Law Commons^™

The Public Trust Debate: Implications For Heirs' Property Owners Along The Gullah Coast, Faith R. Rivers

Faith R Rivers

Heirs’ property ownership is a significant problem facing the African American community in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. Heirs’ property generally refers to real property purchased by African Americans and held within families for generations without clear title. The land is owned by a group of relatives – the heirs – who possess fractionated fees as tenants in common. The disposition of tenants in common property is governed by the law of partition. Partition provides for the division of property, or its cash “equivalent,” according to owner interests.

The Lowcountry of South Carolina is the birthplace and central hub of …

Inequity In Equity: The Tragedy Of Tenancy In Common For Heirs' Property Onwers Facing Partition In Equity, Faith R. Rivers

Faith R Rivers

This article considers the impact of the default intestacy estate of tenancy in common on African American heirs’ property. This piece considers the evolution of the heirs' property conundrum in the Lowcountry of South Carolina – the birthplace of the dream of African-American land ownership – and explores the implications of this form of property ownership on tenants in common facing partition in courts of equity, particularly in developing Sunbelt communities. Comprehensive property law reform is critically needed. I propose a new legal framework to better regulate the externalities that plague the commons of heirs’ property and achieve more equitable …