Professor Wilson Freyermuth testified on February 25 before the Missouri Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food Production, and Outdoor Resources in support of SB 286. This bill would enact the provisions of the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act (UPHPA) into Missouri law.

The UPHPA would protect family members who have inherited real property (such as a family farm) and who are facing the risk of losing ownership of that property in a partition action. Under traditional common law rules governing partition, family members that may wish to retain the land within the family are at somewhat of a disadvantage, and often lose ownership of the land in a court-ordered partition sale which may not bring a sale price that reflects the land’s fair market value. The UPHPA would provide family owners of inherited property with due process protections that facilitate their ability to protect their family ownership in partition actions.