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Heirs' Property Talking Points

What is Heirs’ Property?

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  • Heirs’ property is a home or land passed among family without a will or deed.

  • Heirs’ property causes many Black families to lose their homes and generations of hard-earned wealth.

  • Without the right paperwork, family ownership can be questioned.

  • Getting ownership in order helps families in many ways:

    • Resolving back taxes

    • Taking out a loan on the property

    • Giving you access to tax breaks and other programs

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What is Being Done About Heirs’ Property?

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  • We believe there is a direct line from resolving and preventing heirs’ property to increasing homeownership opportunities, bringing more households into the housing market, and creating generational wealth – which creates positive and profound cumulative impacts for individuals, families, and neighborhoods.

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  • To assist households impacted by heirs’ property, LISC Jacksonville has implemented a three-prong approach with the support of local legal organizations, community development corporations, funders, and others:

    • Find. LISC Jacksonville uses data science and neighbor-to-neighbor outreach to find families who need help.

    • Preserve. Free legal services and housing counseling keeps people in their homes.

    • Support. Free help to create a will or estate plan preserves family wealth for the next generation.

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  • In addition, LISC Jacksonville has been working to:

    • Develop an accessible online resource to include a neighborhood-level housing market analysis to help residents make informed decisions related to affordable housing options.

    • Assist the Duval County Property Appraiser with identifying and rectifying systemic racial bias in property appraisal practices.

    • Improve opportunities to create generational wealth in BIPOC communities through additional Family Wealth Creation programming.

 

How Can People Access Support if They Have Heirs' Property?

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  • Three Rivers Legal Services provides heirs’ property legal services through referrals from community development corporations (CDCs) or from direct contact to their organization.

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  • People can contact their local CDC or Three Rivers Legal Services at (904) 394-7450 or online at www.trls.org.

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Quick Facts: Heirs' Property in Jacksonville

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  • Duval County has the densest concentration of heirs’ property parcels in the southeast.

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  • Base on current available data, Duval County has an estimated 10,000-12,000 heirs' property households, representing hundred of millions in "dead capital" or housing market value. 

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