Heir Property Project
Heir Property
Heir property involves the passing of a home or other real property across multiple generations outside of the official probate process. As title to a home becomes less clear and more fractioned across heirs, the risk of being forced out of the home by a legal action becomes greater. In addition, lack of clear title prevents access to wealth-generating tools commonly associated with land ownership. Low-income rural African Americans across the South are disproportionately hurt by the heir property problem.
The University of Georgia School of Law awarded Georgia Appleseed its prestigious Cousins Public Interest Fellowship. This two-year Fellowship is the cornerstone of the new Young Professional Council's signature Heir Property Project. Crystal Chastain Baker, Esq., is the the Cousins Fellow.
The Young Professionals Council (YPC) of Georgia Appleseed is proud to release its new handbook, Heir Property in Georgia. Produced by YPC in conjunction with the UGA School of Law Cousins Public Interest Fellowship, the manual provides a concise overview of issues affecting heir property owners in Georgia.
Download Heir Property in Georgia (Second Edition) here.
NEW UNIFORM LAW TO PROTECT FAMILY LAND
The Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act benefits Georgia Appleseed efforts to preserve homes of low-income families. Read more here.
SURVIVOR: POVERTY - 45 Young Professionals Take on the Challenge
45 young professionals and heir property volunteers experienced what it takes to live in a low income family trying to survive month-to-month. This team simulation exercise on March 11 was facilitated by Sharon Gibson of UGA College of Family & Consumer Sciences. Participants assumed roles in families confronting challenges such as job loss, adequate child care, dependable transportation, neighborhood crime, and secure housing.
The Cousins Fellowship has three primary goals: to create durable programs of civil legal service; to develop opportunities for law students to assist in those services through clinical legal education; and to help experienced practitioners pursue public interest practice and clinical law teaching.
As the Cousins Fellow, Ms. Baker works with law students to deliver civil legal services to Georgians impacted by heir property issues. YPC members work with Ms. Baker in developing the project, offer substantive law expertise and mentoring to students, facilitate the creation of a statewide collaborative among interested entities and oversee planning for the post-fellowship phase of the project.
Crystal Baker is a graduate of the University Of Georgia School Of Law with considerable experience in real estate law. She will spend her first year of this two year Fellowship at the law school in Athens teaching and researching the heir property problem. In the second year, she will undertake the service component of the Fellowship and work to >provide systemic solutions to the problems of heir property.
The YPC Heir Property Committee Co-Chairs are Shunta McBride, Esq. and Puja Vadodaria, Esq.
Get Involved
The Young Professionals Council (YPC) of Georgia Appleseed is actively seeking volunteers to help with legal research, development of case studies, and to assist with professional training to assist families with heir property issues. Learn more here.
For more information about the project, contact Crystal Baker at ccbaker@uga.edu.
Other Heir Property Projects
"GaAppleseed: Did you know that GA's current juvenile code was adopted in 1971? A lot has changed in 40 years! Visit