For a voluntary sale of the whole house, every heir on title generally has to sign, but one heir who wants out can ask an Arkansas court to partition it.
For a family-owned house, the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act adds a court-set value and a buyout window for the other heirs before any court-ordered sale. An Arkansas attorney can confirm how it applies to your family.
This is general information, not legal advice. State rules vary.
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Do all heirs have to agree to sell property in Arkansas? For an ordinary sale of the whole house, every heir who holds title generally has to sign. When one heir says no, Arkansas law gives the others a court route called partition, and since 2016 a family-owned house usually goes through extra steps first.
This guide covers what those steps are: a court-set value, a buyout window measured in days, and the rules for a court-ordered sale. It is written for heirs who share a house, often from different states, and who don't see eye to eye on what to do with it.
Do all heirs have to agree to sell property in Arkansas?
Yes, for a voluntary sale of the whole house, each heir on title generally has to sign the deed. No single heir can sell the entire house alone, but a co-owner who wants out can ask a court to divide or sell it.
When no one takes legal action after an owner dies, the heirs usually end up owning the house together as tenants in common. A University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff handout, shared by the Arkansas Department of Agriculture, explains that each heir holds a shared interest in the entire property. No heir owns a specific room or a specific half of the lot.
That same handout notes that ownership rights do not change if one heir lives on the property, maintains it, or pays the taxes. The sibling who mows the lawn does not gain a bigger say over a sale. That can feel unfair, and it is one reason these disputes get heated.
Who signs depends on where the estate stands
If a probate estate is still open, the personal representative is often the person who signs, under a power in the will or a court order. Our guide to selling an inherited house in Little Rock covers that route, the small estate affidavit, and beneficiary deeds. This article picks up where the heirs already share title and disagree.
What happens when one heir refuses to sell?
When one heir refuses, the family usually has three paths: everyone agrees to one sale, one heir buys out the others, or a co-owner files a partition case. Arkansas lets any person with an interest in land held in common petition the circuit court for a division.
That right comes from the general partition statute, Ark. Code 18-60-401, as amended by Act 107 of 2015. The petition describes the property and names each party's interest. Everyone with an interest who did not join the petition is summoned to appear.
| Path | Who has to agree | Who sets the price | Court involved? |
|---|---|---|---|
| One agreed sale | Every heir on title signs the deed | The heirs and the buyer | No partition case needed (probate may still apply) |
| Private buyout | The heir selling a share and the heir buying it | The two sides | No, if they settle on their own |
| Court buyout under 18-60-1007 | No one; it follows a request for partition by sale | The court's determination of value | Yes |
| Partition in kind or by sale | No one; the court decides | A court-appointed broker, at no less than the court's value, unless the court later orders otherwise | Yes |
Sources for the court rows: Ark. Code 18-60-1006 through 18-60-1010, as enacted by Act 107 of 2015.
How does Arkansas heirs property partition work?
Arkansas heirs property partition runs under the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act, Ark. Code 18-60-1001 and following. It applies to partition cases filed on or after January 1, 2016, and it adds an appraisal, a buyout right, and a preference for an open-market sale.
The legislature passed the Act as House Bill 1245, approved February 18, 2015, according to the enrolled act text. In any partition case, the court must first decide whether the property is heirs property. If it is, the Act controls unless all the co-owners agree otherwise in a record.
What counts as heirs property
Under 18-60-1002, heirs property is real property held in tenancy in common that meets three tests on the day the case is filed:
- No agreement in a record binds all the co-owners on how the property gets partitioned.
- One or more co-owners got title from a relative, living or deceased.
- Relatives hold 20 percent or more of the interests, or 20 percent or more of the co-owners are relatives, or someone who inherited from a relative holds 20 percent or more.
A house that three siblings inherited from a parent will often fit that definition. The Act calls each co-owner a "cotenant." It covers real property generally, so it is not limited to farmland.
Notice and commissioners
If the plaintiff seeks notice by publication and the court finds the property may be heirs property, a sign has to go up. Within 10 days of that finding, the plaintiff posts a sign on the property naming the court and saying the case has started. Any commissioners the court appoints must be disinterested and not a party to the case.
How does the court set the house's value?
