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[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

> It is our hope, that the place can be held in some kind of trust  
> for any
> of them to live in or use at any time, in time of peace, peril, or
> poverty.

Chris and I have a similar plan and dream. Heartwood, on paper, it  
doesn't need to be recorded, is in a family trust. The devil is in  
the details. Just providing for tax payment is not enough. Without  
someone in residence our remote place would eventually be vandalized  
and of course revert to wilderness. My thought is to make the place  
attractive enough to the grandkids that whatever their career paths,  
Heartwood will be a place for respite and rejuvenation. Without a  
country grounding, few moderns will want to be isolated from city  
conveniences. They may be seduced by the fact that country property  
will become ever more limited and thus more expensive, so might be  
persuaded to keep it as a family heritage home.

My brother and sister and I were moved to the Wisconsin farm to  
fulfill my father's dream of having his own farm. Of the three of us,  
I alone have purchased rural land. It may come to pass that my  
brother will join us some day. He currently lives on five semi-rural  
wooded acres owned by his lady friend. My sister is a confirmed  
suburbanite.