Property Law

Cartoon depicting an auctioneer selling off family land for $100, with a family of bears looking on while sharks in suits bid on the land.

Episode 66: Heirs’ Property’s Fragile Hold on Land Ownership and Justice

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Just because an individual may own property, does not guarantee that the person may keep that property—that’s the warning stemming from this week’s podcast episode featuring an interview with Dr. Kara Woods, research analyst at Alcorn State University’s National Policy Research Center. Issues may arise from heirs property—co-owned land in which the name of the original, and now deceased, owner is still on the deed. Land loss due to heirs property issues affects groups disproportionately by race and class, and the policy protections against it are inconsistent across states. The ensuing legal hurdles mark a barrier that some families cannot overcome. One takeaway: Communicate with your family members!

Cartoon depicting an auctioneer selling off family land for $100, with a family of bears looking on while sharks in suits bid on the land.

Property Rich, Justice Poor: Heirs’ Property and Involuntary Land Loss

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Heirs’ property is the group project no one signed up for. Land inherited without a will and co-owned by many families can easily slip into land unexpectedly lost when a co-tenant forces a partition. Investors then swoop in and outbid family members for the property. The pattern tends to hit hardest with “property rich and cash poor” families, and it’s contributed to a massive decline in African-American property ownership over the last century. Read about the factors leading to heirs’ property issues and the steps, so far, to reform it.

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