The court usually orders an appraisal by a disinterested real estate appraiser registered in Arkansas, then holds a hearing and sets the fair market value. If every co-owner agrees on a value or a valuation method, the court adopts that instead.
Section 18-60-1006 also lets the court skip the appraisal when its cost outweighs its value as evidence. In that case, the court sets the value after an evidentiary hearing. Either way, the value is set before the court considers the rest of the partition case.
Appraisal notice and objections
The appraiser values the property as if one person owned all of it. Within 10 days after the appraisal is filed, the court sends each party the appraised value and says the report is at the clerk's office. A party then has 30 days after that notice to file an objection.
The value hearing can be held no sooner than 30 days after the notice, whether or not anyone objects. At that hearing, the court may consider other evidence of value that a party offers, beyond the court-ordered appraisal.
How does a co-heir buyout work under 18-60-1007?
If any co-owner asked for partition by sale, the other co-owners get the first chance to buy that person's share at the court's value. The price is the whole property's value times the selling co-owner's fraction, and the deadlines run in days.
The buyout right belongs only to co-owners who did not ask for a sale. They can buy all the interests of the co-owners who did. If two or more co-owners elect to buy, the court splits the purchase in proportion to what each one already owns.
An illustrative buyout
Zillow puts the typical Arkansas value at about $224,158 in September 2026, up from $216,834 a year earlier. Say, purely as an illustration, three siblings each own one third of a house the court values at $225,000. If one sibling asks for a sale, either of the other two could buy that one-third share for $75,000.
| Buyout step under 18-60-1007 | Deadline in the Act | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Court sends buyout notice | After the value is set | Co-owners who did not ask for a sale learn they may buy |
| Election to buy | Within 45 days of that notice | A co-owner tells the court it elects to buy |
| Request to buy shares of heirs who never appeared | Within 45 days of that notice | The court may allow it after a hearing, at the court's value |
| Payment into court | A date the court sets, no sooner than 60 days after its notice | Each buyer pays its share of the price into court |
| If some buyers do not pay | Within 20 days of the court's next notice | Buyers who paid may take the remaining share by paying all of it |
| If no one elects or pays | No set day count | The case moves on to partition in kind or by sale |
Source: Ark. Code 18-60-1007 as enacted by Act 107 of 2015. The $225,000 value and one-third shares are illustrative, not a real case or offer.
For an out-of-state heir, these windows matter. Paying into court within a set time usually means having cash or financing lined up early. An Arkansas attorney can confirm the current deadlines for a specific case.
What if no one buys out the heir who wants to sell?
If the buyout does not happen, the court orders partition in kind, meaning a physical division, unless it finds that would cause great prejudice to the co-owners as a group. If it does not divide the property and someone asked for a sale, it orders a sale.
Under 18-60-1008, if no co-owner asked for a sale and the court will not divide the property, it dismisses the case. When the court does divide, it can require one co-owner to pay another so the split stays fair. It must also approve a request by two or more parties to combine their shares.
What the court weighs before dividing
Section 18-60-1009 lists the factors the court considers, and no single one decides the case:
- Whether the property can practically be divided among the co-owners.
- Whether the divided parcels would be worth materially less than the whole, given how a court-ordered sale would likely go.
- How long the family has owned or lived on the property.
- A co-owner's sentimental attachment, including ancestral ties.
- A lawful use that would be harmed if it could not continue.
- Whether co-owners paid their share of taxes, insurance, and upkeep.
- Any other relevant factor.
A single house on a city lot can be hard to divide in a practical way. Rural acreage may be easier to split. How the factors balance for a given property is a question for the court and the family's Arkansas attorneys.
How does a court-ordered sale work in Arkansas?
Under the Heirs Property Act, a court-ordered sale is an open-market sale through a licensed Arkansas real estate broker, unless the court finds another sale method better for the co-owners as a group. The broker lists at no less than the court's value.
Section 18-60-1010 gives the parties 10 days after the sale order to agree on a broker. If they don't agree, the court appoints a disinterested broker and sets a reasonable commission. The broker then markets the property in a commercially reasonable way, on terms the court sets.
When an offer comes in
If the broker gets an offer at or above the court's value within a reasonable time, the broker files a report with the court. Section 18-60-1011 gives the broker seven days after receiving that offer to file it. The report names the buyer, the price, the terms, and the broker's commission arrangement.
