Free estate planning and legal services are now available to help Detroiters keep their family homes.
On Wednesday, the City of Detroit, the Gilbert Family Foundation and Detroit City Councilman Scott Benson announced programs, including workshops and estate services, to help residents preserve their properties and preserve the equity of homes passed down from generation to generation .
The services are important, officials say, because there are at least 5,500 intergenerational properties in Detroit — worth more than $268 million — whose ownership is unclear, according to a report released earlier this year by the think tank Detroit Future City.
Often referred to as heirs’ property, or confused titles, it is a legal situation that arises when a person dies and is left behind a property without formal legal documents, such as a will, to prove who owns it. Title problems can prevent people from getting into assistance programs that help pay for home repairs or get property tax relief. Without the aid, homes could be subject to property taxes. Failure to transfer title within a family can create a barrier for families to build generational wealth through their homes.
“For most Detroiters, their home is the foundation of their family’s generational wealth. With home prices in the city of Detroit rising every year, it is even more important to ensure that homes can be passed from one generation to the next,” Mayor Mike Duggan said in a news release.
In partnership with Neighborhood Legal Services, the City of Detroit is using $668,000 in American Rescue Plan Act dollars to provide free counseling to more than 3,000 households, as well as will and estate planning services to approximately 720 families. The workshops start next week.
In addition, the Gilbert Family Foundation is investing $1.5 million over two years so that Lakeshore Legal Aid and Michigan Legal Services can represent the nearly 500 Detroit families living in probate estates who are at immediate risk of foreclosure.
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“We are deeply committed to protecting Detroit’s longtime homeowners from displacement. Preserving these family homes is not only essential to building intergenerational wealth, but also to ensuring the long-term stability of Detroit families and neighborhoods” , said Laura Grannemann, executive director of the Gilbert Family Foundation. , the press release said.
District 3 Councilman Benson, who also chairs the City of Detroit’s Wealth Generation Task Force, said a key finding from his group was the lack of wealth planning among Detroiters and how that could undermine the ability of Black families to build wealth. to obstruct.
How to get help
Register for upcoming summer workshops at detroithousingnetwork.my.site.com/portal/s/workshop-registration. More workshops are expected later this year and in 2025. Registration is required.
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Matrix Human Services (personal): 13560 E. McNichols Road; Thursday, June 20, 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
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Jefferson East, Inc. (virtual): Saturday, July 13, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m
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Bridging Communities (virtual): 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM, Monday August 5
Eligible residents can receive free legal services through the workshops. To qualify for the City of Detroit’s program, Detroiters must own a home in the city and be able to earn up to 300% of the federal poverty level, or $77,460 for a family of three.
Those seeking assistance through the Gilbert Family Foundation program must meet the income requirements for the Homeowners Property Tax Exemption (HOPE) program, live in a home passed down from the previous generation and be at risk of tax foreclosure. This program also requires them to work with the Detroit Housing Network, a city-led coalition of housing service providers. To reach the Detroit Housing Network and for more information, call the Detroit Housing Resource HelpLine at 866-313-2520.
Contact Nushrat Rahman: nrahman@freepress.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter: @NushratR.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Free estate planning, legal services to help Detroiters save homes
