The Federation of Southern Cooperatives/LAF Leads Research and Advocacy to Address Heirs Property and Eligibility to Participate in USDA Programs
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Land is by far one of the greatest and most valuable assets African American farmers possess. Black farmland ownership, which peaked in 1910 at 16 to 19 million acres, has decreased to less than 3 million acres today. The causes of under-utilization and loss of rural black land are numerous and complex, but none is more notable than heirs property. Heirs Property is created when a landowner dies without a will, or other form of estate planning, for the transfer of ownership of land to another prior to death. Subsequently, heirs property owners do not have clear title to the land they own. Today, it is estimated that over 60% of all black owned land is heirs property.
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