The "Heirs Estate Inheritance Resolution and Succession Act of 2025" aims to address issues related to heirs’ property by providing grants for eligible entities to adopt the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act or similar laws. Additionally, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development may provide grants for housing counseling, legal assistance, and financial aid regarding title clearing and home retention efforts for owners of heirs’ property. Eligible entities include HUD-approved housing counseling agencies, legal services clinics operated by institutes of higher education, and qualifying nonprofits. The program established under this act will terminate seven years after its enactment. The bill also emphasizes the need for counseling services to educate consumers about heirs’ property and available estate planning and title clearing options.
Heirs Estate Inheritance Resolution and Succession Act of 2025 or the HEIRS Act of 2025
This bill requires the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide grants to assist individuals with the legal processes associated with inheriting certain real property.
Under the first program, HUD must provide grants to states that have enacted the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act (UPHPA) (or similar state law). The UPHPA provides due process protections against forced property sales for individuals who inherit real property from a landowner without a will. Historically, state property laws have provided that recipients of such property become tenants-in-common, which permits a single tenant to exercise their right to partition and sell the property.
A state or local government must use grant funds to assist residents with expenses related to establishing and documenting property ownership rights or settling a decedent's estate, including costs related to
- obtaining title reports, title abstracts, copies of public records, and land surveys;
- estate planning;
- heirs searches or tracing services; and
- recording and filing fees, notary fees, and legal fees and expenses.
Under the second program, HUD must provide grants to housing counseling agencies, legal services clinics at institutions of higher education, and qualified nonprofits. Such organizations must use grant funds to provide housing counseling, legal assistance, and financial assistance related to title clearing and home retention efforts for individuals who inherit property as tenants-in-common.