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Jennifer Emerling / There Is More Work To Be Done
Jennifer Emerling / There Is More Work To Be Done
Experts of HAC: Natasha Moodie on Heirs’ Property and Generational Wealth in Rural America
In this edition, Natasha Moodie explains what heirs’ property is, why tangled titles limit families’ access to equity, and which strategies can protect legacy homes and build generational wealth.
What is heirs’ property and why is it important?
Natasha Moodie is a Research Associate at the Housing Assistance Council. She draws on extensive experience in rural community development and program design, along with research expertise, to advance HAC’s work on housing access and heirs’ property.
Heirs’ property is commonly created when a property owner passes away without a will or another form of estate planning. When this occurs, the state’s laws determine who inherits the property. Depending on the deceased person’s family circumstances, including considerations of whether they have a surviving spouse or children, one person or multiple people may inherit the property. When multiple people inherit the property, it is inherited as an undivided interest, meaning no one person has full claim to the property. Heirs’ properties can also be created when the deceased person had a will, but the property did not complete the required transfer of ownership, which in many states is probate. When this occurs, the name of the deceased owner is often still listed in property records, tax records, and mortgage information until ownership is officially transferred to their surviving family members.
It is important to understand and be aware of heirs’ property and tangled titles in the housing and community development fields.
When the property records are not updated to the living heirs, the persons who inherited the property often cannot access full tax exemptions, make repairs on the property, use the property as collateral for loans, or otherwise access the equity in the property. While the records are in the name of the decedent, if there is a mortgage on the property, permission to access loan information or make payments is retained exclusively to the person on record, the deceased. Faced with these barriers, heirs’ property owners do not have the full agency over their property afforded to other property owners.
Communally owned property has been, and will continue to be, a method of property ownership across the country. Some families intentionally own and transfer their property as heirs’ property due to generational practices, cultural traditions, kinship ties to their family land, and a defense against homelessness for current and future generations. Heirs’ property work includes implementing protections and pathways for safe, secure, and affordable generational housing on properties held as heirs’ property, and designing pathways to provide access to the resources needed to consolidate and update property ownership for those who choose.
There is a minimum of $32 billion in residential property and $41 billion across all parcels in the country that is inaccessible to homeowners due to unclear title. Local research has demonstrated that there is a relationship between tangled titles, vacancy, blight, and tax foreclosure. The national heirs’ property field collectively works to preserve legacy, generational wealth, community, and culture, for today’s homeowners, future homeowners, and their descendants for generations to come.
What is HAC’s focus on heirs’ property?
HAC aims to be a part of a nationwide cross-sector movement to increase access to the capital and resources needed to support the full agency for homeowners to address their housing needs and achieve their housing goals in alignment with their aspirations for their families and property.
The Housing Assistance Council is a national nonprofit that supports affordable housing and community development across rural America. Research conducted by HAC, in collaboration with Fannie Mae, estimates that residential heirs’ properties are disproportionately located in rural communities. Thus, our work to support affordable housing and community development must include an intentional focus on supporting heirs’ property owners.
Our multi-dimensional efforts focus on residential property, with a particular focus on and partnership with rural communities, persistent poverty counties, Tribal lands, the US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.
What are some of the efforts involved in the heirs’ property field?
Research: There are over 40 years of quantitative and qualitative research on the prevalence and impact of heirs’ property, and pathways for support and resolution for heirs’ property owners. Research across many sectors, as well as national journalistic media continue, to increase national awareness, inform solution development, and increase protections and access to resources and capital for heirs’ property owners.
Policy: State policy efforts to increase protections for heirs’ property owners include the Uniform Partition of Heirs’ Property Act (UPHPA), statutes providing non-judicial pathways to transfer property upon the death of an owner including Enhanced Life Estates and Transfer on Death (TODs) deeds, and the inclusion of heirs’ property owners in mortgage relief, foreclosure protections, and tax delinquency protections and programs.
Financing: There are continued efforts to address barriers to accessing capital. Heirs’ property owners need sustainable pathways. This ongoing work aims to address the challenges heirs’ property owners face in accessing the capital needed to preserve and utilize their properties.
Access to affordable, timely, and culturally relevant legal services: There are many dedicated attorneys, working in legal aid, private practice, and university organizations, committed to protecting heirs’ property and educated in the nuances of determining the best path forward. Many of these attorneys are a part of the Heirs’ Property Practitioner Network, a nationwide affiliation of attorneys working to support heirs’ property owners.
Localized cross-sector efforts to prevent heirs’ property and resolve the challenges faced by heirs’ property owners: Community-based organizations across the country have continued to support their neighbors and residents through holistic, cross-sector approaches to supporting heirs’ property owners.
Want to learn more?
Join us at the Rural Homes, Secure Land Forum, an Heirs’ Property Pre-Conference Event on November 4th at the 2025 National Rural Housing Conference.
If you have already registered for the National Rural Housing Conference, please modify your registration to reserve your seat at the forum. If you have not registered for the conference, please register for the conference and select the heirs’ property pre-conference event as a part of your registration.
We hope to see you there!
