In 2025 NCST launched the Heirs’ Property Partnership. This year-long program trains and supports a cohort of community development professionals working to address heirs’ property issues and their impacts on Black and Latino neighborhoods. The first cohort includes program participants from Healthy Neighborhoods in Baltimore, HouseATL in Atlanta, and Neighborhood Housing Services of Birmingham.
Building on this initial success, NCST expanded the program in 2026 to include a larger cohort of participants representing eight cities across the country. Heirs’ property ownership has played an important role in disappearing middle neighborhoods and wealth loss for Black and Latino homeowners. Nearly 78% of Black families and 82% of Latinos die without an estate plan. The lack of formal estate planning impedes wealth transfers to future generations and poses challenges as heirs attempt to preserve their homes. The result is that heirs fail to properly maintain the homes they inherit or abandon them all together, leading to blight and vacancy in the neighborhoods where these homes are located. The Heirs’ Property Partnership cohort meets both virtually and in-person throughout the year. Curriculum sessions include presentations from subject matter experts, readings and exercises as well as opportunities for the participants to grow their networks locally and nationally among other Middle Neighborhood Practitioners. Additionally, Heirs’ Property Partnership provides funding for a local project that tackles the heirs’ property issue in ways that reflect local needs and priorities.