Robert Levin

Do you feel a special connection to your land? Have you been wondering how you can preserve the beauty of your property? Are you concerned that family dynamics or rising costs may make it difficult to hold on to your farm or homestead? Given the natural beauty of our state, it is no wonder that land is the most cherished possession of so many Mainers.

My law practice provides Maine landowners with expert guidance in making decisions that affect their property. Often, such decisions include whether and how to preserve the ecological, scenic, agricultural, and even spiritual integrity of their land. Sometimes a landowner will hire me directly to assist them with estate planning, real estate, farm transfer, charitable giving, or conservation matters. In other situations, a family’s lawyer brings me in to work on particular conservation, historic preservation, and tax issues that relate to their clients’ land holdings. In either case, landowners benefit from my sensitivity to conservation and estate planning issues. Because of my knowledge in these areas, I offer informed, efficient, and affordable advice to landowners.

SERVICES INCLUDE:

Family Planning for Family Lands

I help landowners determine a vision for the future of their land. My background in mediation and dispute resolution qualifies me to gather family members together to try to reach consensus on the very difficult decisions that they face.

Conservation And Agricultural Easements

Is an easement right for you? I walk landowners through various easement options, evaluating the practical and tax effects of selling or donating an easement.

Wills and Estate Planning For Landowners

I also offer a full-service estate planning practice, from wills and trusts to more complex entities such as Limited Liability Companies or Family Limited Partnerships. These vehicles ensure that land and other assets are well-managed and protected to the fullest extent of the law.

Rob received a B.A. from Haverford College in 1996. He graduated from New York University Law School in 2001 and was admitted to the Maine Bar in May 2002. In 2001, he served as a judicial clerk to Magistrate Judge John Facciola at the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Over the last three years, he has worked in various capacities with the Land Trust Alliance, the Maryland Environmental Trust, and several Maine land trusts. In law school, he focused on tax, real estate, nonprofit, and environmental issues. He has written several papers on conservation issues, including works in Tax Notes, the Land Trust Alliance’s Exchange, and NYU’s Environmental Law Journal.

Rob also has valuable experience in conflict resolution. Before law school, he worked at a mediation center in New York City, resolving business and neighbor disputes.

Robert Levin Attorney at Law 94 Beckett Street 2nd Floor Portland, ME  04101 Phone: (207) 774-8026 Fax: call first  Visit Website

Conservation 101

land conservation. Conservation 101. By: Robert Levin. Before you can decide what is right for you and your land, here are some basic definitions. Whole Interests in Land versus Conservation Easements There are two basic kinds of conservation transactions: “whole interests in land” and “conservation ease ...

Tax Benefits of Donating Conservation Land

Tax Benefits of Donating Conservation Land. By:Robert Levin. There are several kinds of tax benefits available to donors of land or. conservation easements. This article attempts to summarize these benefits and provide some. examples of how they work. ...

The Conservation Easement Quiz

Conservation Easement Quiz. The Conservation Easement Quiz. By: Robert Levin. A conservation easement requires the landowner to allow public access to the property.. 1. True. 2. False. False.Every conservation easement is different. It is up to the landowner and the land trust to arrive at mutually agreeable ...

6 Basic Steps to Conveying a Conservation Easement

6 Basic Steps to Conveying a Conservation Easement. By: Robert Levin. How does one go about donating or selling a. conservation easement.. There is no one right way to go about it. However, the following outline shows the most common steps to the process. Conveying an easement may take anywhere from a few months ...

Hypothetical Examples of the Tax Benefits of Donating Conservation Land

Hypothetical Examples of the Tax Benefits of Donating Conservation Land. By: Robert Levin. The following numbers are purely hypothetical and are not to be relied on by anyone as a representation or guarantee of tax results. These numbers have been simplified and approximated and do not represent predictions for any ...

Post-Mortem Donation of Conservation Easements

You’re Not Too Late: The Post-Mortem Donation of Conservation Easements. By. Robert Levin. Attorney at Law The following is an adapted version of an article that appeared in Tax Notes Today in October 30, 2000. Robert H. Levin is a practicing Maine attorney who specializes in land conservation. He works with land t ...