{"id":1528,"date":"2021-07-12T09:00:43","date_gmt":"2021-07-12T13:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/?p=1528"},"modified":"2024-04-25T23:19:59","modified_gmt":"2024-04-26T03:19:59","slug":"not-entitled-owners-of-heirship-properties-locked-out-of-disaster-relief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/not-entitled-owners-of-heirship-properties-locked-out-of-disaster-relief\/","title":{"rendered":"Not Entitled? Owners of \u201cHeirship Properties\u201d Locked Out of Disaster Relief"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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July 2021 \u2014<\/strong> Elsa was the earliest \u201cE\u201d storm we\u2019ve ever experienced, and Colorado State University now has raised its 2021 Atlantic hurricane season prediction<\/a>. We should now expect 20 named storms, says CSU. This, after\u00a0the unprecedented 2020 hurricane season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Disaster relief funds will be vital this year. And this brings\nup multiple problems for people in the hurricanes\u2019 paths with no clear title to\ntheir homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Heirship Property and Financial Stress<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Hurricanes are hard on Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Georgia, the\nCarolinas, Alabama and Mississippi, and other coastal states. Many residents of\nthese same areas hold heirship property<\/em>. This means their homes have\nbeen passed from owner to owner without paperwork. This also means the current\nresident lacks the basis to insure the house, or to claim disaster assistance\nafter storms and climate-related emergencies. Often, a record of paid property\ntaxes is not enough. Owners need to present clear titles to get long-term\ndisaster recovery assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout the Southern states, heirship property comprises\nmore than a third of Black-owned land. Other affected communities include whites\nin Appalachia and other rural areas, indigenous groups, and Mexican-Americans. Without\ntitles, the homeowners cannot tap into their real estate as a source of wealth.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An opinion piece by Albert George<\/a> points to the Gullah-Geechee communities along the islands dotting the South Carolina, Georgia and Florida coasts. The descendants of West African people enslaved for their expertise in growing rice, they legally received the lands they cultivated after the Civil War. Yet much of their heirship property has already been taken over by hotel and condo developers. A hurricane could wipe out all they have left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A report<\/a>\u00a0produced by North Carolina Sea Grant shows how easily heirs\u2019 land can be taken away from homeowners in partition sales \u2014 made when developers pit heirs against each other to extract the value of the land. Low-income homeowners are left without the means to defend themselves from real estate developers and timber speculators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rebuilding: The Importance of Home Titles <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the heirship property issue\nsurfaced in full force. Thousands of people with severe damage claims were\nturned away for lack of titles or for not having power of attorney from everyone\nelse who might have inherited the property in probate. Some of these people\nwere not allowed to return home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And after Hurricane Matthew in 2016, many thousands more faced\nthe same problems. Name a hurricane, and it happens. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The issue stems from a general aspect of real estate law. If\nsomeone leaves no will behind, and there is no deed showing someone else has\nthe right of survivorship, then the legal identity of the next owner of the\nhome may be unclear. Perhaps there are many heirs with claims to the home under\nstate intestacy\nlaw<\/a>. If so, then they all have to give permission or renounce their\nclaims to the title if any one homeowner is to act on behalf of the home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Methods of Proving Heirship <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

State law may allow various methods of conveying ownership\nand clearing title to a house, preventing future problems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n