Lowenstein Sandler’s Megan Wernke and Molefi McIntosh of the firm’s Private Client Services, Trusts & Estates, and Tax practices have been selected by Howard University School of Law to establish and lead a new clinic, sponsored by JP Morgan Chase and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, that focuses on “Estate Planning and Heirs Property.” The lawyers will be supervising law students who will provide legal services focused on estate planning and untangling ownership issues related to heirs’ property. The goal of the clinic is to develop future lawyers who can represent clients facing the challenges in the BIPOC community that arise from the generational passing of land without the traditional protections of a will.
Wernke, a Lowenstein partner who represents individuals and families on a wide range of sophisticated tax and estate planning matters, explains: “’Heirs property’ is a legal term for property inherited by a group of descendants of deceased landowners. If someone owns land and dies without a will, or without a carefully developed estate plan, the beneficiaries inherit as ‘tenants in common.’ This is a very unstable form of ownership and ultimately leads to multiple owners and divisions of the property, which vastly increases the risk that the land will become subject to infighting, tax default, or a sale for well below its market value.”
McIntosh continues: “Heirs property is a challenge that has disproportionately impacted the African American population, but it affects many others too, such as indigenous people and low-income communities across the country—usually those who have been historically denied access to the legal system. This has resulted in property transfers over generations that have greatly reduced the land’s value, denying subsequent generations the ability to build upon their family’s assets.” The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that heirs property has directly resulted in African American land loss from 16 million to 4.7 million acres over the last hundred years.
JPMorgan Chase, in conjunction with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, this week announced the funding of a $900,000 gift to the law school for the new clinic. Tim Berry, JPMorgan’s Global Head of Corporate Responsibility at the bank’s Skyland Town Center branch in Southeast in Ward 7, issued a statement saying: “The Grant will provide support to help train the next generation of attorneys in this area of law and also support District of Columbia residents with free legal estate planning services through student-led clinics hosted at this branch.”
Valerie Schneider, the Director of the Clinical Law Center, says: “Low-income families may own land, passed down from their ancestors, but they often lack information on how to plan for the future, especially taxes and eventual succession. This clinic will educate future attorneys on how to bring justice to people who have traditionally been denied protection under the law, and show these clients how to capitalize and grow their assets for the benefit of their future offspring.”
Chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1867, Washington D.C.-based Howard University is a historically black institution that offers an educational experience of exceptional quality to students with high academic potential. Particular emphasis is placed on providing educational opportunities for promising African Americans and other minority students. The university has a diverse student body and faculty.
The School of Law was created to provide legal education for Americans traditionally excluded from the profession, especially African Americans. The objective of the School of Law is to produce superior professionals, capable of achieving positions of leadership in law, business, government, education, and public service.
The Estate Planning & Heir Property Clinic will be the tenth offering by the university’s Clinical Law Center, which aims to provide a high-quality course of training for law students, allowing them to develop the skills necessary for career-long commitments to public service; provide excellent civil-rights oriented legal services to underserved and indigent individuals; serve as a nerve center in Howard’s social justice operations; and help develop the next generation of civil rights attorneys.
In their private practice at Lowenstein, Wernke and McIntosh have extensive experience in designing and implementing bespoke, sophisticated estate and lifetime gifting plans. They help clients plan for efficient asset succession, modernize complex or inefficient estate plans, come into compliance with U.S. tax requirements, defend against transfer and fiduciary income tax controversies, and assist with probate and trust administration. They have a robust cross-border practice, with experience advising multinational families based in countries around the world.
About Lowenstein Sandler LLP
Lowenstein Sandler LLP is a national law firm with over 350 lawyers based in New York, Palo Alto, New Jersey, Utah, and Washington, D.C. The firm represents leaders in virtually every sector of the global economy, with particular emphasis on investment funds, life sciences, and technology. Recognized for its entrepreneurial spirit and high standard of client service, the firm is committed to the interests of its clients, colleagues, and communities.
