integrated land management.
By incorporating the donor's wishes in a Trust Deed, this becomes a far more efficient way of ensuring the continuity of family interest which could be broken by handing over in traditional ways complete control to the next generation. For the first time, the estate will be completely freed from both income and capital taxation, as well as from succession worries and the restricting schemes which are often drawn up to cope with these.
How can I become a member of the Land Trustsí Association?
Simply download the membership application form, which can be found on the "Joining the LTA" page, complete it and return to us with the appropriate membership fee. We will then process your application and if successful send you a membership pack welcoming you to the LTA.
Previous page: Becoming a Member
Next page: Login