Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 118.djvu/1803

 118 STAT. 1773 PUBLIC LAW 108–374—OCT. 27, 2004 Public Law 108–374 108th Congress An Act To amend the Indian Land Consolidation Act to improve provisions relating to probate of trust and restricted land, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ‘‘American Indian Probate Reform Act of 2004’’. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. Congress finds that— (1) the Act of February 8, 1887 (commonly known as the ‘‘Indian General Allotment Act’’) (25 U.S.C. 331 et seq.), which authorized the allotment of Indian reservations, did not permit Indian allotment owners to provide for the testamentary dis position of the land that was allotted to them; (2) that Act provided that allotments would descend according to State law of intestate succession based on the location of the allotment; (3) the reliance of the Federal Government on the State law of intestate succession with respect to the descent of allot ments has resulted in numerous problems affecting Indian tribes, members of Indian tribes, and the Federal Government, including— (A) the increasingly fractionated ownership of trust and restricted land as that land is inherited by successive generations of owners as tenants in common; (B) the application of different rules of intestate succes sion to each interest of a decedent in or to trust or restricted land if that land is located within the boundaries of more than 1 State, which application— (i) makes probate planning unnecessarily difficult; and (ii) impedes efforts to provide probate planning assistance or advice; (C) the absence of a uniform general probate code for trust and restricted land, which makes it difficult for Indian tribes to work cooperatively to develop tribal probate codes; and (D) the failure of Federal law to address or provide for many of the essential elements of general probate law, either directly or by reference, which— (i) is unfair to the owners of trust and restricted land (and heirs and devisees of owners); and 15 USC 2201 note. 15 USC 2201 note. American Indian Probate Reform Act of 2004. Oct. 27, 2004 [S. 1721]

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