Heirs’ Property: How This Issue Impacts Landowners

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The Legacy of Landownership and the Challenge of Heirs’ Property

Passing sustainably managed land down through generations of family members can be a powerful way for families to leave a legacy. However, sometimes families face a legal issue known as heirs’ property. 

We’ll dive into the topic of heirs’ property, exploring what it is, its historical roots and intention, and how landowners can resolve it. Being well informed about heirs’ property can assist landowners in keeping their land and in reaching an empowering, inclusive family agreement about how to manage it.

We spoke with Brianna Jackson, Director of Legal Services at the Center for Heirs’ Property Preservation®, (CHPP), a nonprofit rooted in South Carolina that, for the past two decades, has been dedicated to working with historically underserved landowners. The Center protects heirs' property, promotes its sustainable use, and empowers families to build generational wealth and preserve their legacy. Brianna emphasized the importance of education about heirs’ property, which can affect landowners in both urban and rural areas across the U.S. Below, we’ve included condensed excerpts from our conversation.

Brianna Jackson, Director of Legal Services at the Center for Heirs’ Property Preservation. Courtesy of the Center for Heirs’ Property Preservation.

What is heirs’ property? 

Brianna explains:

“Heirs’ property refers to land that remains in the name of a deceased person, with rights passed down to their heirs. However, no legal action has been taken to transfer ownership, so the title remains unclear. In such cases, any heir can transfer their share without notifying other family members, increasing the risk of the property leaving the family.” (For more background on heirs’ property and how it has impacted Black landowners, we recommend this short video.) 

How do families decide how to handle heirs’ property? 

 Oftentimes, a collection of heirs state that they want to ensure that once the title is clear, they want to maintain the property as family property. That's when discussions about creating entities such as trusts or LLCs come into play, but it's very important that the title of the property is clear before those structures are established. 

The goal is for the trust or entity to hold full, 100% ownership. You want to avoid splitting ownership among multiple parties, as that’s the core issue with heirs' property—land that’s divided among a group of individuals. If you're dealing with multiple generations, they will likely have different ideas and visions of what this property could become, and those perspectives should be celebrated, not used to create division within the family. To effectively establish and secure ownership, it’s crucial that all parties agree and formally transfer their interests into the entity.

If you're dealing with multiple generations, they have different ideas. They have different visions of what this property could be, and those should be celebrated and not used to segregate within the family.

How does heirs’ property impact landowners? 

 The main way that it impacts landowners is their use of the property. Full authorization has to be given if anything is done on the property, whether that is residential or agricultural, forestry, any type of sustainable use opportunity. In the context of heirs’ property, the only person that can authorize any action is the person on the deed. 

If that person is deceased, you have to go through the legal process to ascertain who are now the owners of the property, and they all have to authorize what happens on that property as a collective, as 100 percent authorization. 

If heirs are living on heirs’ property, one of the biggest challenges is home repair, especially as a result of  natural disasters, where ownership needs to be verified for assistance. Various policies have been amended or there have been improvements to how to navigate those programs when there is a natural disaster, but it's still challenging for some heirs’ property owners to get that assistance.

Why would a landowner choose not to leave their land to a specific person or people? 

Historically when our ancestors were first granted land, they didn’t engage in the option of going to court to assert ownership. Engaging with the legal system at that time was risky, as it could easily lead to the loss of their land. Simply interacting with courts, attorneys, or government agencies could open the door for someone to challenge or even seize their property. This historical vulnerability was a direct result of systemic barriers and discrimination, making it incredibly dangerous for marginalized and African American landowners to assert their rights without risking the loss of what was rightfully theirs.

As a result, many families, at the time, did not engage in the formal legal process of transferring title after the passing of their ancestors. 

 When we step back from all the legal jargon or the land use jargon and reflect on what it means to own property, it is an asset that really fortifies a lifestyle/culture. It provides shelter, food, and work/income. [In choosing not to designate a specific person or group of individuals], the ancestor’s intention could have been that this is for anyone in my family. Even if you moved away, you always have a place to come back home to.

