Land Matters Understanding Heirs' Property captioned

Recording of the USDA National Agricultural Library's event: Land Matters: Understanding Heirs' Property. Featuring keynote Speaker Mavis Gragg (HeirShares) and guest speakers Francine Miller (Center for Agriculture and Food Systems, Vermont Law School) and Rusty Rumley (National Agricultural Law Center.

Heirs’ property is a property that passes to family members by inheritance, usually without a will or without an estate planning strategy. It is typically created when land is passed from someone who dies without a will to those legally entitled to their property (spouse, children, others). However, even if the person who has passed had a will, they may still create heirs' property by leaving property to multiple heirs. When this happens, heirs do not own an individual lot; instead, they own the whole property together. Unless the heirs go to the appropriate administrative agency or court and have the title or deed changed to reflect the ownership, the land remains in the deceased's name. For heirs, this can cause a variety of problems.

While heirs’ property is predominant among African American landholders in the South and has been a significant driver of African American land loss in the United States, it is also an issue for Latinx communities in the Southwest, Indigenous communities on reservations, and white communities in Appalachia. This two-part program will outline the complexities of heirs’ property and examine tools and programs available to prevent further land loss.