If no offer reaches the court's value within a reasonable time, the court holds a hearing. It may approve an offer already on the table, reset the value and keep the house listed longer, or order a different kind of sale on terms it sets. A co-owner who buys gets a credit for its own share of the proceeds.
Raising the Act early can matter
In McFadden-Gregory v. Johnson, 2023 Ark. App. 100, a Pulaski County court ordered family land sold for $35,000. One heir first cited the Heirs Property Act after the order. The Court of Appeals held the argument was not preserved, so it did not reach it.
Can the heirs agree on one sale without going to court?
Yes, heirs who agree can sell the whole house together without a partition case, as long as everyone on title signs. The Heirs Property Act itself gives way when all the co-owners agree otherwise in a record.
An agreed sale can be the shortest of the three paths, since it skips the appraisal hearing, the buyout windows, and a court-run listing. It still needs clean title. The Pine Bluff handout warns that informal ways around the court process may not produce clear title, and it points families to an attorney.
When the parent received Medicaid long-term care, our guide to Medicaid estate recovery and the house explains how a DHS claim can affect what the heirs share.
What often gets a family to yes
Disagreements usually come down to price, timing, or the work of emptying the house. Some families choose a listing with an agent. Others choose a direct cash sale so no one has to fly in, repair, or clean out the house.
Propcash is a direct cash buyer, and we buy houses as-is across Arkansas. The family can take what it wants from the house and leave the rest. We make one cash offer based on local market data and show how we got there, so every heir can look at the same number.
There's no rush to decide, and the offer doesn't expire while the family talks it over. Closings can be set around the heirs' schedules, often in as few as 7 days once everyone is ready to sign. If a listing would clearly serve the family better, Propcash will say so.
Heirs with a house in Pulaski County can see how we buy on our Little Rock cash offer page. Families with a house in the River Valley can see the Fort Smith page. You can also get a cash offer for any Arkansas house and share it with your co-heirs.
Common questions about heirs who disagree in Arkansas
Can one heir force the sale of an inherited house in Arkansas?
One heir can ask an Arkansas circuit court to partition an inherited house, and a partition case can end in a court-ordered sale. When the house counts as heirs property, the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act adds steps first: a court-set value and a chance for the other heirs to buy out the heir who asked for the sale. An Arkansas attorney can confirm how this applies to a specific family.
Does the heir who lives in the house or pays the taxes own more of it?
Generally no. A University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff handout on heirs property says ownership rights do not change if one heir lives on the property, maintains it, or pays the taxes. In a partition case under the Heirs Property Act, though, the court may consider who paid taxes, insurance, and upkeep when it decides whether to divide the property.
How long does a co-heir have to buy out a relative who wants to sell?
Under the Arkansas Heirs Property Act as enacted in 2015, a co-owner has 45 days after the court's notice to say it wants to buy. The court then sets a payment date no sooner than 60 days after its next notice. If some buyers pay and others do not, those who paid get 20 days to take the remaining share.
What happens to an heir who cannot be found?
The Heirs Property Act has rules for missing heirs. If the plaintiff serves notice by publication, a sign about the case must go up on the property within 10 days of the court finding it may be heirs property. A co-owner may also ask to buy the shares of heirs who were served but never appeared, at the court's value.
Does the Heirs Property Act cover a house in town or only farmland?
The Act defines heirs property as real property held in tenancy in common that meets its family-ownership tests, and it does not limit that to farmland. A house in Little Rock, Fort Smith, or a small town can qualify if the co-owners are relatives and no agreement in a record governs partition. The court decides whether a given property qualifies.
Can heirs still sell to a cash buyer once a partition case is filed?
The Heirs Property Act applies unless all the co-owners agree otherwise in a record, so a family that reaches agreement can often settle on its own terms. Whether and how a pending case ends is a question for the heirs' Arkansas attorneys and the court. Propcash can make one cash offer the whole family can review together, with no obligation.
Reviewed by the Propcash Editorial Team under our editorial standards. Published by Propcash, a direct cash buyer of houses. This guide is general information. Laws, fees, and market figures change, so check the current rules for your state.
