ABSTRACT
This paper will address the following matters. The first section will address the state of the heirs’ property field prior to 2010 or so. This section will demonstrate that heirs’ property issues were little known for the most part outside of the families who owned or were directly impacted by such ownership; a relatively small number of community-based, legal aid, and other social justice organizations – almost all located in a small handful of southern states – that provided mostly small-scale assistance to some heirs’ property owners due to the funding constraints of these organizations; and a very small number of scholars. The section following will address the truly unexpected, remarkable, and unprecedented rapid growth of the heirs’ property field that has occurred over the course of the past ten to fifteen years, growth that has involved many sectors and stakeholders. The final section will highlight some selective ways in which heirs’ property issues are much better understood today as a result of the growth in the field than they previously were understood. This section also will address some selective examples of research that still need to be undertaken in order to grow the field of heirs’ property, which is still in its relatively early stages of development, both in terms of research and the development of legal reform proposals and policy solutions.
Mitchell, Thomas W, The heirs’ property field: moving from the shadows to the light to enlightened, evidence-based solutions (February 4, 2026).
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