Once upon a time, Katherine Gilmore Richardson undertook the crucial task of reclaiming the title to her family home in Wynnefield, West Philly, where she grew up. She got the title back to her family home. She grew up in that corner home in Wynnefield, West Philly. So she wanted to recover its title with the goal of keeping the home in her family for future generations.
After recovering her own deed, Katherine Gilmore Richardson has led Philadelphia to embrace policies that do the same for other families — with the help of some allies in the local funeral sector.
Why would the matter of death come into this picture? Well, dying without a will can cause trouble for a home’s title. It certainly did in this case.
Can You Help a Sister Out?
Katherine Gilmore Richardson’s sister lived in the family home until their mother died in 2016. It was their parents’ intention that the siblings inherit the home.
And yet no deed to the property was filed with the Philly deed records office in either sibling’s name. How did this happen? Their father died without a will. (Please don’t die without a will.) What’s more, there was no probate opened to settle the estate. (Please don’t put off probate when a loved one dies.)
It took the siblings about two years to get to grips with the issue, then find every relevant document so they could even begin their legal struggle. They took jobs and saved money just to afford the legal action of repairing the title. They would need thousands of dollars.
That’s not unusual. Philly’s public radio station, referring to data sourced from the Pew Charitable Trusts, told its listeners that title detangling typically costs more than $9,000.
No More Tears: Well Worth the Years-Long Hassle
Going through all that work was worth it, in the end. The relieved pair of siblings got their home’s title back. They spoke of the day of that final triumph as the best day of their lives.
But there’s an additional, unusual, and beautiful twist in this story. Gilmore Richardson became a Philadelphia City Council member. And she forged ahead with a new law to spare other Philly families from the daunting task she and her sister took on.
Gilmore Richardson introduced the Tangled Title Disclosure bill two years ago, calling it a matter of home preservation. The new law has been effective since August 2022. Preservation is under way!
An Old Law Gives Way to New Thinking
The Philadelphia Mayor and Council were glad to back the bill. It’s obviously good to stop people and courts from having to untangle titles that could have just gone into probate and been fine.
Now, in order to get homes into probate, funeral providers do outreach work. Under the updated law, funeral and cemetery businesses must give surviving relatives a city-issued how-to guide. This way the heirs will have, at the appropriate time, an outline of steps to receive a home title — through probate.
And yes, must means must. A $300 fine could be slapped on a funeral business unless:
- The guide gets to each survivor within five days after the funeral or cremation. (Emailing it as an attachment is OK.)
- The businesses give Philadelphia officials a copy of the relevant death certificate.
The fine — which does apply to “each offense” — seems a small price. Consider the value at stake for Philly families who could lose track of their titles. When the law was passed, more than a billion dollars’ worth of real estate value was tangled.
Making it clear that Philadelphia’s not playing, the city has allocated nearly $8 million on repairing tangled titles and deeds. The Neighborhood Preservation Initiative is now in the middle of a four-year project to carry out the work. The funding goes to legal aid groups that support Philadelphians with those pesky tangles.
What Do the Funeral Experts Think of the Law?
Philadelphia has close to 200 independent funeral and cemetery businesses. Some of these businesses host funeral services practically every day of the year. The owners and directors have stepped up graciously to the job of educating the families who are their clients.
Clients meet with staff when:
- People prepare in advance for cremations or burials.
- People schedule cremations and funerals after their loved ones die.
- People travel to attend services, and want to wrap up the affairs of the estates.
This is a pivotal time for many families. Many people haven’t had to personally deal with an estate before. After someone dies, title issues baffle some relatives. Probate guidance is especially helpful for them.
Offering family members the city-issued guidance on averting a tangled title isn’t the hardest part of the law, though. There’s the death certificate requirement. The funeral home is supposed to mail or email the certificate each surviving relative’s address. It might not seem hard to get this done with five days after the funeral. But that is the hard part for funeral services staff. They always have to reach out to a third party to get those certificates before they can forward them on to the families.
Whose Titles Were the Most Tangled?
The Pew Charitable Trusts found evidence of more than 10,000 Philly deeds in a tangled state. Who’s got the most tangles of all? Often, it’s the residents of neighborhoods populated by people with modest incomes. High levels of tangled deeds tend to correlate with neighborhoods that have the highest minority populations.
Often, members of these populations lack access to effective legal advice and assistance. Many people with title issues simply lack the time and money to work with attorneys.
Once a home passes on without a formal deed conveyance, the heirs have all sorts of legal issues. They can’t sell their homes. They can’t insure or refinance their homes. They can’t apply for disaster relief funds. They can’t apply for the home repair benefits offered to other Philly residents.
There are ripple effects, of course — to the homes’ residents, their families, and their neighborhoods. A lack of access to government resources can cause homes to fall into disrepair. Such homes are also vulnerable to Philadelphia title thieves.
Helping the Deceased Help Their Families
Katherine Gilmore Richardson has helped change lives much like hers and her sister’s. Her own words on the City Council website say it best:
“I have experienced the lengthy, frustrating, and expensive process of untangling a title. My goal is to help as many families as possible avoid getting stuck in this process.”
Well done, Councilmember.
Supporting References
The Philadelphia Code, § 9-5802: Tangled Title Information Sheet.
The Philadelphia Code, § 9-5803: Funeral Service Provider Disclosure Requirement (commonly called the Tangled Title Disclosure law).
Philadelphia City Council news, via PHLCouncil.com: Councilmember Gilmore Richardson’s Tangled Title Information Sheet Bill Now in Effect (Aug. 9, 2022).
PlanPhilly / Aaron Moselle for WHYY Radio via WHYY.org: Philadelphia Lawmakers Are Enlisting Funeral Homes to Help Solve a Tangled Title Problem That Affects Real Estate Worth More Than $1.1 Billion (Dec. 2, 2021; NPR Philadelphia).
And as linked.
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