Heirs Property: Standing on a Lot of Love
Webinar Details
When:
May 21, 2020 1:00 pm US/Eastern
Length: 01:00 (hh:mm)
Advance Registration NOT required.
View now on-demand.
Presenter(s):
- Mavis Gragg, Director, Sustainable Forestry and African American Land Retention Project
- Sam Cook, Executive Director of Forest Assets, North Carolina State University College of Natural Resources
Virtual Event Format:
Group Viewing Available:
Family land ownership has always been a significant source of intergenerational wealth across the country. For land trusts, protecting family owned land in their service areas has many conservation and related benefits. Still, family property owned as heirs property, i.e. with multiple owners, outwardly presents obstacles for conservation. Through this session, participants will gain an understanding of the legal structure of heirs property, the values around this ownership model and opportunities for engagement with heirs property owners that support natural resource conservation and community. This engaging workshop will provide a cultural and historical context of why families own property as heirs property, demystify the legal structure of heirs property ownership, consider strategies to stabilize ownership and then look at ways land trusts can engage with heirs property owners to protect natural resources on their land through best practices, conservation easements, and acquisitions. Participants will learn about asset mapping as a tool for community level support and engagement with heirs property owners.
Mavis Gragg is a seasoned attorney and conservation professional with nearly two decades of experience in real estate, conflict resolution, estate planning, and probate. Mavis serves as the Director of the Sustainable Forestry and African American Land Retention Project. Prior to this role, Mavis also founded the Gragg Law Firm, PLLC in which she assisted her clients in estate planning, estate administration, and heirs property matters.
Mavis serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors for Triangle Land Conservancy and is a member of the North Carolina Parks and Recreation Authority. With her sister, Mavis co-founded Black Women Drone and the Gragg Family Fund. A native of Black Mountain, North Carolina, Mavis is an alumna of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (B.A., Industrial Relations) and Pepperdine University School of Law (Juris Doctor and Master of Dispute Resolution).
Sam Cook has made his mark on multiple aspects of forestry during his esteemed career. He is currently the executive director of Forest Assets and VP of the Natural Resources Foundation for the College of Natural Resources at NC State University, where he coordinates the management of the forest assets owned or managed by the NC State Natural Resources Foundation, Inc. He also serves as a Board member for Triangle Land Conservancy in Durham, NC (VP for the board of directors), NC Coastal Land Trust (Wilmington, NC) and a Resource Committee Advisor for the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI)-Washington, DC, representing the Black Family Land Trust (VA). In previous roles at both the Center for Heirs Property Preservation and as a private forestry consultant, he has played an integral role in developing and implementing a system of support that allows natural resource partners, forest and other landowners of all income levels to increase their forest sustainability and income through sustainable forestry programs. Sam has also worked with the USDA Forest Service Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station in Boise, ID, Duke Energy Progress (formerly Duke Power) in Durham, and the Forest Resource Division of International Paper Company. Sam is and has been very conservation-focused throughout his 35+-year career.
Additional Resources:
- States that have adopted the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act
- Sustainable Forestry Land Retention (SFLR) Program - Measuring Success
- SFLR on America’s Forest with Chuck Leavell
- Heirs Property in the Southern United States
- American Forest Foundation
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