April is Financial Capability Month, but NeighborWorks America promotes financial capability all year long. That includes training and technical assistance, testing new strategies, promoting matched savings programs and Volunteer Income Tax Assistance programs, running learning labs and more. It also includes searching for solutions to challenges like those that surround property inheritance.
NeighborWorks hosted a day of panels to focus on the subject during the winter NeighborWorks Training Institute (NTI) and plans to explore the subject further with webinars and a symposium on Aug. 27 at the NTI in New Orleans. The symposium will focus on building coalitions to address heirs’ property rights and foster generational wealth.
Molly Barackman-Eder, director of Financial Capability for NeighborWorks America, asked during the February conversation: What big, bold change can we make to help people pass down their property? It’s a question she continues to ask. “When you pass down property, you are also passing down the wealth that goes with it,” she explained.
Marietta Rodriguez, president & CEO of NeighborWorks, explained further: “Owning property gives you a different voice, a different kind of stake in where you live. And it gives you a chance to build wealth that you can then pass on to the next generation.”
How do you successfully pass on wealth? Some network organizations offer workshops on creating wills. Others have partnerships with legal aid agencies or work with clients on estate planning.
“This isn’t a new issue; it’s something that’s been going on for a long time,” said Bill McKinney, executive director of New Kensington CDC, who spoke on coalition building during the February NTI. “But we’re looking for new solutions.”
The Pew Charitable Trusts found that Philadelphia, where NKCDC is based, has well over 10,000 tangled titles. A title becomes tangled when a deed doesn’t reflect the official name of who owns a property – a problem when the official occupant is not the official property owner. Tangled titles often occur when there is no will. And the major side effect is that tangled titles keep families from accessing their accumulated wealth. It’s a side effect that hurts not only families, but whole communities.
Among the themes and advice that have come from NeighborWorks' conversations on the subject of property inheritance:
Make it a priority: As Paige Carlson-Heim of TD Bank said during the February NTI, “The magnitude is huge. This is important to us. Homeownership is important to us.” And that includes planning for what happens next.
Communicate and educate: Education around how to pass down a home is key. In Philadelphia, the coalition working on tangled titles provides information to funeral homes that they can pass on to families. “Education and information are exceedingly important,” said Katherine Gilmore Richardson, a member of the Philadelphia City Council.
Partnerships help: “Working together, in collaboration, this should be solvable," said NeighborWorks' Rodriguez. With Philadelphia’s tangled title coalition, for instance, members approach the same challenge from different angles.
Be aware of laws: The laws over property inheritance differ by state, by locality and by Tribal entity.
There’s a role for philanthropy: “It’s hard work,” Annika Little, managing director for the Asset Funders Network, said of the hands-on work and education surrounding property inheritance. “We shouldn’t be afraid to ask for it to be resourced.”
Focusing on a goal: The ultimate goal for the participants in the winter NTI and the upcoming NTI is the same: Finding ways to address property inheritance issues so that family wealth can be preserved – and passed on. “If we’re not addressing the hole at the bottom where we’re losing wealth, we’re not looking at the whole picture holistically,” explained Noelle Melton, vice president of National Homeownership Programs for NeighborWorks America.
The conversation will continue in the months ahead. The training brochure includes more information about the daylong symposium to be held Aug. 27.
