Congresswoman Nikema Williams and Lizzie Fletcher Lead Reintroduction of Legislation to Provide Funds to Help Families Secure Generational Wealth, Receive Disaster Relief
Congresswoman Nikema Williams (GA-05), along with Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07), Congressman Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05), and Congressman Byron Donalds (FL-19), introduced a two-bill legislative package seeking to assist heirs’ property owners seeking assistance with disaster relief, clearing title, and estate planning. Heirs’ property is family land inherited without a will or legal documentation of ownership.
The first bill in the package, led by Congresswoman Fletcher, with Congresswoman Williams and Congressman Cleaver co-leading, is the Heirs Empowerment and Inheritance Rights (HEIR) Act to allow heirs’ property owners to use alternate forms of documentation to prove property ownership to receive disaster aid.
The second bill in the package, the Heirs’ Estate Inheritance Resolution and Succession (HEIRS) Act, led by Congresswoman Williams, with Congresswoman Fletcher and Congressman Cleaver co-leading incentivizes states to adopt the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act and provides grant funds for legal assistance for heirs’ property owners to clear title.
Congresswoman Nikema Williams (GA-05) said:
“Black families face numerous barriers that are intentionally designed to make transferring heirs’ property difficult. I’ve experienced this firsthand, as my family’s land in rural Alabama was informally passed down through generations, including to me. After our property taxes increased, we had to plan how to protect our land, and eventually, we made it work. For far too many Black families, their story doesn’t end that way. This legislative package will equip families with the resources necessary to ensure the family home stays in the family, that assets are legally protected, and help create generational wealth to ultimately close the racial wealth gap.”
Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) said:
“These bills are meaningful steps toward increasing resources and access to justice for heirs’ property owners. We have seen the devastating consequences heirs’ property owners have faced following natural disasters and forced sales of property over many years. I am glad to work with Congresswoman Williams and Congressman Cleaver to help address the injustices that result from involuntary land loss and unequal access—past and present—that this legislation seeks to address.”
Congressman Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05) said:
“Property ownership is one of the best tools we have to close the racial wealth gap, build generational wealth, and provide economic justice to underserved communities. But far too often, heirs’ property owners are excluded from accessing equity, financing, or government programs due to land or real estate that was historically inherited without clear title or documentation. As the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance, I’m proud to join Reps. Williams and Fletcher to introduce this legislative package that will help ensure heirs’ property owners and their descendants have the legal authority to manage property in a way that benefits their families and communities.”
Heirs’ property is most predominant among Black landholders, beginning during Reconstruction and continuing through the Jim Crow era, when many Black people lacked access to the legal system and could not draft legally binding wills. It is also an issue for Hispanic families in the southwest, Indigenous families on reservations, and underserved families in Appalachia. Heirs’ property owners are particularly vulnerable to speculators and developers who can use laws and loopholes to acquire their property. For example, speculators and developers can offer to buy out the interest of one heir for a small price and then force a full sale as a fractional owner.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has recognized heirs’ property as the leading cause of Black involuntary land loss, having contributed to land loss ranging from 4.7 million to 16 million acres over the last hundred years. Heirs’ property is estimated to make up more than a third of Southern Black-owned land — 3.5 million acres, worth more than $28 billion.
If enacted, the HEIR Act would permit the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to assist heirs’ property owners with obtaining clear legal title to their properties as part of HUD’s homeownership counseling services. It would also allow alternate forms of ownership documentation to be shown when applying for Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery assistance. The Federal Emergency Management Agency already allows alternate forms of ownership documentation for those applying for disaster relief.
The HEIR Act has received endorsements from the American Land Title Association, Land Loss Prevention Project, National Association of Counties, National Association of Real Estate Brokers, Council of State Community Development Agencies, National Community Development Association, National Community Stabilization Trust, National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low-income clients), National Fair Housing Alliance, National Housing Law Project, National Housing Resource Center, National Low Income Housing Coalition, and the Texas Appleseed Disaster Recovery and Fair Housing Project.
To read the full text of the HEIR Act, click here.
To read the full text of the HEIRS Act, click here.