Organization Highlight: NCLC
Heirs Property work at the National Consumer Law Center
Navigating the complex and often confusing world of property ownership can be a daunting task, particularly when a homeowner passes away without a will and there are several heirs who inherit the property. This is the reality for countless homeowners facing heirs’ property or “tangled title”—a situation where ownership is fractured, or divided among multiple people, and clouded, in that the owners lack legal proof of ownership in their names.
This seemingly technical issue can have profound impacts on stable homeownership, generational wealth, and healthy communities. Owning heirs’ property can prevent homeowners from accessing relief programs and leaves them vulnerable to losing the home. The National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) is at the forefront of providing critical resources and legal strategies to protect vulnerable homeowners and ensure their property remains in the family.
NCLC is a nonprofit advocacy organization that uses the tools of advocacy, education, and litigation to fight for economic justice for low-income and other vulnerable people who have been abused, deceived, discriminated against, or left behind in our economy. We engage in policy analysis and advocacy, high-impact litigation, publications and training, and research and education in key areas such as homeownership, foreclosure prevention, and racial justice.
NCLC’s work on heirs’ property is comprehensive and deeply rooted in the practical needs of homeowners and the legal professionals who serve them. We recognize that this problem is a complex web of legal, financial, and social issues. Through our extensive digital library, publications, and legal training materials, NCLC offers information, advocacy, and strategies for advocates working with homeowners to gain access to relief options.
The consequences of tangled titles are devastating and far-reaching. In many states, without a clear title, a homeowner is essentially an invisible property owner in the eyes of the law and financial institutions, including mortgage companies. This status has immediate and severe repercussions. For example, a successor to a property may be unable to secure a mortgage modification, even if they’ve been diligently making payments. Mortgage servicers often refuse to even speak with them, creating a frustrating cycle of confusion and missed opportunities that can lead to foreclosure.
This legal limbo can also affect essential relief services. Homeowners with tangled titles are frequently denied access to crucial natural disaster assistance, which is devastating in the wake of hurricanes, floods, or wildfires. This means that families who have lost everything may be unable to get the aid they desperately need to rebuild their lives and homes.
Furthermore, tangled titles create a significant financial burden on homeowners. One of the most common and punishing outcomes is the loss of a homestead exemption on property taxes when an heir is not on the deed and cannot prove they are a “record owner” of the home. Without this exemption, property taxes can skyrocket, making it difficult for low-income families to keep up with the payments. This can quickly lead to a property tax foreclosure, a swift process that strips families of their homes for a debt that, under normal circumstances, would have been manageable. NCLC’s work provides legal and procedural guidance to prevent these scenarios, helping to stabilize families and communities by ensuring they can maintain their properties.
Our heirs’ property work is captured in policy briefs like the following:
This report focuses on legal strategies to address heirs’ property and prevent home loss. It categorizes legal interventions into three sections: preventing immediate land loss, resolving ownership, and preventing heirs’ property from occurring in the future. The report provides a crucial framework for legal professionals and homeowners to protect family property and secure their housing. It can also offer a roadmap for creating a stronger policy landscape to protect heirs and prevent the creation of new heirs’ property.
The report examines the foreclosure process when property taxes are delinquent for heirs after the original owner’s death. The report reviews policies and protections, such as homestead exemptions, in five sample states: Florida, Mississippi, Michigan, Texas, and Pennsylvania. It concludes by offering recommendations for states to implement new protections to prevent foreclosures and preserve homeownership.
This article provides a practical guide for homeowners dealing with the issue of not having a deed in their name. It identifies eight common problems caused by tangled titles, such as issues with mortgage payments and property taxes, and offers consumer-friendly solutions for each. The article also highlights how heirs can be recognized as a “successor in interest” and how bankruptcy can be used to stop a foreclosure or tax sale, while also noting recent changes to FEMA rules for disaster assistance.
This issue brief addresses the critical housing and financial vulnerabilities of heirs’ property owners following natural disasters, highlighting that those who inherit family homes informally often lack the clear titles required to access federal and state recovery funds. Because these homeowners are frequently excluded from disaster assistance, insurance payouts, and home repair programs, the report urges states to implement protective policies such as expanding ownership verification to include heirship affidavits, reforming property tax laws to ensure heirs qualify for homestead exemptions, and funding specialized legal aid to resolve title issues.
This guide provides options for homeowners on how to recover from a natural disaster. It offers twelve tips covering a range of topics, from identifying sources of assistance like FEMA and local organizations, to dealing with insurance payments, home repair contractors, and mortgage issues. The article also provides guidance on mortgage loss mitigation options, including forbearance and foreclosure moratoriums, and highlights the importance of preparing for future disasters.
NCLC also houses a digital library of consumer law manuals that attorneys and other advocates can use to protect homeowners from a range of debt problems. Books like Home Foreclosures, Mortgage Servicing and Loan Modifications, and Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice walk through the key issues in handling homeownership preservation cases. Our Housing Practice Suite contains toolkits related to tangled title, property tax foreclosure, and other topics. NCLC’s publications are a vital repository of knowledge designed to empower individuals and protect family legacies from being lost to legal and bureaucratic hurdles.
NCLC also organizes three major conferences each year. In 2024, we organized an in-person Estate Planning and Heirs’ Property Intensive that addressed issues of probate law, predatory investors who target heirs, interactions with local government such as code enforcement and property tax collectors, and obstacles in recovering from natural disasters. More than 100 advocates attended this in-person convening. We have also organized conference sessions on how to deal with mortgage servicers and seek loss mitigation and strategy roundtables of advocates working with heirs. NCLC webinars and zoom calls, including a quarterly call on heirs’ property issues, create a community where legal advocates can share best practices and collectively tackle the systemic issues that perpetuate the risk of home loss. This collaborative approach ensures that the knowledge and strategies are continually refined and disseminated to those working with heirs directly on the ground.
By addressing the root causes and consequences of heirs’ property, advocates are not just fixing legal problems; they are protecting the right to homeownership, preserving generational wealth, and fortifying communities against exploitation and displacement. NCLC is dedicated to creating accessible legal resources and fostering a network of informed advocates to help heirs preserve homeownership and build economic security.
