News Release
September  13, 2007

UW offers ag estate planning program Sept. 19 in Laramie

Estate planning can never start too early.

To help begin the process, an informative program is being offered at the University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension Service (UW CES) office in
Laramie in partnership with the Wyoming Agriculture & Natural Resource Mediation Program.

"Passing It On: Beginning the Farm Transfer and Estate Planning in Wyoming" is 1:30-4 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 19, in the office at the Albany County fairgrounds.  The program is open to the public.

Short presentations on estate planning topics for farmers and ranchers will be made by estate planning specialists, including UW CES specialist Cole Ehmke.

"This program introduces agriculturalists to the process of transferring a farm estate," Ehmke said. "Many Wyoming producers haven't started a conversation with family members about their estate and don't have even a basic will.

The schedule is:

1:30 p.m. – Passing It On book presented by Alan Schroeder, associate professor in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics in the College of Agriculture. The book and worksheets are available for free download at http://ces.uwyo.edu/passingiton.asp. Printed copies, which are $10 each, can be ordered by calling Lucy Pauley with the Wyoming Department of Agriculture toll-free at (888) 996-9278, or e-mail her at lpaule@state.wy.us. The $10 book and worksheets will be available for purchase at the workshop. The workshop is free for those having the materials. There is a $10 fee for those who do not.

1:40 p.m. – Estate planning presented by Bob McCrary, principal in the estate planning law firm of McCrary Law Offices, LLC, with offices in Fort Collins, Colo., Casper and Cheyenne.

2:30 p.m. – Conservation easements presentation by Bill Gougér and Jason Howard. Gouger is a co-founder of the law firm of Gougér, Franzmann & Hooke LLC in Englewood, Colo. Howard manages the estate planning and real estate sections of the law firm.

3:20 p.m. – Ehmke presenting “Starting the estate planning conversation.”

Ehmke said the workshop focus is helping people get started with the estate transfer process and develop and implement a plan with appropriate tools.

“This information is important when meeting with other estate-planning professionals such as attorneys, tax advisers and financial planners," he said.

For more information, contact Kellie Chichester with the Albany County CES office in Laramie at (307) 721-2571 or kelliec@uwyo.edu.

Contact: Steven L. Miller, Senior Editor
Phone: (307) 766-6342
E-mail: slmiller@uwyo.edu
Archived News Site http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/UWAG/news.asp

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