2025 National Rural Housing Conference: Major Themes 

Heirs’ Property Forum – Major Themes, Patterns, and Field-Wide Implications 

The National Rural Housing Conference took place during the week of November 2, 2025, in Washington, DC. During the conference, the Heirs’ Property forum convened practitioners, researchers, policymakers, community leaders, and funders to explore the multidimensional challenges surrounding heirs’ property.  

Across all sessions, the forum revealed that heirs’ property can lead to multidimensional, intergenerational, socio-economic, cultural, and infrastructural challenges. Addressing these requires cross-sector ecosystems, legal, financial, design, philanthropic, governmental, and community-based resources, that can meet families where they are, honor their histories, and create durable structures for long-term stability. 

Building on this shared understanding, the forum was organized as a pre-conference symposium featuring a series of panels, followed by two workshops during the conference week that examined these themes in greater depth. The following summaries highlight the cross-cutting themes and patterns revealed throughout the conference and their field wide implications.  

This article is part of an ongoing conference series. Want to learn more? Explore the full series below. 

Cross-Cutting Themes Included:  

Understanding Heirs’ Property: 

• Collective Landholding Is a Strength – Not a Defect 

• Families Do Not See Their Land as ‘Heirs’ Property’ – They See It as ‘Our Land.’ 

• Heirs’ Property Is Fundamentally a Racial Justice Issue – Not a Technical One  

Supporting Heirs’ Property Owners: 

• Families Have Different Goals – There Is No ‘Silver Bullet’ 

• Education Is the Foundation of All Services 

• Title Clearing Alone Is Not Enough – Families Need Long-Term Governance 

• Documentation Loss, Disaster Vulnerability, and Colonial History Deepen Risk 

• Mediation & Trauma-Aware Practice Are Essential 

Systems Change – What the Field Needs Now: 

• The Work Requires Full Ecosystems, Not Isolated Services 

• Policy Must Be Multi-Level and State-Specific 

• Capital Barriers Are a Major Bottleneck – Not Just Legal Barriers 

• Success Metrics Must Shift: From ‘Titles Cleared’ to ‘Family Goals Achieved’ 

CROSS CUTTING SYNTHESIS – Major Themes, Patterns, and Field-Wide Implications 

This synthesis will outline a set of field wide recommendations and priorities that can guide practitioners, policymakers, funders, and communities toward more equitable, durable, and family-centered approaches to heirs’ property. 

Understanding Heirs’ Property:  

While often framed as a legal defect, heirs’ property reflects long-standing cultural practices of collective land stewardship used by Black, Indigenous, Latino, and rural families to resist dispossession and maintain intergenerational stability. The problem arises not from shared ownership itself but from external systems, including legal, financial, and disaster recovery, that are ill-equipped to recognize informal tenure. Understanding heirs’ property requires acknowledging its historical roots, its role as a cultural asset, and the structural inequalities that shape how families navigate it today.  

1. Collective Landholding Is a Strength – Not a Defect 

Panelists emphasized that shared ownership is often intentional and culturally grounded. The problem lies not in collective landholding itself but in systems that fail to accommodate it.  

“Shared ownership is seen as a strength… [these are] intentional co-ownership decisions.” – Rusty Smith , Rural Studio

Collective ownership: 

• Supports intergenerational living 

• Stabilizes housing 

• Extends mutual aid between family members

• Preserves cultural land ties 

Policy and financing systems must adapt, not pathologize. 

2. Families Do Not See Their Land as ‘Heirs’ Property’ – They See It as ‘Our Land.’ 

In the housing field, there has been growing advocacy, awareness, and action to address issues associated with heirs’ property. Panelists emphasized that while the field refers to this form of collective ownership as heirs’ property, this term is not commonly used by families to describe the status of their land.  

Panelists working with families across Puerto Rico, the rural South, and multigenerational Black and Brown communities understand this: 

“‘Heirs’ property’ is a practitioner term. Families say ‘our land,’ ‘the family place,’ or ‘shared.’” – Alicia Díaz Santiago, Centro para la Reconstrucción del Hábitat

This consistent point across sessions shows: 

• Terminology is outsider-driven 

• Narratives must shift to match lived experience 

• Policies should follow cultural reality, not overwrite it 

3. Heirs’ Property Is Fundamentally a Racial Justice Issue – Not a Technical One 

Panelists emphasized that heirs’ property is a structural racial justice issue rooted in discriminatory policies and dispossession. Families disproportionately affected have inherited centuries of systemic inequities that shape how land is passed down, protected, or lost. Any meaningful solution must therefore address the underlying structural conditions, not only title clearing.  

