NYU Law Environmental Law Journal Article: Fractured and Forgotten: Challenging Exclusionary Titling and Co-Ownership Requirements That Displace “Heirs Property” Disaster Survivors

By: Nketiah “Ink” Berko, Alys Cohen

March 30, 2026 — Article

Volume 34, Issue 1 (2026)

In the aftermath of a natural disaster, disaster survivors rely heavily on local and federal relief to rebuild their devastated homes. For households without formal legal title to their home, however, such relief is slower to arrive, leading to displaced families and damaged communities. Due to generations of frustrated access to probate planning and the legal system, Black and Brown individuals are more likely to own a home without clear legal title, or to co-own with other relatives who inherited without a will, leading to a form of fractured, informal homeownership known as “heirs property.” Older homeowners of color are disproportionately likely to own heirs property, and these same vulnerable older adults are also more likely to live in climate-vulnerable locations, facing growing threats from hurricanes, tornados, floods, and wildfires.

Despite their elevated risk of disaster and displacement, however, heirs property owners face frustrated access to government programs designed to provide disaster relief and recovery funding. This article surveys the various legal barriers that heirs property owners face in preparing for and recovering from catastrophic natural disasters, namely exclusionary title and co-owner consent requirements, and the various impediments to heirs’ climate resilience. It documents how such impediments easily lead to the displacement of heir communities of color and proposes policy recommendations to protect heirs property households from home loss, assist heirs attempting to clear title, and extend estate planning options and opportunities for underserved communities.