Larry Roberts is serving as the leader of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Photo from Indian Affairs

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Bureau of Indian Affairs extends comment period on probate rule

Monday, December 5, 2016

The Bureau of Indian Affairs is giving tribes more time to discuss updates to the probate process.

Comments are now being accepted until January 4, 2017, according to a notice published in the Federal Register on Monday. The new deadline leaves the BIA with little time to finalize any potential changes if it intends to do so before the end of the Obama administration. Republican president-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20, 2017.

Three changes are under review, according to the notice. The most significant one increases the amount of money that can be withdrawn from an Individual Indian Money (IIM) account to pay for funeral expenses. The limit would be raised to $5,000 from $1,000.

Another revision affects how the BIA handles changes in an estate inventory. The third addresses in the way in which an estate's trust funds are distributed when a person dies without a will and has no heirs.

Federal Register Notices:
Probate Regulation Updates (December 5, 2016)
Probate Regulation Updates (June 20, 2016)