“Heirs’ property is not a flaw in families; it is the result of historical exclusion from legal systems and capital.” – Dr. Karama Neal, Neal Firm and Asset Funders Network 

Underlying structural conditions include: 

• Discriminatory housing and lending policies 

• Colonial land dispossession 

• Racialized inheritance systems 

• Disaster recovery disparities 

• Gaps in legal access 

Thus, any solution requires grappling with structural inequity, not just title mechanics. 

Supporting Heirs’ Property Owners: 

4. Families Have Different Goals – There Is No ‘Silver Bullet’ 

The Opening Session of the forum emphasized there is no one-size-fits-all pathway. Families approach landownership with different priorities. Providers must avoid assuming that all families want the same outcomes; instead, they must co-create solutions grounded in lived experience. 

“There’s no silver bullet because families want different things.” – Ruth Gao, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation 

This theme echoed across every panel: 

• Some heirs want to reside 

• Some want to preserve 

• Some want to sell 

• Some want disaster eligibility 

• Some want to maintain informal arrangements 

Every solution must be customized. 

5. Education Is the Foundation of All Services 

Families need clear, accessible, and culturally responsive education about legal processes, ownership structures, and available pathways toward their goals. Education not only empowers them to make informed decisions; it reduces vulnerability to predatory practices. 

“Education is the most important service because people need to understand concepts and consequences.” – Jacy Fisher, Esq. Gregory Varner & Associates 

Families cannot make informed decisions without basic understanding of: 

• Probate 

• Tenancy-in-common 

• Partition 

• Liens 

• Disaster eligibility 

• Estate planning 

• Cooperative structures 

Education is both prevention and empowerment. 

6. Title Clearing Alone Is Not Enough – Families Need Long-Term Governance 

Clearing title addresses only one moment in a long lifecycle of property management. Without long-term governance structures families are likely to return to legal vulnerability. Sustainable ownership requires planning for the next generation, not just the resolving today’s issues. 

“Clear titles are a beginning, not an end.” – Rusty Smith 

“Families need more categories than individuals; families need a governing structure.” – Jacy Fisher 

This includes: 

• Family land trusts 

• Cooperative agreements 

• LLCs with family rules 

• Shared-equity models 

• Resident-owned communities 

The field is shifting from title resolution, to ownership stabilization, to generational governance. 

7. Documentation Loss, Disaster Vulnerability, and Colonial History Deepen Risk 

In many communities, historical land dispossession, natural disasters, and the absence of formal documentation intensify risks for families. Disaster relief systems often fail families with clouded titles, prolonging recovery and compounding trauma. These vulnerabilities reflect structural deficiencies rather than family shortcomings. 

“Colonial history means much information is lost.” – Alicia Díaz Santiago 

“Hurricanes cause major devastation; records loss prevents access to FEMA aid.” – Alicia Díaz Santiago 

This creates: 

• Breakages in the chain of title 

• Inability to prove ownership for aid 

• Multigenerational displacement 

• Compounding systemic injustice 

These issues extend beyond Puerto Rico into rural coastal communities, Appalachia, the Deep South, and tribal lands. 

8. Mediation & Trauma-Aware Practice Are Essential 

Every session stressed that heirs’ property disputes are not purely legal: Heirs’ property work is emotionally charged, involving grief, conflict, and intergenerational tensions. Trauma-responsive practices and skilled mediation can prevent family fractures and support healing. The field must recognize that technical solutions alone cannot address the relational dimensions of shared land. 

“Mediation is crucial – heirs’ property issues are often family issues.” – Rusty Smith 

“Meet people where they are… we come into people’s lives at moments of vulnerability.” – Jacy Fisher 

Practitioners need: 

• Conflict resolution training 

• Generational trauma awareness 

• Patience and long-term engagement 

• Strategies for managing family power dynamics 

Systems Change: What the Field Needs Now 

Across all sessions, panelists emphasized that meaningful progress requires shifting from isolated interventions toward full ecosystems that integrate legal, financial, planning, design, philanthropic, and community-led efforts. State policies, financing models, and disaster programs must evolve to accommodate informal tenure and nontraditional family land arrangements. The field also needs durable infrastructure: governance tools, stabilization capital, ethical data systems, and locally grounded policy reform. Taken together, these changes move the field from reactive, case-by-case assistance to a proactive, systems-level approach that supports long-term generational stability. 

