This week the city of Detroit announced a new initiative to help residents gain clean ownership of property passed down to them from family members without a formal will or estate plan.
The Detroit Heirs’ Property program targets residents whose homes were unofficially passed down through generations of family members, usually meaning the home’s current occupant is not on the deed and does not legally own it. Without a clear path to title and legal ownership, such homeowners often find themselves trying to resolve things in probate court, which can be a lengthy and cumbersome process.
A recent report from the group Detroit Future City found there are probably at least 5,525 such properties in Detroit. Those are homes where the owners listed on tax rolls are known to be deceased. Likely heirs’ properties tend to be concentrated in a handful of Detroit neighborhoods…