ALABAMA – Legal Services Alabama (LSA) announced today that it has received a grant award from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta (FHLBank Atlanta), one of the 11 district banks in the Federal Home Loan Bank System.
The award is through the FHLBank Atlanta Heirs’ Property Prevention and Resolution Grant Initiative, announced last August. Funding through this initiative was made available to organizations that submitted pilot initiatives during the Heirs’ Property Prevention and Resolution Funders’ Forum, held on December 2, 2021.
“LSA is honored to have been selected as a grantee recipient of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta Heirs Property Prevention and Resolution Grant Initiative. We are grateful for their partnership and for devoting the time, energy, and resources necessary to help address the many issues posed by heirs’ property,” said Guy Lescault, LSA Executive Director. “Heirs’ property has a significant negative impact across Alabama and this award will help provide much needed resolution and relief for families and communities that are currently unable to leverage the value in homes affected by an encumbered title.”
Kirk Malmberg, President and Chief Executive Officer of FHLBank Atlanta, congratulated LSA on being selected for an award. “We are pleased to offer this award and we commend Legal Services Alabama for working to solve and prevent issues associated with heirs’ property,” said Malmberg.
Arthur Fleming, FHLBank Atlanta’s Senior Vice President and Director of Community Investment Services, joined in congratulating LSA and noted that aside from resolving heirs’ property issues, the goal of the initiative is to raise awareness among state and local governments, developers, and other organizations. “The funding we are providing to Legal Services Alabama will not only help provide tangible relief to families and communities impacted by heirs’ property, it will also help bring more attention to this issue and hopefully spur additional involvement from other key stakeholders that have a vested interest in resolving and preventing heirs’ property,” said Fleming.
Heirs’ property occurs when a real property owner dies without a will that designates a successor owner, or without a recorded deed. It also occurs when property is left to multiple beneficiaries, resulting in a fractured or tangled title that is unmarketable and, if left unresolved, prevents the ability to sell, collateralize, improve, or otherwise transfer the property. Heirs’ property is a barrier to the accumulation of generational wealth, leads to neighborhood blight, and is a pervasive issue that disproportionately impacts racial and ethnic minority, low-wealth, and distressed urban and rural communities.
Through its commitment to disaster relief work and serving the vulnerable elder population in Alabama, LSA will apply this grant to hire staff to enhance its capacity to execute title clearing services on properties that are part of a strategic collaboration with partners throughout the state.
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The LSA law firm provides free, client-centered, civil legal advocacy to low-income Alabamians and collaborates with others across the state and nation to find solutions to systemic issues caused by poverty wand social justice inequities. LSA is one of the preeminent legal aid organizations in the country in bridging the civil justice gap through its recognized commitment to racial, social, and economic justice and support of a talented, diverse, and innovative staff.
LSA offices are located in Anniston/Gadsden, Birmingham, Dothan, Huntsville, Mobile, Montgomery, Selma and Tuscaloosa. LSA offices handle civil cases only. Each office has lawyers licensed to practice in Alabama and other staff who know how to help low-income people resolve their legal problems.
About the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta
FHLBank Atlanta offers competitively priced financing, community development grants, and other banking services to help member financial institutions make affordable home mortgages and provide economic development credit to neighborhoods and communities. The Bank’s member are commercial banks, credit unions, savings institutions, community development financial institutions, and insurance companies located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. FHLBank Atlanta is one of 11 district banks in the Federal Home Loan Bank System. Since 1990, the FHLBanks have awarded approximately $7.3 billion in Affordable Housing Program funds, assisting more than one million households.
