Recipient Organization
AUBURN UNIVERSITY
108 M. WHITE SMITH HALL
AUBURN,AL 36849
Performing Department
Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology
Non Technical Summary
A 'Clouded title' is created when a property owner dies owning real property and has failed to establish a will or estate plan that transfers ownership to their heirs. This issue poses a substantial multibillion-dollar challenge that impacts thousands of families in each Southern state. This dynamic effectively traps productive land and intergenerational wealth-building capacity by halting any meaningful land utilization and beneficial food production derived from having a clean property title.This research project expands on the "Understanding Heirs' Property at the Community Level" Train-the-Trainer program. To do so, we will develop a regional collaboration with the Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers Policy Research Center housed at Alcorn State University, the Gullah/Geechee Nation, and the Alabama Heirs' Property Initiative. The project has three objectives: (1) research the variety of constraints property heirs face when inherited agricultural land is encumbered in clouded titles; (2) research the successes and barriers facing Extension professionals and legal practitioners in addressing heirs' property titling issues; (3) develop state-level workbooks, a corresponding facilitators guide, and business planning toolkit.These materials will be organized into an in-depth two-day program training for Extension agents focused on strategies to assist heirs' property families directly with materials, technical assistance, and business, and estate planning resources. Through applied research, accessible materials, and Extension training, this project seeks to build capacity within the Cooperative Extension System to address heirs' property and facilitate land transition and access across the region.
Animal Health Component
50%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
10%
Applied
50%
Developmental
40%
Goals / Objectives
The long-term goal of the proposed project is to expand the capacity of the Cooperative Extension Systems across the Southern U.S. to address heirs' property issues more effectively by creating and disseminating new educational and implementation materials. There is an important research component in support of the overarching goal of expanding the institutional capacity of Extension professionals through program development and training on how to better assist heirs' property owners with issues of securing legal ownership of land, maintaining succession of land, and the farming operation through estate planning, and establishing farming operations through business planning. Accordingly, our project focuses on rural agricultural heirs' property that can be used for agricultural use by small and medium-sized farms and is supported by three specific objectives. We broadly define "agricultural use" in this proposal as land used or available to use for crop or livestock production and forestry.The first objectiveis to research the constraints rural heirs' property places on agricultural production. This objective will be achieved through interviews with heirs' property owners regarding their experiences navigating fractionated interest and subsequent land use limitations. While there is a sizeable amount of anecdotal evidence, no studies have yet examined the specific barriers and the implications for agriculture. Furthermore, there is little understanding of how these barriers affect families differently across different land uses and geographic regions. Heirs' property has general reoccurring familial and geographic patterns, but the specific nuances and details need to be further explored using a systematic and grounded approach.The second objective seeks to assess the regional needs at the County level. We will begin by interviewing the two primary stakeholders responsible for assisting heirs' property owners, Extension professionals, and legal practitioners. An Heir's Property Train-the-Trainer program was established through a collaboration of the Alcorn State University's Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers Policy Research Center and the Southern Rural Development Center that created a network of knowledgeable extension agents and provided them with resources to begin working on heirs' property within their communities. The network currently includes 138 Extension professionals and community-based organizations across 34 states. The stakeholders that are based in rural communities will serve as the basis for Extension focus groups within each of the fourteen states considered in this project. The second group we seek to engage with is our legal practitioners specializing in 'death and dirt'. Their legal expertise will further inform the barriers, successes, and potential opportunities for tackling this issue across the region.The third objectiveis to develop a workbook for Extension professionals, a companion workshop facilitator's guide to aid Extension delivery, and a planning toolkit for small and medium-sized farms. This speaks directly to the Cooperative Extension's mission of translating research into action and putting knowledge into practice. The bulk of the sizeable team is from the top Land-Grant Universities across the South.
Project Methods
Research - The first two stages of the project will focus on exploring the barriers and practical needs of heirs' property owners and Extension agents who work on heirs' property issues. Since not everyone can work on each activity, the investigators and collaborators have been broken up into teams depending on their respective expertise and interests. The HP research team will be comprised of Dr. Johnson, Dr. Woods, Dr. Zabawa, and Dr. Thomson.1.1 Review Previous Feedback -The research will begin by reviewing the sizeable feedback obtained during the HP Train-the-Trainer with special attention to the geographic variations of different extension programs. Once the pre-existing feedback has been analyzed, the emergent gaps and requested materials will be organized by topic. These gaps will be used to construct overarching research questions and a focus group interview guide.1.2 Develop Interview Guides -The interview guide will be designed by the research team before soliciting feedback from the other respective project members. It will be structured in direct and simple terms to invite a general reflection of their successes and shortcomings. Each question will be supported by potential follow-up questions to help maintain consistent wording. The interview guide will then narrow to more specific questions regarding how materials might be crafted to facilitate effective use and accessibility.1.3 Heirs' Property Owner Interviews -Many qualitative studies of heirs' property struggle with locating heirs' property owners. Thankfully, through community partnerships associated with each of the institutional partnerships (Alcorn Policy Center, Alabama Heirs' Initiative, SRDC, and Heirs' Property Practitioner Network), we believe a convenience sample of fifty interviews of heirs' property landowners is possible.1.4 State-level Extension Focus Group Interviews -The project will conduct focus group interviews of 3 to 8 Extension professionals in each of the fourteen states. We are open to interviewing professionals from a single Extension system, multi-system collaborations, and across different systems. Special attention will be paid to variations across different states since the Extension needs expressed in West Virginia could substantially differ from other states such as Florida or Texas.1.5 Legal Practitioner Interviews -The Heirs' Property Practitioner Network will begin by locating practicing lawyers and attorneys in each of the fourteen states. Should those affiliated with the HPPN but not available to be interviewed, we will proceed with other contacts in the area. The trained extension agents and ties with many community-based organizations should be able to help us locate a legal practitioner in each state.The findings from the initial two research phases across the three stakeholder groups will be transcribed, analyzed by the research teams, summarized into tables, and disseminated at the start of in-person convenings. These findings will be systematically analyzed and explored using qualitative methods. More specifically, the project will rely on open coding followed by thematic analysis. At least two investigators or collaborators will code each interview to ensure intercoder reliability and avoid misinterpretation of a statement. These themes will then be broken down into sub-codes and in-depth codes. These in-depth codes will then be classified and organized into a coherent series of themes for dissemination to the team.2.1 Program Development - Several excellent Extension programs provide insight into the strategies, materials, and practices that inspire this project's approach. Foremost, the program will seek to share successful strategies developed by Extension professionals working on heirs' property as well as develop materials that assist them in overcoming their stated barriers.2.2 External Evaluation - Sarah Stein is a former attorney with a JD from Emory's School of Law who worked on property law issues before becoming an adviser on Community and Economic Development with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. She is one of the few people who has worked both on litigating and researching heirs' property. Her unique background and years of expertise make her the ideal candidate to evaluate the program as well as review the research findings and Extension materials.32.3 Pilot Delivery - Before releasing the materials and initiating additional training, we will pilot the facilitator's training program and delivery to maximize impact and effectively bridge local needs and Extension delivery. The project will host an initial pilot training in a central location similar to the previous pilot training in Atlanta in December 2022. Top experts in the field will be invited to attend and assist with suggestions for improving the presentation and delivery of materials. These experts will be drawn from the Extension, law firms, community-based organizations, institutions of higher education, as well as state and federal level USDA representatives.Project Techniques - The initial phase of research is needed to guide the expansion of materials based on the practical needs of Extension professionals. While preliminary feedback suggests some general needs, additional feedback and data are needed to assess state-level differences, land use variations, policy, and tax nuances.