What are Heirs’ Properties?

Heirs' property refers to property that has passed to family members by inheritance but has not gone through probate court to determine who legally owns the property. This can result in multiple family members each owning a piece of the property and can turn into many owners as property is passed down over generations. Often, potential owners do not know each other or are aware that they even own it. This leads to properties falling into disrepair and complicated title issues to untangle if one of the owners wishes to renovate the property. It also greatly hinders the potential for generational wealth, which is especially important in low-income communities.

How Many Are There?

A recent report by the Housing Assistance Council and Fannie Mae, A Methodological Approach to Estimate Residential Heirs’ Property in the United States, took on the herculean task of calculating the number of heirs’ properties across the country. Conservatively, the report estimates 88,834 likely heirs’ properties and 491,537 at risk properties, totaling 580,371 properties in the 44 states for which the researchers had data. This represents 0.6% of all residential properties in those states.

After reading this report, GOPC wanted to know how many heirs’ properties were in Ohio. After investigating the methodology for the research and speaking with the authors of the report, we learned that Ohio has an estimated 9,000 heirs’ properties. Although we weren’t able to obtain a metro-level sense of distribution of these properties, we can assume that many of them exist in low income and historically disadvantaged communities where access to affordable legal estate planning advice is limited.

How Can Communities Address This Issue?

While this is a complex issue to tackle, there are steps that communities can take. One is to have residents complete a “transfer on death affidavit.” These are simple forms that legally designates a beneficiary to receive property after the owner’s death without going through probate. Community organizations can incorporate this into their outreach work by meeting people where they are. Go to food pantries, churches, AARP meetings, tax prep services and encourage residents to fill out these transfer on death affidavits, reducing complications for their families members in the future.

LISC Jacksonville has developed an Heirs’ Property Toolkit, which contains educational information on the issue as well as customizable materials for communities including a flyer, PowerPoint presentation, and postcard. The Toolkit also provides resources for organizations looking to address the issue of Heirs’ Property. Explore the Toolkit here!

Where Can I Learn More?

Read the Housing Assistance Council’s report on Heirs’ Properties.

Center for Community Progress hosted a webinar in July 2023 highlighting strategies communities are using to address heirs’ properties. Watch a recording below.