Lost Inheritance

The report examines how 'heirs' property'—land passed down without clear legal titles—contributes to the systemic loss of Black-owned farmland in the US. It highlights that Black farmers lost nearly 90% of their land during the 20th century, with heirs' property acting as a primary driver of involuntary land loss through forced partition sales and limited access to federal funding. The document argues that the USDA and Congress must provide direct grants, streamline farm number establishment, and fund community-based legal services to resolve clouded titles and support BIPOC farmers.

• Black farmers in the United States experienced a massive loss of land and wealth during the 20th century; between 1920 and 1997, the number of Black farmers declined by 98%, and in 17 states with the highest numbers of Black farmers, they lost 90 percent of their land, valued at $326 billion in today's dollars.
• Heirs' property—land passed through generations without a clear legal title—is identified by the USDA as the primary cause of involuntary land loss for Black farmers, leading to underutilization of land and restricted access to federal loans and grants.
• Land loss occurs through forced partition sales, where speculators purchase a fractional interest from one cotenant and use the court to force an auction of the entire property, often resulting in sales far below market value.
• Heirs' property creates 'dead capital' by discouraging investment and preventing access to federal conservation funding. Research in Alabama showed that 58% of heirs' property owners invested less than $10,000 in their land, compared to only 16.7% of titled owners.
• Estimating the prevalence of heirs' property is difficult due to inconsistent nomenclature and data gaps, but recent studies suggest high rates: one study found 35.3% of surveyed Black farmers had at least some land in heirs' property, while another identified potential heirs' property in 496,994 parcels across 11 Southern states valued at nearly $42 billion.
• The Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act (UPHPA), adopted by 23 states, provides legal protections such as the right of first refusal to help prevent forced partition sales.

APA

Reznickova, A. (2023). Lost Inheritance. Union of Concerned Scientists. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2023-06/Lost-Inheritance_report_0.pdf

Chicago

Reznickova, Alice. Lost Inheritance. Union of Concerned Scientists, 2023. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2023-06/Lost-Inheritance_report_0.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Reznickova |first1=Alice |title=Lost Inheritance |publisher=Union of Concerned Scientists |date=June 2023 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2023-06/Lost-Inheritance_report_0.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{reznickova2023lost, author = {Reznickova, Alice}, title = {{Lost Inheritance}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2023}, month = jun, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2023-06/Lost-Inheritance_report_0.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }