HAC Participates in SERA 49 Annual Meeting

On February 3, 2026, HAC attended the annual meeting of the SERA 49 Heirs’ Property Working Group in Louisville, KY. The Southern Extension and Research Activity (SERA) is a multidisciplinary group of policy, extension, and research professionals organized within the Southern Rural Development Center.

This annual meeting gathered members of the working group: educators from Southern Land Grant Universities, law school attorneys from the Vermont Law and Graduate School, private and nonprofit attorneys, staff of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, USDA Forest Service, the Center for Heirs’ Property, LiKEN, and others. During the gathering, attendees discussed current and upcoming developments in the heirs’ property field, new national strategies for practitioners, and ethical guidelines for working with heirs’ property owners or disseminating research on the topic.

HAC was invited to the event to take part in a discussion about the current and future states of philanthropic investments into heirs’ property work. The panel also included the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and JPMorganChase, organizations that are both actively supporting heirs’ property initiatives. The discussion provided an opportunity for HAC to share current research around financial support for heirs’ property owners and professionals, and methods for sustainable investment.