HB175 Brings Uniform Heirs’ Property Protections Closer to Law in Louisiana

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASECONTACT: Adrienne Wheeler, 504-910-1767; awheeler@louisianaappleseed.org

Tuesday, May 6, 2025, [NEW ORLEANS, LA] - After years of dedicated research, collaboration, and advocacy, Louisiana Appleseed is proud to support House Bill 175, a crucial piece of legislation that would bring long-overdue protections to families who own any of the 175,000 parcels of heirs’ property across the state. (See www.louisianaappleseed.org/2020hpmap for more figures.) A hearing on the bill is currently set for Monday, May 12 at 9:30 a.m. in the House Civil Law and Procedure Committee.

Authored by Representative Judge Carter, HB175 would enact the Louisiana Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act (LA-UPHPA), a law designed to prevent the loss of family land through forced auctions. Louisiana Appleseed has collaborated with community stakeholders, legal professionals, and lawmakers to raise awareness about the threat that heirs’ property disputes pose to generational wealth and family stability.

“Too many families have seen land that’s been in their family for generations lost in court-ordered auctions,” said Adrienne Wheeler, Executive Director at Louisiana Appleseed. “HB175 provides a clear process leading toward consolidated ownership, ensuring that heirs receive the property’s fair market value.”

Heirs’ property—a term for land passed down through generations without recordation—accounts for significant land loss in Louisiana. The passage of HB175 would place Louisiana among over 20 other states that have adopted heirs’ property protections.

HB175 will modernize Louisiana’s partition laws by:

• Providing co-owners a right of first refusal;

• Encouraging courts to consider non-economic ties to the land if partitioning in kind; and

• Requiring fair market valuation and sale before resorting to forced auctions.

Louisiana Appleseed urges community members, advocates, and legislators to support HB175 during this session. Protecting heirs’ property is a direct investment in housing and economic stability for Louisianans.

For more information or to support the effort, visit www.louisianaappleseed.org

About Louisiana Appleseed

Louisiana Appleseed is a statewide nonprofit based in New Orleans, Louisiana,

focusing on policy-level solutions by recruiting attorneys to provide free services through

a research-oriented approach to policy change. Louisiana Appleseed’s mission is rooted

in three pillars dedicated to increasing Access to Justice, Opportunity, and Education.https://www.louisianaappleseed.org/