It’s important to acknowledge the intentional efforts some families made to protect their property and to inform current generations that, in order to honor the wishes of their ancestors, there are specific steps they can take to preserve and continue that legacy.

Recommendations for those affected by heirs’ property

For landowners affected by heirs’ property, Brianna recommends the following steps: 

1. Start the conversation.  Openly discuss ownership with all heirs, including those who may have moved away. 

2. Build a family tree. Gather documentation such as obituaries, death certificates, and addresses to support the legal process. 

3. Seek trusted counsel. Engage legal representation or counsel, who are knowledgeable about heirs property resolution and prevention. 

If you have questions about heirs’ property or would like to learn more about it, contact us at info@mano-y-ola.com. 

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Hispanic Forest Landowner Spotlight: Celebrating Finca Calichi/Café de Reyes 

This month, we have the privilege of featuring Nathaniel Ortiz Albino and Luz N. Sierra of Finca Calichi/Café de Reyes! At the forestry celebration and resource fair that we hosted in Las Marías, Puerto Rico in November, Luz and Nathaniel received a special recognition for their dedication to the HFLO Program. 

In addition to attending the resource fair, they participated in all 9 of the interactive educational workshops that mano-Y-ola (mYo) hosted in PR during 2024. The workshops centered around peer learning and included a wide range of topics related to sustainable agriculture and forestry, including agroforestry, agritourism, and bat conservation. 

Heriberto Martínez Méndez and Courtney Columbus of mYo present Luz and Nathaniel with a special recognition award at our forestry celebration and resource fair in Las Marías, PR. 

Luz and Nathaniel’s accomplishment is even more impressive because their farm is located on narrow, winding roads in a remote, mountainous area of the island. They often traveled for more than an hour each way to reach the workshops!

Heriberto Martínez Méndez, mYo’s agronomist in Puerto Rico, praised Luz and Nathaniel as he presented them with their award, saying that they produce one of the best coffees in Puerto Rico and have formed a strong bond with the HFLO Program participants. Congratulations, Luz and Nathaniel!

Visiting Finca Calichi

At Finca Calichi, Nathaniel shows mYo team members the pineapples that he had recently planted using contour planting to prevent erosion.

mYo team members had the opportunity to visit Luz and Nathaniel at Finca Calichi in November. It was wonderful to see firsthand their passion for sustainable agriculture, to walk through their farm, and to sample some of the many delicious fruits they cultivate, from grapefruit to passion fruit. 

Finca Calichi is located at about 2,730 feet above sea level in Adjuntas, in Puerto Rico’s central mountain range. Over the years, Luz and Nathaniel have refined their agricultural practices to include a broad range of crops, such as coffee, cacao, and rosemary. This crop diversity provides them with a buffer – if one crop fails to thrive in a certain year, they will still be able to rely on the other crops. 

Nathaniel has been working in agriculture for about 12 years, and during that time he has adapted his planting practices to work in harmony with nature, overcoming challenges such as hurricane damage. Additionally, as a small-scale farmer, he has faced challenges in accessing government resources.

Luz holds cacao grown at Finca Calichi. 

By implementing ecological practices, such as creating an agroforestry system by growing coffee under the shade of other trees, Luz and Nathaniel have also seen their crops thrive much more than when they used conventional agricultural practices. Finca Calichi’s altitude, climate, forest, and the amount of rainfall combine to create the perfect conditions for high-quality shade-grown coffee, which is far superior to coffee grown in the sun using conventional methods, Nathaniel explained.

We also featured Luz and Nathaniel in our September 2024 newsletter. To learn more about their inspiring story and their sustainable agricultural practices, click here. 

This newsletter was written by Courtney Columbus, reviewed and translated by Nolo Martínez and Adrian Parrott, and produced by Jessica Zafra.