GREAT BAY--More than 90 residents filled PMIA Hall on Thursday evening for a townhall on succession land, the undivided family property that has left generations of heirs unable to build, sell or settle.
Attorney Valya Pantophlet and the Kadaster of Sint Maarten presented and took questions from the floor, and Member of Parliament Darryl York closed the evening by putting his legislative initiative on long undivided estates to the room for feedback.
"Families have been carrying this problem for generations, and every year it gets heavier," MP York said. "Land sits idle, children cannot build on the property they grew up on, and relatives stop speaking to each other. We need the law to reflect our current day realities."
Attorney Pantophlet opened the session with a presentation on how the law treats undivided estates and what heirs can actually do about them. "Most of the people in this room have rights they did not know they had," she said. "The first step is knowing what the estate is and who the heirs are."
The Kadaster followed with a presentation of its own and then worked through the situations people brought with them. Deeds that were never registered. Family trees that cannot be traced. Land held by dozens of heirs who have never sat at the same table. Relatives abroad. Property built on by people with no claim to it. Residents who arrived with a folder of papers and no idea what to do with them left with a clearer picture of their options and their next step.
MP York then walked attendees through his initiative to amend the Civil Code rules on long undivided estates and took questions on it. Several attendees offered input drawn directly from their own family situations, which will inform the draft before it is submitted. "We came to inform, but also to listen," MP York said. "Every story in this room shows where the law falls short, and that is what I carry into Parliament."
Before closing, MP York committed to holding a second townhall for those who could not attend and those in attendance who still had more questions. The date will be announced in the coming weeks.
