Retaining the Legacy!
Project Abstract
Trinity Empowerment is a HUD Certified Agency offering education and counseling to low-moderate income community residents. As we have continued to serve our community for over 20 years, we have identified that many of our families have not done any estate planning because they don’t understand the implications of not doing so. Specifically, in our minority communities, we see a loss of assets, primarily real estate because of lack of planning. This project has been developed to address that void. Initially, we will be focused on the southern part of Miami-Dade County, but fully expect this will become a prototype to expand.
Statement of Need
Often, low-income family members who lose a relative find themselves in greater distress as they find themselves homeless upon the loss of their loved one. This impact occurs because of numerous circumstances including –
- no will
- no estate plan
- inability to access the liquid assets of the family member
- mortgages on the property and
- no insurance.
In Black families, this impact can be greater due to limited communication between the elderly family member and their adult children. As a certified housing counseling agency, 10-20% of our clients are seeking reverse mortgages, among our White nonminority clients over 70% come with family or trusted advisors while our Minority clients usually seek the services without family or trusted advisor participation. Additionally, over 30% of our default clients have lost family members resulting in reduced income and often an inability to pay the mortgage.
Estate Planning is essential
One of COVID-19’s impacts was the realization by family members that death of a loved one with no estate planning can be devasting to the remaining heirs. Although this has been an ongoing issue, the pandemic in which minority individuals died at double the rate of White and Asian individuals has refocused the importance of estate planning among the younger population.
According to the Caring Wills & Trust Planning Study of 2022, there has been a 50% increase in the number of 18-34 year old individuals starting the estate planning process since the pandemic. However, individuals 55 and older have been less swayed by the pandemic and only 13% of that age group have started the process.
Program Description
Trinity is proposing to facilitate an educational series regarding Estates, Wills and Trusts in the Minority Community entitled “Retaining the Legacy”. Our initial target audience will be Black Homeowners age 55 and older (the AARP group) in the Southern Region of Miami-Dade County. We have chosen this group because over 70% of Black Americans have not done any estate planning falsely believing they don’t have the assets to protect.
The Series will include topics such as:
Why You Need A Plan
Wills vs Trusts
Estate Planning
Heir's Property
Preserving That Legacy
The prospective panelists will include probate attorneys, probate judges, financial planners, insurance agents, bank trust account representatives and tax attorneys. The format of the workshops will be an in-person invitation lunch at senior focus centers in South Miami-Dade. The program will be videotaped for increased distribution.
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Objective
It is anticipated that the convening of the discussion around estate planning will encourage increased communication about this topic as we return to in-person family gatherings for the holidays. Ultimately, we hope to see increased inclusion of additional family members in counseling sessions and a reduction in the default rates due to unresponsive activities following the death of a family
Evaluation
All participants will be provided with a survey during the event, and follow-up after the event to determine if an attitude shift occurred. We will also follow-up after the holidays to see if the topic of estate planning was addressed during the holiday get-togethers.