H.R. 1640
HEIRS Act of 2025
Sponsor: Nikema Williams · 10 cosponsors
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Official summary
Written by the Congressional Research Service.
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.
Text of the bill
Where this section came from
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Feb 26, 2025 · Introduced in House Referred to House Committee on Financial Services, Feb 26
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Sep 1, 2026 · Reported in House Marked up by House Committee on Financial Services, Jun 30 Reported by House Committee on Financial Services, Sep 1 Committee members' individual votes aren't in our records.
Section 106(g) of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 (12 U.S.C. 1701x(g)) is amended by adding at the end the following
new paragraph
:
… 3 unchanged passages …
(i) explain to such
consumer
consumers
what heirs’ property is, the risks associated with heirs’ property, and how to avoid heirs’ property issues; and (ii) inform
such
consumers of all available estate planning and title clearing options, assistance, and services, including those offered under sections 2 and 3 of the Heirs Estate Inheritance Resolution and Succession Act of 2025.
… 3 unchanged passages …
What is a markup?
A markup is a committee meeting where members go through a bill and vote on changes before sending it to the full chamber.
Section 106(g) of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 (12 U.S.C. 1701x(g)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(6) Counseling with respect to heirs’ property
(A) In general. Any nonprofit organization that receives amounts under this section shall, when providing homeownership counseling services to consumers—
(i) explain to such consumers what heirs’ property is, the risks associated with heirs’ property, and how to avoid heirs’ property issues; and
(ii) inform such consumers of all available estate planning and title clearing options, assistance, and services, including those offered under sections 2 and 3 of the Heirs Estate Inheritance Resolution and Succession Act of 2025.
(B) Referral. The Secretary shall ensure that each nonprofit organization that receives amounts under this section knows how to refer consumers, where appropriate, to mission-driven nonprofit organizations and legal services clinics operated by institutes of higher education that are capable of assisting a consumer to clear title and with general estate planning.
(C) Heirs’ property. The term heirs’ property means residential property for which title passed by operation of law through intestacy and is held by two or more heirs as tenants in common.