Key Takeaways

This work adds to the growing body of evidence on racial disparities in heirs’ property incidence by exploring the conditions that predispose families to tangled title issues and evaluating differences by household race and ethnicity. We find the following:

• Older homeowners of color are less likely to have a will or trust. More than 3 in every 4 older Hispanic owners and just under 70 percent of non-Hispanic Black homeowners have neither.
• Older homeowners of color are more likely to have multiple children. About 80 percent of older American homeowners have two or more children, a prerequisite to fractional ownership after death. This share is slightly higher for non-Hispanic Black (84 percent) and Hispanic (83.2 percent) households.
• Older Black Americans are more likely to be widowed and living without a partner. Without a living spouse or partner and no will in place, passing of the property is less clear. Overall, 14.3 percent of older homeowners have no living spouse and/or partner, with non-Hispanic Black households being a clear outlier at 17.8 percent.
• Older homeowners of color are more likely to meet the conditions of prospective heirs’ property. Overall, 3.8 percent of older American homeowners meet all three of the above conditions. The share is higher for older Hispanic homeowners (about 7 percent) and older non-Hispanic Black homeowners (about 10 percent.)

How We Did It

We examined literature from legal experts on tangled titles to identify conditions that are indicative of prospective tangled titles. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study, we identified households that met those conditions and owned real estate.