Practical Strategies for Preserving Property, Strengthening Ownership, and Supporting Communities
Heirs’ property is a key family asset but can create significant challenges for families, communities, and local governments. When property is inherited without a documented transfer of legal title, heirs may face barriers to home repair, property management, financing, tax relief, and other services. At the same time, local governments and communities may see impacts on homeownership, neighborhood stability, property records, taxes and revenues, and city services.
AFN’s report, Heirs’ Property and Local Governments, offers practical approaches for cities, counties, towns, and villages—and for the funders and community partners working alongside them—to address these challenges.
Drawing on examples from 25 local jurisdictions across 13 states, this resource guide highlights strategies that can help communities preserve heirs’ property, resolve property issues, and prevent heirs’ property. It also identifies ways philanthropy can support these efforts through funding, convening, research, technical assistance, and partnerships.
Explore this reading guide to go directly to the topics, strategies, and examples most relevant to your community’s work and plans. Each section links to the related portion of the paper which includes more details and references to facilitate your work. The author welcomes additional examples of activities and partnership that are different from those in the paper. Share those at karama@assetfunders.org.
Start Where You Are
Addressing heirs’ property can start with a small step that creates a foundation for something more.
A city might begin by changing eligibility requirements for a home repair program, revising an existing housing trust fund, distributing probate information, offering deed-fraud alerts, connecting residents to legal services, or incorporating heirs’ property into an existing housing or neighborhood strategy.
Philanthropy can help by providing funding, convening partners, supporting research and data capacity, filling programmatic gaps, and helping communities test and strengthen new approaches.
The opportunity is to build on what already exists—and create stronger pathways for families to preserve, manage, and benefit from their property.
Key themes for cities, philanthropy, and programs
The methods described in the paper share several themes:
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Commitment to addressing heirs’ property.
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Productive intragovernmental relationships.
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Strong extragovernmental partnerships.
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Prioritization of heirs.
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Data-driven, evidence-based approaches.
See page 5 of the paper to learn details about how to apply these themes in your work.
Local, corporate, community, and other philanthropic organizations can be strong partners with municipalities in their heirs’ property work. When considering partnerships, philanthropy should:
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Invite leaders to the table.
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Ask governments about their goals.
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Meet jurisdictions where they are.
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Look beyond the city or county line.
See page 6 of the paper for additional context on these recommendations.
When considering the development, modification, or expansion of city programs or policies affecting heir owners, leaders should:
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Take an ethical approach.
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Be prepared for opportunity.
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Consider a gradual approach.
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Facilitate responsible data use.
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Rely on professional translation services.
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Consider the role of emerging technologies.
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Fill funding and programmatic gaps.
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Align program design with department interests.
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Consider the role of migration.
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Include heirs’ property in planning and reporting documents.
For additional details, examples, and references, go to page 19 of the paper.
Property Preservation
The first section of the paper considers preservation of both the quality of the property and the ownership of the property through a variety of paths. In each case, a description of the issue is followed by sample interventions and recommendations for philanthropic engagement.
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Home Repair Program Eligibility
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Code Enforcement
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Deed Record Services
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Reunification
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Property Tax Reform
Start at page 7 of the paper to see examples of how municipalities are helping preserve affordable and existing homes, attract new and retain existing homeowners, and reduce city costs related to private property management.
Heirs’ property resolution
The second section of the paper considers how local governments can help families meet their goals for their property through a variety of programs and activities. In each case, a description of the issue is followed by sample interventions and recommendations for philanthropic engagement.
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Education
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Legal Services
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Housing Trust Funds
The discussion of these policy and programmatic methods begins on page 13 of the paper.
Prevention of Heirs’ Property
The third section of the paper explores paths for prioritizing prevention efforts, through both estate planning and timely execution of the decedent’s plan. Several approaches can facilitate such work:
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Education
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Referrals
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Legal assistance
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Program-connected promotion
These approaches are discussed on page 16 of the paper and align with several key prevention themes:
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Making all estate planning options available.
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Training attorneys and advocates.
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Educating the next generation.
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Providing adequate time for planning.
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Considering technology-based approaches.
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Educating clients about probate and next steps.
These themes are described in more detail starting on page 18 of the paper.
Reference material
Featured localities
25 CITIES, COUNTIES & OTHER JURISDICTIONS
13 STATES
See how communities across the country are approaching heirs’ property. Browse by locality or intervention or turn to page 22 of the paper.
Glossary of Terms
A–Z
THE LANGUAGE OF HEIRS’ PROPERTY
Plain-language definitions for navigating the work.
AFN Resources on Heirs’ Property
The Asset Funders Network is a national grantmaker membership organization focused on advancing equitable wealth building and economic mobility. Addressing heirs’ property is a key strategy which local and national funders are well positioned to support. To that end, AFN has developed more than a dozen publications for those who like to learn more. These include:
- Heirs’ Property: Acting to Preserve Wealth – A primer for funders and others newly interested in heirs’ property.
- Heirs’ Property: Policies to Preserve Wealth – A checklist of state level policies impacting families and communities with heirs’ property.
- Heirs’ Property: Investing to Preserve Wealth – A social return on investment analysis of interventions related to urban residential heirs’ property.
- Heirs’ Property and Local Governments: A Resource Guide for Cities and Philanthropy – A survey of tools for stabilizing ownership and strengthening communities.
These four national papers and several related regional papers are available at Heirs’ Property Resources.