Heirs Property Relending Program — USDA Loans to Clear Farm Title

What Heirs' Property Actually Is

When a farmer dies without a will and the land passes to multiple descendants under state intestacy law, the property becomes "heirs' property" — a form of tenancy in common where multiple family members share undivided ownership without clear individual titles.

Research identifies heirs' property as a contributor to Black farmland and wealth loss, with particular concern in the Southeast. USDA Forest Service researchers have estimated that heirs' property affects millions of acres nationwide. Without a marketable title, the land may not qualify as collateral or provide the documentation needed for some USDA programs. Any single co-tenant — no matter how small their share — can petition the court for partition.

How the Relending Program Works

The Heirs' Property Relending Program was authorized by the 2018 Farm Bill and provides loans through intermediary lenders (including nonprofit organizations and community development financial institutions) to help heirs' property owners resolve title issues.

The loans can be used for:

• Legal costs of probate proceedings, quiet title actions, or mediation to consolidate ownership
• Surveying and platting to establish legal boundaries
• Title searches and recording fees to clear clouds on the title
• Buying out co-tenants who want to sell their fractional interest rather than continue shared ownership

USDA lends to approved intermediaries at 1%; the intermediaries relend funds to eligible heirs and set the borrower's interest rate and payment terms. These are loans, not grants, and must be repaid.

Why Title Matters for Farm Programs

Without clear title, heirs historically could not obtain an FSA farm number — the identifier required for every USDA program. No farm number means no commodity payments, no disaster assistance, no conservation contracts, no federal farm loans.

The 2018 Farm Bill opened alternative pathways. The FSA now accepts:

• Five years of tax returns showing an undivided farming interest
• A tenancy-in-common agreement signed by a majority of co-owners
• A self-certification of general operational control
• In states with the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act (UPHPA), a court order or recorder-of-deeds certification

These alternatives let heirs access programs while title consolidation is underway. But the alternatives are temporary band-aids — the long-term goal is clear title, which the Relending Program funds.

Partition Protection

States that have adopted the UPHPA provide procedural safeguards before any forced partition sale: mandatory independent appraisal, 45-day right of first refusal for co-tenants, and a preference for physical partition over sale. The Relending Program complements UPHPA by giving co-tenants the financing to actually exercise that right of first refusal.

Without the Relending Program, a co-tenant who wants to buy out a petitioner's share at appraised value may not have the capital to do so — and the farm goes to auction anyway.

How to Apply

Use the USDA's current HPRP page to find an approved intermediary lender serving your area; heirs apply directly to the lender. To qualify, an applicant must be an individual or legal entity authorized to incur the debt and resolve ownership and succession for a farm with multiple owners, be a family member or heir-at-law related by blood or marriage to the previous owner, and agree to complete a succession plan.

The Farm & Agricultural Estate Settlement Guide covers the full heirs' property pathway — from initial FSA farm number registration through title consolidation and UPHPA protections.