Sponsored podcast: The program sends legal aid to help families secure the homes they’ve inherited before speculators can swoop in.
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A national study estimated that 440,000 homes across the United States are in legal limbo, leaving families unable to obtain insurance, make repairs, or even be sure they own the homes passed down to them. But a coalition led by LISC Jacksonville is sending help to fix these “tangled titles” before it’s too late.
Heirs’ properties are homes passed down without a proper estate plan, and the unclear titles become a threat to the generational wealth of families in predominantly Black neighborhoods. In this sponsored episode, produced in partnership with Results for America, we learn about the Jacksonville program that – as of December 2025 – has already helped residents clear clouded titles on more than 180 properties and create 2,200 estate plans, stabilizing $53.8 million in home value.
“You have folks that have lived in a family home for generations that are then finding themselves being evicted with very short notice,” says Ross Tilchin, Director of the Economic Mobility Catalog at Results for America. “So there’s a serious human tragedy component to this.”
Because people are in such sensitive situations, trust-based outreach is crucial to how LISC Jacksonville’s heirs’ property program connects families with legal aid.
“When there’s chaos, it creates conflict within families,” says Kelvin Lane, a LISC Jacksonville community navigator who brings the message into churches and neighborhood associations. “This stuff can actually cause people to lose their relationships with people that share the same genes and blood, because of lack of information, lack of knowledge.”
Natavia Wicker, Program Navigator at the Historic Eastside Community Development Corporation, shares how her own experience as an heir informed her work helping others navigate the process. “I always ensure they know the whole process is free,” she says. “A lot of people always say, oh, it can’t be free. And no, it’s a 100% free.”
Going further into the program’s details, Kristopher Smith, Senior Community Development Program Officer at LISC Jacksonville, explains how the program relies on parcel-level data and an early-warning algorithm to identify at-risk households before they lose their homes. And John Sapora, LISC Jacksonville’s Housing Resiliency Program Officer, details tactics such as paying clients’ tax bills and offering loan products that directly help families reach the finish line in the legal process.
Results for America has assembled a free toolkit on replicating this solution. The step-by-step guide includes detailed descriptions of how LISC Jacksonville handled each intervention, checklists of activities, messaging tips for communicating with residents and stakeholders, and links to original documents and materials that communities are free to use.
This episode is based on a SolutionsFest event, available in Next City’s webinar library. Listen to the episode below or subscribe to the Next City podcast on Apple, Spotify or Goodpods.