Land · Inherited Land
When land passes to a family, the deed has to follow.
If it does not, the heirs share the land without clear title. That one gap affects loans, USDA programs, insurance, and whether the family keeps the place. It is common, and it is fixable. This guide covers what to do first, how the law treats shared family land, and where to get help.
By Dan Whelan, founder of New World Survival
Researched from government agencies, university extension services, and other published sources. See our sources
This guide is general education, not legal or tax advice. Inheritance, probate, and partition law differ from state to state, and the right path depends on your family's documents. Before you sign, sell, or file anything, talk with a real estate or estate attorney licensed in the state where the land sits. Legal aid organizations in many states help heirs' property owners at low or no cost.
Where you stand
A clean inheritance, or heirs' property?
The question that decides everything else is simple: whose name is on the most recent recorded deed? Your county register of deeds or recorder's office can tell you, and many counties put the records online.
The deed is in your name
A clean inheritance
The estate went through probate or another legal transfer, and a deed naming you, or you and specific co-owners, is on record. You can sell, borrow against, insure, and enroll the land in programs like any owner.
Your work is mostly housekeeping: update the tax bill's mailing address, put insurance in your name, and, if the land is farmed, visit the local FSA office to update the farm records. If you inherited with siblings, put an agreement in writing about who pays taxes and who decides what.
The deed is still in a relative's name
Heirs' property
USDA describes heirs' property as family land jointly owned by the descendants of someone whose estate did not clear probate. The heirs can use the land but lack clear or marketable title. It usually starts when land passes without a will or a new deed, and each generation adds more owners.[1]
Because big decisions need agreement among all the heirs, the land often cannot be used as collateral, homes fall into disrepair, and some disaster aid stays out of reach without clear title.[2]
You are not alone in this
Researchers working with the USDA Forest Service estimate 3.3 to 5.3 million acres of heirs' property across eleven Southern and Appalachian states, and about 9.2 million more acres across the rest of the country. Concentrations include the rural South, parts of Central Appalachia, Hispanic communities in Texas, and former tribal allotments.[2] Courts, USDA, and legal aid groups deal with it every day.
First steps
What to do in the first few months.
None of these steps commits the family to a decision. They protect the land while everyone works out what they want.
Pull the deed history
At the county register of deeds, find the last recorded deed and the name on it. Note any mortgages, liens, or easements recorded against the land. This tells you whether you are dealing with one estate or several generations.
Find out whether there was a will and whether probate was opened
The clerk of court or probate court in the county where the owner lived can tell you whether an estate file exists. A will that was never probated may still matter, so keep any copy you find.
Keep the property taxes paid
Heirs' property can be lost to tax default.[3] Agree on who pays, keep receipts, and make sure the county has a current mailing address so the bill reaches someone.
Keep the land insured
Call the insurer on any buildings, tell them the owner has died, and ask what they need to keep the policy in force. A lapsed policy discovered after a fire or storm is the hardest version of this problem.
Write down the family tree
List every heir, how each is related to the owner on the deed, and how to reach them. Any legal fix starts with this list, and building it while older relatives can help is far easier than building it later.
Get legal help before anyone signs anything
A local estate or real estate attorney, a legal aid office, or your county extension office can point you to the right path. Be cautious with unsolicited offers to buy one heir's share of family land.
Partition
Any co-owner can ask a court to divide or sell.
Heirs usually hold inherited land as tenants in common: each owns a fractional share of the whole. In general, any one co-owner can file a partition action without the others' agreement, even when that co-owner has not shared in the taxes or upkeep.[3,4]
Partition in kind
The court physically divides the land, and each co-owner gets title to a separate piece. It keeps land in the family, but some parcels divide poorly, and heirs may disagree about who gets the pasture and who gets the creek bottom.[4]
Partition by sale
The land is sold and the proceeds are split by share after court costs, sale costs, and attorney fees. Historically these sales went to the highest bidder, often below market value, and outside buyers have purchased one heir's share in order to force a sale of the whole.[4]
The Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act
The Uniform Law Commission wrote this model law to make partition fairer for families. As of the end of 2025 it had been enacted in 24 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.[5] Where it applies, it generally provides:
Notice
Notice to all known heirs, including a sign posted on the land.
Fair value
An independent appraisal, or a value the heirs agree on.
Buyout
The other co-owners can buy out the one who filed, with time to arrange financing.
Division first
The court weighs dividing the land before ordering a sale.
Open market
If a sale is ordered, it is usually an open-market sale at no less than the court-determined value, though a court can choose another method.[4,6]
Each state's version has its own definitions and deadlines. To see whether your state has adopted it, check the Uniform Law Commission's page for the act or ask a local attorney.
