FHLBank Atlanta Contributes Nearly $6 Million to Help Homeowners Safeguard their Inheritances

Grants provided to 21 organizations preventing and resolving heirs’ property issues

/EIN News/ -- ATLANTA, May 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta (FHLBank Atlanta) is awarding a total of $5.9 million to 21 organizations committed to preventing and resolving heirs’ property issues through its Heirs’ Property Family Wealth Protection Fund (FWP).

Heirs’ property issues arise when a homeowner passes away without a will/trust or estate plan or when a property is left to multiple beneficiaries without a plan to manage it, resulting in a tangled or fractured title.

A 2024 Harris Poll survey sponsored by FHLBank Atlanta found that 90% of homeowners expect the equity in their home to benefit their heirs, yet 43% don’t have a will/trust or estate plan. Further, more than a third (38%) of homeowners without a will/trust or estate plan intend to leave their property to more than one heir.

Click here to view the grant recipients of the Family Wealth Protection Fund, which are each delivering services to homeowners to resolve tangled titles, executing wills and estate plans, or provide education on heirs’ property.

“As part of our broader work to address housing challenges, we added a program to focus on heirs’ property issues,” said FHLBank Atlanta President and CEO Kirk Malmberg. “Without the proper paperwork or legal process, it is often difficult for homeowners or their heirs to benefit from those assets, which are often purchased with the goal of building generational wealth. The organizations receiving these grants work with homeowners to resolve tangled titles, execute wills and estate plans and provide education to ensure their intended heirs can benefit from the hard-earned equity in their homes.”

Organizations receiving the grant funding assist property owners located in low-to-moderate income areas within the FHLBank Atlanta district: Alabama, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.

“In addition to our programs that provide downpayment assistance to homeowners and expand access to affordable housing, we introduced the Family Wealth Protection Fund to address another key challenge impacting the housing sector,” said FHLBank Atlanta Senior Vice President and Director of Community Investment Services Tomeka Strickland. “This program aims to help individuals ensure they have clear titles and to strengthen communities, which are impacted by neighborhood blight when homes cannot be maintained or sold.”

About FHLBank 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 members 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 $9.1 billion in Affordable Housing Program funds, assisting more than 1.2 million households.  

For more information, visit www.fhlbatl.com.

CONTACT:
Sheryl Touchton
Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta
stouchton@fhlbatl.com