The Will Power Program was launched in 2022 to provide free real estate planning to Philadelphia’s low-income homeowners.
Three years later and the program has just helped its 1,000th Philadelphia homeowner with their will and other related legal documents, writes Aaron Moselle for WHYY.
Debby Freedman, executive director of Community Legal Services, spoke on the impact of completing a will.
“Wills help to stabilize neighborhoods and families, build and maintain intergenerational wealth, and in many cases help to close the racial wealth gap in our city,” Freedman said.
Vendetta Stephens, one of the 1,000 homeowners to benefit from the program, shared that getting help in updating her will has lifted a weight off her shoulders and has given her peace of mind.
The Will Power Program was initially launched as a response to the city’s tangled title program. This refers to when a person — usually a relative of a deceased homeowner — lives in a property without owning it because their name isn’t on the deed.
Not having a will to establish a clear path to legal ownership often complicated things.
Given the long, expensive, and complicated process of eradicating tangled titles, CLS and Affordable Housing Centers of Pennsylvania joined forced to help families protect their homes.
Read more about the Will Power Program and the importance of wills at WHYY.
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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on PHILADELPHIA.Today in October 2025.
