This article was originally published by LISC Cleveland and is shared here with permission. The content reflects the work of LISC Cleveland and highlights an initiative supported in part by Saint Luke’s Foundation.
Dealing with tangled property titles and other estate planning needs can be prohibitively expensive, putting critical family and community assets at risk. It’s particularly daunting for people with low-to-moderate incomes and in neighborhoods where local leaders have long been working to attract capital and economic opportunity.
That’s why LISC Cleveland launched its Heirs’ Property Program last year, part of broad-based efforts to build and preserve vital affordable housing while protecting family wealth in Cleveland’s neighborhoods.
The LISC Cleveland program is funded by grants from U.S. Bank Foundation and Saint Luke’s Foundation. In its first year, the program has helped 191 residents across Cuyahoga County complete estate planning services, including simple wills and transfer-on-death affidavits, while six additional cases involving tangled property titles remain in progress.
“Safe and stable housing can help children, families and communities thrive. Supporting organizations like LISC to help support homeownership is an investment that can benefit generations to come,” said Alicia Townsend, community affairs manager at U.S. Bank.
LISC collaborated with local partners like Case Western Reserve University (CWRU)—an early partner in launching the initiative—and neighborhood-based nonprofits to help address a legal quagmire that impacts more than 9,000 families throughout Ohio. As the program grows, LISC Cleveland is working to expand partnerships with additional community-serving organizations to reach more residents in need of estate planning and title resolution support. Alleviating heirs’ property issues would unlock more than $313 million in equity for Ohio residents—contributing to family wealth and accelerating community investments.
A research partnership between LISC Cleveland and Rocket Community Fund, with data analysis conducted by the Case Western Reserve University Center on Poverty and Community Development, identified more than 2,000 at-risk parcels across the City of Cleveland. In response, LISC Cleveland is developing a robust intervention and fundraising strategy to help address the issue. The effort will include door-to-door canvassing to connect directly with affected households, raise awareness about the risks and implications of these property challenges, and link residents to trusted legal service partners for support.
Alleviating heirs’ property issues would unlock more than $313 million in equity for Ohio residents—contributing to family wealth and accelerating community investments.
Heirs’ property occurs when a homeowner passes away without a will or estate plan, leaving ownership unclear or shared among multiple descendants. Without a clear legal title, families can face disputes, legal barriers, and increased vulnerability to predatory practices that threaten long-held homes. Without a clear legal title, households are excluded from home equity loans, home repair financing, tax rebates, homestead exemptions, weatherization programs and disaster recovery assistance, among other opportunities. It puts families at risk of losing their homes.
“For some owners, these homes have been in their family for many, many decades,” said Kandis Williams, executive director of LISC Cleveland. “Their homes are their largest assets, as is the case for most Americans, and a key source of wealth-building for the next generation.”
“When homes are lost, it has a long-term ripple effect on families as well as the financial stability of their communities,” Williams explained. “Generation after generation, residents are losing their family wealth to predatory practices.”
Planning for the Next Generation
For Malika*, the issue became personal after a series of family losses. She lost her father a decade ago, and her mother passed away in 2024. Her parents had never created a will.
“They were old school — talking about a will meant that you wanted them to hurry up and die,” Malika explained.
After her mother passed, Malika and her four siblings agreed that their youngest sister should inherit the family home. But they soon discovered that the title to the house remained in their father’s name, creating a complicated legal situation. That experience motivated Malika to take action to ensure her assets go to her children when she passes.
“With the elders gone, we are trying to do better,” she said. After hearing about LISC Cleveland’s Pop-Up Wills Clinics, Malika signed up to prepare a will and make sure her affairs were in order.
“I feel great now that my will is prepared,” Malika said. “God forbid something happens to me; my children will know what to do.” She added, “we need to be more vocal and educate each other about these processes. So many of us are in the dark.”
What’s more, Malika learned at the clinic that there is support for tangled titles as well. Her sister is now working with the CWRU team to obtain clear title to their parents’ home, so this asset remains in the family.
LISC Cleveland, is expanding the ecosystem of partners by onboarding more legal service providers to continue this work on civil legal services for homeowners like Malika and her sister, providing resident outreach, education and data analytics. LISC Cleveland is also working directly with community-based organizations such as Burten, Bell, Carr Development Inc. and East End Neighborhood House, Inc. to raise awareness among residents in at-risk communities and connect them to legal services.
The program is designed to complement LISC Cleveland’s Renew 2-1-6 Home Repair Program. This financing product is a 50% grant and 50% zero-interest loan for homeowners up to 80% of Area Median Income. Operated in collaboration with CHN Housing Partners, the program offers vital resources to residents who need critical repairs or upgrade their properties—but without a clear title, they cannot take advantage of them.
In addition to Cleveland, LISC is also operating heirs’ property programs in Cincinnati, OH, Jacksonville, FL, Detroit, MI, San Antoinio, TX, Atlanta, GA, Pine Bluff, AR and Richmond, VA. More information on the program can be found at www.lisc.org/clevelandor www.lisc.org.