Preserving Generational Wealth Through Housing Justice

The SN52 Land & Legacy Project

Funded By

ROCKWELL FUND & JPMorganChase

The Problem

When someone dies without a will, their property passes to multiple heirs with undivided interests, creating “heirs’ property.” This tangled title locks families out of basic homeownership rights for generations. In one historically Black Houston neighborhood, we identified 248 properties trapped in this legal limbo. Without clear title, families cannot access homestead exemptions worth $2,000-$4,000 annually, obtain home loans, or protect property from forced sales. Our research reveals $19.0 million in family wealth at risk, with families collectively losing $466,000-$932,000 annually in preventable tax burden. This isn’t just a legal problem, it’s a justice issue. Heirs’ property disproportionately impacts African American and Latino families, contributing to the persistent racial wealth gap.

Why This Is Justice Research

At the Center for Justice Research, we examine how systems produce racial and economic inequities. Housing instability is a structural driver of justice system involvement.

When families lose homes to foreclosure or forced partition sales, they experience residential instability, economic stress, and family disruption, all factors that increase vulnerability to justice system contact.

Preventing displacement is criminal justice reform.

What We're Measuring

Data Analysis & Targeting

Using Harris County Appraisal District records, we identify properties most at risk, cross-reference addresses to find occupied homes, and develop algorithms for strategic resource allocation.

Impact Measurement

We track family retention rates, economic benefits realized (exemptions secured, foreclosures prevented), displacement prevention outcomes, and cost-effectiveness of interventions.

Policy Research

We document systemic barriers in probate and exemption processes, research best practices from other states, and develop recommendations for local and state reform.

The Partnership

Lead:
Earl Carl Institute at TSU Thurgood Marshall School of Law

Partners:
Lone Star Legal Aid, Collective Action for Youth, Harris County Office of Public Probate Administrator

Research:
Center for Justice Research at Texas Southern University

Research Team

Howard Henderson, PhD examines how system-level reforms in housing, criminal justice, and public health reduce disparities and improve outcomes for marginalized communities. His work demonstrates that housing justice is criminal justice reform, and that preventive intervention is both more humane and cost-effective than crisis response.

Denise Brown, PhD is an affiliated researcher with the Center for Justice Research. She earned her Ph.D. in Administration of Justice from the Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs at Texas Southern University, M.S. in Criminal Justice from Sam Houston State University, and B.S. in Forensic Science from Sam Houston State University. Dr. Brown’s research interests are at the intersection of forensic science and racial disparities in the criminal justice system. She specializes in quantitative methods, data analysis, and examining how institutional systems produce inequitable outcomes across communities.