Law students at the University of Florida are helping Alachua County’s low-income residents navigate the complex world of probate – the legal process of handling property and debts after their loved ones pass away.

This service, offered for free through the Heirs’ Property Clinic at the Levin College of Law, has been life-changing for local families, considering heirs’ property issues affect 1,600 to 1,700 parcels of land countywide. The clinic is the first of its kind in the state.

“As I was growing up, I always wondered why there weren’t more connections between the university and the local community,” said the clinic director, Tyler Lattimore, a Gainesville native who founded the clinic this year in collaboration with the City of Gainesville and the Alachua County Property Appraiser’s office.

Lattimore sought to make that community connection stronger. Now, the Heirs’ Property Clinic is staffed by eight law students who guide clients through the probate process by gathering the necessary documents to help identify who the heirs are in a family and how to obtain clear titles for any property – work that was previously done almost solely by Three Rivers Legal Services, Inc. The clinic now partners with Three Rivers to share the load in serving heirs. Four returning law students from the clinic’s inaugural semester last spring also focus on community-based work, educating people on heirs property issues and how to prevent them.

One of these students, third-year law student Caroline Levine, has found the work personally impactful in how she views the world.

“Every time I drive around Gainesville—or any other city, truthfully—I look at apartment complexes and other mass development projects, and I cannot help but wonder whose land it was built on,” Levine said. “Even if the only impact I have is educating people on heirs’ property, then my whole experience in the clinic is well worth it.”

Prevention is important. Without it, generations would be left with properties that lack clear titles, creating a number of problems for living relatives. For example, if there is not a clear deed owner, people can’t use the homestead exemption, raising taxes on the property and raising the risk the property could be lost.

“The homestead exemption allows them to reduce the tax burden year over year in terms of how much they have to pay to avoid potential loss of land,” Lattimore said. “Without it, the burden often becomes somewhat insurmountable, especially for more marginalized and poorer individuals. It puts people into positions where they can’t afford to maintain their property anymore.”

Aside from taxes, heirs’ property issues can also affect people’s quality of life. Without a clear title, it can be difficult for families to obtain resources from FEMA in the event of a natural disaster. Even if heirs do not wish to keep a residence, without a clear owner, it can be difficult to sell the property.

Students in the law clinic have already helped numerous families, and Lattimore hopes to expand the program beyond Gainesville. His favorite part of working at the Heirs’ Property Clinic is reconnecting people with their roots.

“In the future, we want to become a resource for people to meet and reintroduce themselves to their ancestors,” Lattimore said. “We want to help them understand their family tree and family history.”

Editor’s note: This is the latest in a series of columns sponsored by the University of Florida.