By Andrea’ Barnes, MCJ Director, Heirs’ Property
Across Mississippi, there may be families who are sitting on land they may not know they own or land they know about but can’t legally claim. If that sounds like your situation, you are not alone, and you are not out of options.
Heirs’ property is one of the most common and least discussed legal challenges facing Mississippi families. It happens when land is passed down from generation to generation without a formal title transfer: no deed, no will, no paperwork. The family has been living on or paying taxes on the land for years, sometimes decades, but the property remains in the name of the original deceased owner, which makes the title to the property “cloudy” and hard to prove without legal action.
For the past five years, the Mississippi Center for Justice has been filling a critical gap in the state, helping families identify and confirm ownership of land that belongs to them, and resolving legal challenges that might be keeping them from utilizing this land for future planning.
Families come to us with many questions and at various points on their journey to protect land that has been in their family for generations. But the following two tend to be the most common situations we see in our community:
Situation 1: “I think my family may have land that was passed down — but I’m not sure.”
Maybe an older relative mentioned it, or you’ve heard stories about land that belonged to a grandparent or great-grandparent. You’re not certain what’s there, where it is, or whether any legal claim still exists. That uncertainty alone is worth exploring. We can help you start with a title search to find out what’s on record — and whether your family has a claim worth protecting.
Situation 2: “I know we have family land, but we don’t have a clear title and don’t know what to do next.”
You know the land exists. Your family has been connected to it for years. But when it comes to proving ownership and getting a mortgage, accessing disaster assistance, selling or transferring the land, you’ve hit a wall. A clouded or missing title is the problem. Resolving it is what our team does every day.
Our Heirs’ Property Team provides free legal services to Mississippi families working to identify, confirm, and clear their claim to land. Here’s what that process looks like:
- Title Search: We conduct a formal examination of public and real estate records to identify who the land legally belongs to and what the condition of the title is. This is the starting point — and it often reveals ownership history families didn’t know existed.
- Legal Consultation: Based on what the title search uncovers, we sit down with your family and walk through your options. Every situation is different, and we make sure you understand exactly where things stand and what paths are available to you.
- Title Clearance: If your family qualifies for our services, we provide the legal representation needed to obtain a clear and marketable title — so you can protect, use, and pass down that land with confidence.
Our goal is simple: make sure families have full legal access to the land they’ve inherited, so it remains a source of stability and wealth. In the past five years, we have helped numerous families identify and resolve title issues that could have resulted in the loss of very precious family land and assets.
To learn more about our heirs’ property work, click here.
This blog is a part of a series that celebrates five years of the Heir’s Property Campaign and its work at the Mississippi Center for Justice. Below are links to the other blogs in this series:
Beyond Individual Cases: How Policy Protects Heirs’ Property for Generations
Keeping It in the Family: 5 Years of Helping Families Protect, Resolve and Preserve Family Land
Estate Planning: A Critical Key to Preventing Heirs’ Property and Protecting Legacy
From Clear Title to Lasting Wealth: How Mississippi Families Can Make Their Land Work for Them