Having a tangled title is a huge headache. Not only can this cost thousands of dollars and take many years to resolve, but it also means a property is more at risk of being stolen. Homes with matted titles cannot be insured and are not eligible for maintenance grants. More importantly, the homeowner cannot tap into the equity in the home.
After the deaths of her parents and grandmother, Councilwoman Katherine Gilmore Richardson struggled to settle their estates, leading to a tangled title to her parents’ home where her sister lives with her family. This experience inspired her to advocate for additional resources to address tangled titles, securing an additional $7.6 million over four years through the Neighborhood Preservation Initiative, and sponsoring legislation to educate Philadelphians about the probate of inheritances. She was backed by AARP Pennsylvania, which endorsed and testified in favor of her tangled title disclosure bill before the Philadelphia City Council in the fall of 2021.
The new law will help people avoid the headaches and expense of solving a tangled title. It requires funeral service providers to provide their customers with a city-generated guide to avoiding tangled title, including information on how to transfer property from a deceased owner to an heir through a process legal called probate. The guide will also provide information on legal assistance and where people can get help. The Philadelphia Department of Records will lead the creation of the information guide with support from the Registry of Wills. The law will come into force later this year.
There’s a lot to know and understand about tangled titles – both if you have one and how they impact our city as a whole.
That’s why, in conjunction with the Philadelphia Department of Records and Philadelphia VIP, we’re going to answer your questions about tangled titles, including what you should do if you think you have one and how the city is working to deal with it. crisis.