9. The Work Requires Full Ecosystems, Not Isolated Services 

Effective solutions must bridge legal, financial, philanthropic, design, housing, disaster recovery, and community-led systems. Families often encounter fragmented support; without coordinated infrastructure, progress stalls. Ecosystem-building ensures that no service provider works in isolation and families experience continuity rather than gaps. 

These systems should include: 

• Legal aid providers

• Surveyors 

• Appraisers 

• Housing developers 

• CDFIs 

• Funders, both philanthropic and institutional

• County clerks 

• Researchers 

• Designers 

• Planners 

• Mediators 

10. Policy Must Be Multi-Level and State-Specific 

Heirs’ property cannot be addressed through one-size-fits-all policy reforms. Differences in state probate laws, land tenure norms, and historical contexts require nuanced approaches. Cross-level collaboration between federal, state, tribal, and local governments is essential for coherent and durable solutions. 

Panelists noted: 

• The UPHPA is important but can be improved

• State probate rules vary wildly 

• Disaster policy must recognize informal land tenure 

• Tax foreclosure reforms are essential 

• Cooperative ownership must be legitimized 

• Funding and technical assistance must be locally tailored 

11. Capital Barriers Are a Major Bottleneck – Not Just Legal Barriers 

Families need stabilization capital to weather probate costs, property taxes, construction expenses, and disaster impacts. Without accessible financing, even well-designed legal pathways fall short. The field must explore new models of family-centered capital deployment that prioritize long-term sustainability.  

“Not everyone is mortgage ready, but some heirs’ property owners could benefit.” – Ben Navarro, Fannie Mae 

Funding gaps prevent owners from completing: 

• Probate 

• Surveys 

• Appraisals 

• Clearing taxes 

• Rehabilitation 

Philanthropic organizations can be risk-taking first movers to support innovation in capital access. 

12. Success Metrics Must Shift: From ‘Titles Cleared’ to ‘Family Goals Achieved’ 

Traditional metrics focus on outputs (e.g., number of clear titles) rather than outcomes (family stability, land retention, governance capacity). Panelists emphasized reframing success around what families define as progress. This shift encourages holistic, family-centered models rather than technical checkboxes. 

“[We must} shift metrics from ‘titles cleared’ to ‘are ownership goals met?’” – Dr. Karama Neal 

Because families may want to: 

• Stay and co-own 

• Sell and distribute proceeds 

• Preserve land without formal subdivision 

• Stabilize housing without legal resolution 

This reframes evaluation and funding frameworks. 

From Insight to Action: Field-Wide Priorities 

The themes above collectively point toward a field that must evolve from fragmented, technical efforts to coordinated, justice-centered ecosystems. Moving forward, practitioners, policymakers, funders, and researchers must align around shared priorities that reinforce family stability, build long-term governance opportunities, and reimagine systems that have historically failed communities. 

The discussions summarized above point to a clear conclusion: incremental fixes are not enough. Rather than reiterating the challenges outlined in previous sections, this synthesis highlights what those insights collectively demand of the field moving forward. Based on cross-session patterns we identified six priorities that must advance together: 

• Build integrated ecosystems, not standalone programs. 
  Fragmented services create risk. Coordinated legal, financial, policy, and community infrastructure reduces it. 

• Design ownership and governance models around collective reality. 
  Solutions must align with how families actually hold, share, and steward land across generations. 

• Reform probate and policy at the systems level. 
  Procedural complexity is a structural barrier, not a family failure. 

• Deploy stabilization capital early and flexibly. 
  Prevention costs less than recovery and protects families before loss occurs. 

• Anchor practices in trauma-aware, community-led approaches. 
  Technical expertise without trust undermines long-term outcomes. 

• Measure success by family-defined outcomes, not technical outputs. 
  Stability, continuity, and agency matter more than administrative milestones. 

Taken together, these priorities represent a shift from reactive intervention to proactive field-building. Addressing heirs’ property at scale will require collective investment in systems that are durable, equitable, and accountable to the families they serve. 

“This work is not just changing land ownership; it’s altering generational trajectories.” – Dr. Karama Neal 

Stay tuned! In the coming weeks, we will be sharing more in-depth summaries of each individual conference panel to further explore the insights highlighted here. 

Compiled and written by Odia Kaba, Research Fellow