# Sen. Thomas to present heirs' property protection plan **Published:** 2026-09-30T16:52:39Z **Source:** Kentucky Senate Democratic Caucus (press release, emailed to editor@lexingtonky.news) **AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) **Canonical:** https://feeds.lexingtonky.news/article/sen-thomas-to-present-heirs-property-protection-plan FRANKFORT, Ky. — Sen. Reginald "Reggie" Thomas, D-Lexington, said he will present legislation aimed at protecting families who jointly own inherited land from forced sales at below-market prices, according to a [Kentucky Senate Democratic Caucus announcement](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/CommitteeDocuments/8). Thomas announced the presentation of Bill Request 360, identified as the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act, before the Interim Joint Committee on Judiciary on October 1. The proposal addresses a longstanding problem where [partition sales have historically been devastating to property owners, resulting in forced sales at a fraction of fair market value](https://farmlandaccess.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/heirs-property-fact-sheet-ky-2024.pdf). "Heirs' property" refers to family-owned real estate passed from one generation to the next without a clear title or written ownership agreement. When relatives share ownership of such property, a single co-owner can file for partition and force a court-ordered sale, potentially exposing the entire property to liquidation and family loss. The proposal includes several protections: notice to all owners, an independent appraisal, an opportunity for relatives to purchase an owner's interest before sale, a preference for physically dividing property when feasible, and a commercially reasonable sale at fair market value when division is not possible. Thomas has championed heirs' property protections since 2021, introducing related legislation in every regular session. [The measure was introduced as Senate Bill 70 last year but did not pass, and has been refiled as Senate Bill 23 in the current legislative session](https://cfaky.org/2026/02/17/protecting-family-land-in-kentucky-why-the-uniform-partition-of-heirs-property-act-matters/). The [Uniform Law Commission](https://www.uniformlaws.org/) drafted the heirs' property model in 2010. [As of 2024, the act has been enacted in 23 states and territories](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heir_property). ## Sources - [Kentucky Senate Democratic Caucus press release announcing the presentation](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/CommitteeDocuments/8) - [Farmland Access fact sheet on heirs' property issues in Kentucky](https://farmlandaccess.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/heirs-property-fact-sheet-ky-2024.pdf) - [Community Farm Alliance article on the heirs' property legislation status](https://cfaky.org/2026/02/17/protecting-family-land-in-kentucky-why-the-uniform-partition-of-heirs-property-act-matters/) - [Wikipedia article on heir property and the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act adoption across states](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heir_property) --- This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) from a press release emailed to editor@lexingtonky.news by Kentucky Senate Democratic Caucus, enriched with 2 web searches.