Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 98 Part 3.djvu/800

 98 STAT. 3172

Gifts and property.

25 USC 2206.

PUBLIC LAW 98-608—OCT. 30, 1984

ing the tribal initiative, may purchase such tract by matching the tribal offer; "(2) if, at any time within five years following the date of acquisition of such land by an individual pursuant to this section, such property is offered for sale or a petition is filed with the Secretary for removal of the property from trust or restricted status, the tribe shall have 180 days from the date it is notified of such offer or petition to acquire such property by paying to the owner the fair market value as determined by the Secretary; "(3) all purchases and sales initiated under this section shall be subject to approval by the Secretary.". (3) Section 206 is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 206. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any Indian tribe, subject to approval by the Secretary, may adopt its own code of laws to govern descent and distribution of trust or restricted lands within that tribe's reservation or otherwise subject to that tribe's jurisdiction, and may provide that nonmembers of the tribe or non-Indians shall not be entitled to receive by devise or descent any interest or trust or restricted lands within that tribe's reservation or otherwise subject to that tribe's jurisdiction: Provided, That in the event a tribe takes such action— "(1) if an Indian dies intestate, the surviving non-Indian or nonmember spouse and/or children may elect to receive a life estate in as much of the trust or restricted lands as such person or persons would have been entitled to take in the absence of such restriction on eligibility for inheritance and the remainder shall vest in the Indians or tribal members who would have been heirs in the absence of a qualified person taking a life estate; "(2) if an intestate Indian descendent has no heir to whom interests in trust or restricted lands may pass, such interests shall escheat to the tribe, subject to any non-Indian or nonmember spouse and/or children's rights as described in paragraph (1) of this section; "(3) if an Indian decedent has devised interests in trust or restricted lands to persons who are ineligible for such an inheritance by reason of a tribal ordinance enacted pursuant to this section, the devise shall be voided only if, while the estate is pending before the Secretary for probate, the tribe acquires such interests by paying to the Secretary, on behalf of the devisees, the fair market value of such interests as determined by the Secretary as of the date of the decedent's death: Provided, That any non-Indian or nonmember spouse and/or children of such decedent who have been devised such interests may retain, at their option, a life estate in such interests. Any ineligible devisee shall also have the right to renounce his or her devise in favor of a person or persons who are eligible to inherit. "(b) The right to receive a life estate under the provisions of this section shall be limited to— "(1) a spouse and/or children who, if they had been eligible, would have inherited an ownership interest of 10 per centum or more in the tract of land; or "(2) a spouse and/or children who occupied the tract as a home at the time of the decedent's death.". (4) Section 207 is amended to read as follows:

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