Is It Legal to Transfer a Share in Family Property to a 3rd Party? It absolutely is. This decision is one decision that a co-owner of heirs property make without consent from the other co-owners. This question often comes up from heirs property owners who have learned, perhaps through court action, that a third party (non-family member) owns an interest in their family real estate because another family member has transferred it to them.

And, third parties getting interests in heirs property aren't buying them because they want an invitation to the family reunion. Instead they want 100% ownership in the family property and becoming an owner allows them to use a legal action called partition to seek a court order to sell the property. This very common practice has resulted in many families losing their family real estate.

So, it's important for families to get legal confirmation of the current owners and maintain connections with them as it relates to the property. It's even more important for families to seek out a strategy for shared ownership that protects the real estate and the family from third party predators.