The heirs’ property toolkit is a compilation of resources to support land trusts, agency staff and other stakeholders as they seek to resolve barriers to landownership and participation in USDA programs.
Designed with support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), this toolkit is designed to provide information and resources to assist land trusts and agency staff in understanding the issues surrounding heirs’ property. The information you see here is a starting point for the exploration of heirs’ property, what it is, who it affects and what role stakeholders can play in helping landowners.
This toolkit is designed to provide background information on heirs’ property. Future additions to the toolkit will provide specific guidance on how to manage an heirs’ property project. In the meantime, we recommend that you review the resources here, including the heirs’ property webinar recording, to familiarize yourself with the topic. Please be aware that heirs’ property is much more complicated than clearing title, so we strongly advise reaching out to organizations that are currently working in the space for guidance. You can find a list of them in the Organizational Directory section of this toolkit.
View directoryYou are welcome to explore the resources in the toolkit, but please be aware it was designed primarily with the needs of land trusts in mind. The next page, Tools and resources for landowners, compiles a selected list of resources intended for a landowner audience.
We also urge you to reach out to organizations dedicated to resolving heirs’ property issues for assistance. You can find a list of them in the Organizational Directory section of this toolkit.
View directory