people here can trace their roots back to over a century of life on this land, which has been passed down generation to generation, often informally without a will the legal term for that is heirs property it s always called family land. it was only after post flooding we understood that had a legal ramification to it as well. reporter: bucksport is an increasingly flood-prone region back-to-back hurricanes in recent years devastated the area and in 2018, hurricane florence destroyed hazel bellarmine s home that s water from florence reporter: she found out she lives on heirs property when she applied for fema aid they couldn t approve us certain things it was a nightmare. reporter: hazel s name is not on the deed none of her living relatives are either that meant they couldn t prove the land was theirs. according to long-standing fema funding requirements heirs property owners can t get a mortgage, have limited to no access to housing repair money because you cannot prov
property. it was only after post flooding that we understood the legal ramification as well. reporter: it is in an increasingly flood prone region. in 2018 hurricane florence destroyed florence bellamy s home. she found out she lives on heirs property when she applied for fema aid. they couldn t approve us for certain things. reporter: her name is not on the deed. none of her living relatives are either. they couldn t prove the land was theirs according to long-standing fema funding requirements. heirs property owners can t have a mortgage, have limited to no access to housing repair money. because you cannot prove clear ownership. reporter: fema s new policy will change that by expanding the list of documentation they ll accept for individual assistance. but heirs property owners are still not in the clear. at any moment an heir could sell his or her share which then