Heirs’ Property Application Process
How to Get Started
To apply for assistance and receive a free legal consultation, please complete the Application for Service. An heirs’ property team member will respond within 3-5 days to discuss next steps.
Our application process is currently paused due to a high volume of applications. We are taking this time to work through those. If you would like, we can place you on our waitlist. Once we resume accepting applications, we will contact potential applicants in the order that we were initially contacted. You can join the waitlist by sending an email to hp@mscenterforjustice.org.
After you have completed the application for service, you will be required to verify your income. We may also request that you submit the following documents for our review:
- Copies of any and all deeds related to the property;
- Death certificate for the original owner and any of his or her deceased heir(s);
- Obituary for the original owner and any of his or her deceased heir(s);
- Copies of tax receipts and/or tax notices for the last three years;
- Family tree, including the contact information (name, address & telephone number) for all living heirs;
- Copy of the original will of the original owner (if it has not been probated)
- Copies of probate documents for the original owners and any of his or her deceased heirs;
- Copies of any legal notices relating to the property, such as tax sale, foreclosure, and pending or threatened lawsuits.
Once you complete the application for service, you will be required to sign a Limited Retainer Agreement that allows MCJ to review all documents and investigate your heirs’ property issue to determine whether we can take your case.
Costs for Legal Services
At least one person who is an heir will have to qualify under our income guidelines to qualify for legal services.
Service Requirements
There is no cost for attorney’s fees; however, we will NOT:
- Represent an heir who wants to force a sale of the heirs’ property.
- Represent an heir whose end-goal is to sell the property. If a client receives free legal work to clear title to land and thereafter the client sells the land within two years of receiving free legal services, the client will have to notify MCJ and may be required to reimburse MCJ for attorney’s fees. Otherwise, developers could be sending folks in to clear title (for free) so the client can sell the property to the developer.
- Represent one heir vs. another heir where disagreement persists. If the heirs cannot (eventually) come to 100% agreement, MCJ will never file an action with the Court. Disagreeing heirs in a courtroom risk losing the land to a forced partition sale.