Faith Rivers, an associate professor of law, a made a Dec. 1 presentation to the Partition Sales Study Committee of the North Carolina General Assembly. Rivers was invited to discuss the key concepts in her recent article "Inequity in Equity: The Tragedy of Tenancy in Common for Heirs' Property Owners Facing Partition in Equity."
In the presentation, she introduced the concept of heirs’ property, addressed the historical context for the development of heirs’ property, explained the distorted economics and inequities of the current partition process, and reviewed developments requiring courts to consider the sentimental attachment to ancestral property in other states.
Rivers suggested several legislative reform proposals to reconcile heirs property owners’ rights with responsibilities, reallocate externalities more appropriately, and provide for procedural fairness in the execution of partition sales and the allocation of legal expenses to respective parties’ interests.
She plans to continue working with the legislative committee, land conservation and protection groups and members of the bar to provide insights as they consider drafting a revision to the partition statute.