Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta (FHLBank Atlanta) and Synovus Bank are delivering a $500,000 grant to Georgia Heirs Property Law Center Inc. The grant will be used to prevent and resolve heirs’ property issues that arise when home or landowners leave their property to others without a clear will, estate plan, title or deed.

Synovus and Georgia Heirs Property Law Center partnered to apply for the grant, which is awarded from FHLBank Atlanta’s 2024 Heirs Property Family Wealth Protection Fund. In total, this program from FHLBank Atlanta is awarding $5.9 million through its member banks, such as Synovus, to 21 organizations addressing heirs’ property issues.

“A key part of our mission is to advance homeownership, and that includes helping families pass along the hard-earned equity they have built in their properties,” said Kirk Malmberg, president and CEO of FHLBank Atlanta. “Heirs’ property issues are a pervasive problem in many communities, and this fund will enable seasoned organizations to help thousands of families preserve and protect their inheritances.”

A 2024 Harris Poll survey sponsored by FHLBank Atlanta found that 90% of homeowners expect the equity in their homes to benefit their heirs, yet 43% do not have a will, trust or estate plan. FHLBank Atlanta created the Family Wealth Protection Fund to support organizations that help property owners by writing wills and estate plans or resolving existing tangled titles.

“As a member of FHLBank Atlanta, we wanted to maximize their grant program to support Georgia Heirs Property Law Center with a significant grant to benefit people across the state,” said Natalie Parker, senior director, Community Reinvestment Act and community development at Synovus. “The Georgia Heirs Property Law Center has a particular expertise in resolving tangled titles and ensuring the proper legal documents are in place for families to build generational wealth with their homes or land.”

“The Center helps grow Georgia’s economy through property rights. Heirs’ property not only limits a family’s ability to build generational wealth but also undermines the efforts of local governments and businesses trying to revitalize communities. Partners like the FHLBank Atlanta and Synovus understand the value in leveraging direct legal services and asset education to empower low- and moderate-income families to address their heirs’ property,” said Skipper StipeMaas, executive director of the Center.

Services delivered by organizations receiving grant funding are free to property owners.

About Synovus

Synovus Bank, a Georgia-chartered, FDIC-insured bank, provides commercial and consumer banking in addition to a full suite of specialized products and services, including wealth services, treasury management, mortgage services, premium finance, asset-based lending, structured lending, capital markets and international banking. Synovus has branches in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee. Synovus is a Great Place to Work-Certified Company. Learn more about Synovus at synovus.com.

About The Georgia Heirs Property Law Center, Inc.

The Georgia Heirs Property Law Center Inc, (the “Center”) provides direct legal services that increase generational wealth, economic value, and community stability by securing and preserving property rights of low and moderate income Georgians. The Center resolves heirs property through title clearing; prevents heirs property through estate planning; and facilitates asset education to build generational wealth. For more information see, www.gaheirsproperty.org

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

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