USDA programs
Heirs can still use USDA farm programs.
The 2018 Farm Bill opened two doors for families farming land without clear title. Both run through your local USDA Service Center.[1]
A farm number without a clean deed
A farm number is required for many USDA programs, including FSA farm loans, disaster relief, and county committee participation. Heirs' property operators can establish one with documents showing they control the farming operation. In every state, FSA lists these three:[7]
- A tenancy-in-common agreement, approved by a majority of the owners, giving you the right to manage some or all of the land
- Tax returns from the previous five years showing an undivided farming interest
- A self-certification that you control the land for farming or ranching
The county FSA office may also accept other documentation, such as an affidavit from an owner, a limited power of attorney, or canceled checks and receipts for rent or operating expenses. In states that have adopted the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act, a court order or a recorder-of-deeds certification also works.[7]
Heirs' Property Relending Program
FSA lends to selected intermediary lenders, which relend to heirs who agree to complete a succession plan. The loans can pay to buy out other heirs' shares and to cover closing costs, appraisals, title searches, surveys, document preparation, mediation, and legal services. They cannot pay for buildings, land improvements, or operating costs.[8]
Lenders serve specific regions. As of October 2026, FSA lists one serving Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina, and one serving the Cherokee Nation Reservation in Oklahoma. Check the relending program page for the current list.
Other help worth knowing
USDA's Certified Mediation Program offers an alternative to court for farm-related disputes; ask your FSA office whether a family land disagreement qualifies.[9] The Land Trust Alliance publishes an heirs' property toolkit, and USDA lists more resources on its heirs' property page.
Keeping or selling
Whatever you decide, clear title comes first.
Keeping the land, selling it, or buying out a sibling all run into the same wall without clear title. A buyer's lender and title insurer will want it, and so will a lender if you plan to borrow against the land.
If one heir wants to keep the land and others want out, a buyout is often the cleanest answer. Our guide to paying for land covers the loans that can fund one.
How the IRS values inherited land
Under IRS Publication 551, the basis of inherited property is generally its fair market value on the date the owner died. Other values can apply if the estate elected the alternate valuation date, or special-use valuation for farmland.[10]
In plain terms, gain on a later sale is usually measured from what the land was worth when you inherited it, not from what a grandparent paid decades ago. That makes a written appraisal near the date of death worth having. A tax professional can tell you how this applies to your family.
The next generation
The simplest fix is a plan made in advance.
Heirs' property usually begins when someone dies without a will or estate plan.[3] If you own land now, a few steps spare your family the work described above.
Make a will
Say who gets the land and how. An attorney can explain whether a will, a trust, or another tool fits your state and family.
Ask about deed options
Some states allow a transfer-on-death deed, which passes land to a named person without probate. Ask your attorney whether yours does.
Talk with the family
Who wants the land, who wants out, and who will pay the taxes. A conversation now prevents a lawsuit later.
Keep the papers together
The deed, the survey, tax receipts, and the will in one place your family can find. Our documents and records guide shows how.
Related guides
Once the title is clear, the land is yours to plan.
Paying for Land
Land loans, Farm Credit, FSA loans, and owner financing, including how to fund a buyout.
Financing guide →
Zoning and Use
What the county allows you to build, raise, and sell on the land you now own.
Zoning guide →
Documents and Records
What to safeguard, how to store physical and digital copies, and how to replace what is lost.
Records guide →
Sources
- USDA. "Heirs' Property Landowners." Farmers.gov. Accessed October 28, 2026. farmers.gov
- Bailey, C., G. R. Dobbs, C. Johnson Gaither, and R. Thomson. "Heirs' Property Issue Brief 23-1." Southern Rural Development Center, June 2023. srdc.msstate.edu
- Rumley, R., and S. Keith. "Heirs Property in Arkansas." National Agricultural Law Center, 2021. nationalaglawcenter.org
- Johnson, P., R. Thomson, A. Rabinowitz, and K. Keown. "Heirs Property in Alabama," HE-0852. Alabama Cooperative Extension System, revised September 2024. aces.edu
- American Bar Association, Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section. "Uniform Laws Update: 2025 Legislative Update," January/February 2026. americanbar.org
- Uniform Law Commission. "Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act" presentation to the Kentucky General Assembly. legislature.ky.gov
- USDA Farm Service Agency. "Guidance for Heirs' Property Operators Participating in FSA Programs," December 1, 2022. usda.gov
- USDA. "Heirs' Property Relending Program." Farmers.gov. Accessed October 28, 2026. farmers.gov
- USDA Farm Service Agency. "Certified Mediation Program." Accessed October 28, 2026. fsa.usda.gov
- Internal Revenue Service. "Publication 551, Basis of Assets," section on inherited property. irs.gov
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