From SCSJ and Land Loss Prevention Project will host a workshop on Heirs’ Property on October 10th.
SCSJ and Land Loss Prevention Project will host a workshop on Heirs’ Property on October 10th.
Heir’s Property Workshop Set for Oct. 10
BY FLORENCE GILKESON: SENIOR WRITER
A free workshop for heirs’ property owners will be held at 10 a.m. Oct. 10 at the Senior Enrichment Center under sponsorship of the Moore County Department of Planning and Community Development.
Heirs’ property is land owned by two or more people who have inherited rather than purchased their shares of the property. The problem surfaces most often in cases where people have inherited property but cannot locate the deeds for the traditional transfer of ownership.
Tim Emmert, community development planner, cites the example of a situation in which federal housing monies cannot be easily applied to heirs’ properties without lengthy, sometimes fruitless, searches to track down family members and secure signatures on appropriate documents.
He has seen this problem in cases where a property owner is eligible for rehabilitation assistance for a house but cannot prove legal ownership. Without proof of ownership, funds allocated through a Community Development Block Grant cannot be used to rehabilitate the house.
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At the workshop, attorneys from the Southern Coalition for Social Justice and the Land Loss Prevention Project will review the risks of owning heirs’ property and some ways for property owners to protect their land. Those attending will be invited to ask questions about property ownership, wills and other related matters.
Reservations for the workshop are not required, but the sponsors ask that interested persons call the Planning Department at 947-5010 prior to the workshop. There are no plans to serve refreshments, but advance notice will help the department to complete arrangements for the workshop to begin at 10 a.m. and end by noon.
The Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ) promotes justice by empowering minority and low income communities to defend and advance their political, social and economic rights. SCSJ uses the combined skills of lawyers, social scientists, community organizers and media experts to help under-represented people to develop strategies to achieve their visions for themselves and their communities, incorporating an international human rights perspective and linking their efforts to broader processes of political, legal, social and economic change in the South.
The Land Loss Prevention Project was founded in 1982 by the North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers to curtail epidemic losses of land owned by blacks in North Carolina. It was incorporated in 1983.
The organization broadened its mission in 1993 to provide legal support and assistance to all financially distressed and limited resource farmers and landowners in North Carolina.
The Senior Enrichment Center is on U.S. 15-501 about two miles north of the Pinehurst Traffic Circle.
Source: Heir’s Property Workshop Set for Oct. 10
From http://www.thepilot.com/stories/20090930/news/local/20090930Property.html