What is a tangled title?

"Grandma's house is still in Grandpa's name."

When someone who owns a home dies, the home doesn't move to the family on its own. Someone has to file paperwork with the County or go through probate court. If nobody does, the family keeps living there, but legally the home still belongs to the person who died. That's called a tangled title (or heirs' property).

With every generation it gets harder to fix

1Grandpa
name on the deed

dies, nothing filed

4children
each owns 1/4

2 of them die

11owners
2 children + 9 grandchildren

Every one of those owners has to be found, and has to sign, before the home can be sold, refinanced, or repaired with a loan. Try it with your own family, and see how much of the home's value gets locked.

What it costs a family

Without a clear title, families can't get home-repair financing, claim the homestead tax break, get disaster aid, or borrow against the home (LISC, 2024).
Selling or refinancing usually needs every heir to agree and sign, and some heirs may be hard to find.
Unpaid property taxes can still lead to foreclosure while the title is tangled.

How big is it?

Ohio has an estimated 9,000 heirs' properties (Greater Ohio Policy Center, 2024).
Those homes hold about $313 million in family wealth that clear titles could unlock (LISC, 2024).
Experts think it's concentrated in neighborhoods that faced long-term disinvestment, where families had less access to lawyers and estate planning.

The easy fix most people don't know about

Ohio has a Transfer on Death Designation Affidavit: a short form the owner signs in front of a notary and records with the County Recorder for $34. When the owner dies, the home goes straight to the people named, with no probate. It has to be recorded while the owner is alive. Free forms: Transfer on Death affidavit forms (Franklin County Law Library).

If the owner has already died, the family usually needs probate court. Small estates can use a shorter process. Check your home to see which steps fit your family.

Words to know

Deed: The paper, recorded with the County, that says who owns a home.
Title: Legal ownership of a home. A 'clear title' means the County record matches who really owns it.
Tangled title (heirs' property): When an owner has died and the home was never moved into the living family's names. The family lives there, but can't prove they own it.
Transfer on Death affidavit: A short Ohio form that names who gets the home when the owner dies, so no court is needed. It must be recorded while the owner is alive.
Probate: The court process that settles a person's property after they die and moves it to the heirs.
Survivorship: Words on a deed that mean the living owner automatically keeps the home when the other owner dies.
Heir: A family member who inherits property under Ohio law when there's no will or Transfer on Death form.
Notary: A person who watches you sign and confirms it's really you. Many banks offer this for free.
Homestead exemption: An Ohio property tax break for owners who are 65 or older, disabled, or a qualifying surviving spouse, on the home they live in.

Check my home