NALC webinar reviews methods of ‘clearing title’ to resolve heirs property issues
The presentation reviewed findings from a 50-state survey sponsored by the National Ag Law Center.
By Drew Viguet
National Agricultural Law Center
U of A System Division of Agriculture
Nov. 22, 2024
Fast facts:
- Webinar focuses on state approaches to heirs property
- Jesse Richardson, Jill Apter presented research conducted on clearing title
- Recording available to watch online
(493 words)
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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — “Heirs property” situations can result in economic and property loss, and families that find themselves in such situations need to know what methods are available to resolve it.
“Identified heirs properties are conservatively valued at over $32 billion in the U.S.,” Jill Apter, National Ag Law Center research fellow and law student at Michigan State University, said. “This issue should concern us all.”
In an heirs property situation, a landowner has passed away “intestate,” or without a will or estate plan, and equal ownership of the property passes to the heirs. Or, there was an estate plan which left everything equally to the heirs.
“With tenancy in common property, which is the root of the problem with heirs property, each owner of the property has the right to possess an undivided interest in the whole,” said Jesse Richardson, professor of law and lead land use attorney at West Virginia University College of Law. “So, imagine a situation where you have 12, or 50, or 100 people, and they all have the right to occupy the entire property. That’s a problem, and just one of the many problems that comes along with heirs property.”
Apter noted that due to heirs property title complications, property ownership erodes and becomes destabilized.
“Heirs property owners face serious risks of property and economic loss,” she said. “They are unable to access federal aid funds after natural disasters and there’s also a high potential of partition or tax foreclosure.”
During the NALC’s Nov. 20 webinar, Apter and Richardson reviewed a survey they conducted to find what statutory options each U.S. state offers as a means of “clearing title” to resolve heirs property issues. Clearing title involves legally determining who owns the property and obtaining a marketable title.
The Heirs Property State Survey is sponsored by the NALC and available online.
During the presentation, Richardson discussed the five broad categories that he and Apter used to categorize the various state approaches, short of formal lawsuits, to clearing title in the U.S.: partition, judicial proceedings for estate administration, informal probate, affidavit of heirship, and Marketable Record Title Acts, or MRTAs.
In addition to all 50 states, the survey also includes Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
“We were looking for the simplest, least expensive, most straight forward way to clear title,” Richardson said. “The affidavit of heirship appears to be the most heir-friendly, because it involves less time, less cost, and fewer legal resources. Granted, any type of process to try to clear title when the property has gone through two or more generations without being probated is going to be time consuming and could be very costly.”
A recording of the webinar is available on the NALC website. A companion report, which further details the Heirs Property State Survey, is also available online.
For information about the National Agricultural Law Center, visit nationalaglawcenter.org. The National Agricultural Law Center is also on X, Facebook and LinkedIn.
About the National Agricultural Law Center
Created by Congress in 1987, the National Agricultural Law Center serves as the nation’s
leading source of agricultural and food law research and information. The NALC works
with producers, agribusinesses, state and federal policymakers, lenders, Congressional
staffers, attorneys, land grant universities, students, and many others to provide
objective, nonpartisan agricultural and food law research and information to the nation’s
agricultural community.
The NALC is a unit of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and
works in close partnership with the USDA Agricultural Research Service, National Agricultural
Library.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen
agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption
of best practices. The Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work
within the nation’s historic land grant education system through the Agricultural
Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas
System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture is an equal opportunity/equal
access/affirmative action institution. If you require a reasonable accommodation to
participate or need materials in another format, please contact dviguet@uark.edu as soon as possible. Dial 711 for Arkansas Relay.
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Media contact:
Drew Viguet
Communications & Special Projects Coordinator
National Agricultural Law Center
dviguet@uark.edu