Land Matters: Understanding Heirs’ Property

Join the USDA National Agricultural Library for a two-part event exploring the complexities of heirs’ property: a primary driver of Black farmland loss in the U.S. After hearing from speakers, we will work to spread awareness around the issues, improving Wikipedia pages related to heirs’ property.

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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.

In the morning, we will hear from our partners from the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems at Vermont Law School and the National Agricultural Law Center. Then, Mavis Gragg, our keynote speaker, will speak on Heirs’ Property and her work as chief executive officer of HeirShares. In the afternoon, you are welcome to attend an optional Wikipedia editing training session or begin editing pages and adding resources and information to various articles. During the brief training session, Wikipedia experts will be on hand to answer questions. This program is intended for information professionals, legal practitioners, and others working with stakeholders on estate planning and issues related to heirs’ property.

Attendees may join the morning or afternoon sessions; full-day attendance is not required.

Schedule:

10:00-10:05 Welcome, Paul Wester, Director, USDA National Agricultural Library

10:05-10:45 Keynote Speaker – Mavis Gragg, Chief Executive Officer of HeirShares and Director, Sustainable Forestry and African American Land Retention Project (SFLR)

10:45-11:00 Rusty Rumley, Senior Staff Attorney, National Agricultural Law Center

11:00-11:15 Francine Miller, Senior Staff Attorney and Adjunct Faculty, Center for Agriculture and Food Systems, Vermont Law School

11:15-12:00 Lunch

12:00-12:35 Wikipedia Editing Training, with Jamie Flood of the USDA National Agricultural Library

12:35-12:40 Break

12:40-3:00 Editing time, questions and follow-up, one-on-one training as needed. Take breaks as needed. Shortly before 3:30, we will wrap up by reviewing our editing statistics.