[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1721 Reported in Senate (RS)]






                                                       Calendar No. 515
108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 1721

                          [Report No. 108-264]

   To amend the Indian Land Consolidation Act to improve provisions 
    relating to probate of trust and restricted land, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 14, 2003

  Mr. Campbell (for himself and Mr. Thomas) introduced the following 
  bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian 
                                Affairs

                              May 13, 2004

              Reported by Mr. Campbell, with an amendment
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   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,

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act may be cited as the ``American Indian Probate 
Reform Act of 2003''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. FINDINGS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Congress finds that--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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 
        disposition of the land that was allotted to them;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) that Act provided that allotments would 
        descend according to State law of intestate succession based on 
        the location of the allotment;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) the reliance of the Federal Government on the 
        State law of intestate succession with respect to the descent 
        of allotments has resulted in numerous problems affecting 
        Indian tribes, members of Indian tribes, and the Federal 
        Government, including</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) the increasingly fractionated 
                ownership of trust and restricted land as that land is 
                inherited by successive generations of owners as 
                tenants in common;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) the application of different rules of 
                intestate succession 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--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) makes probate planning 
                        unnecessarily difficult; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) impedes efforts to provide 
                        probate planning assistance or 
                        advice;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (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</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (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--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) is unfair to the owners of 
                        trust and restricted land (and heirs and 
                        devisees of owners); and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) makes probate planning more 
                        difficult; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) a uniform Federal probate code would likely--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) reduce the number of fractionated 
                interests in trust or restricted land;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) facilitate efforts to provide probate 
                planning assistance and advice;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) facilitate intertribal efforts to 
                produce tribal probate codes in accordance with section 
                206 of the Indian Land Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 
                2205); and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) provide essential elements of general 
                probate law that are not applicable on the date of 
                enactment of this Act to interests in trust or 
                restricted land.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 3. INDIAN PROBATE REFORM.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Testamentary Disposition.--Section 207 of the Indian 
Land Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 2206) is amended by striking 
subsection (a) and inserting the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(a) Testamentary Disposition.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) General devise of an interest in trust or 
        restricted land.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) In general.--Subject to any 
                applicable Federal law relating to the devise or 
                descent of trust or restricted land, or a tribal 
                probate code approved by the Secretary in accordance 
                with section 206, the owner of an interest in trust or 
                restricted land may devise such an interest to--
                </DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) an Indian tribe with 
                        jurisdiction over the land; or</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) any Indian; or</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(iii) any lineal descendant of 
                        the testator; or</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(iv) any person who owns a 
                        preexisting undivided trust or restricted 
                        interest in the same parcel of land;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>in trust or restricted status.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) Rule of interpretation.--Any devise 
                of an interest in trust or restricted land or personal 
                property to a devisee listed in subparagraph (A) shall 
                be considered to be a devise of the interest in trust 
                or restricted status, unless--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) language in the will clearly 
                        evidences the testator's intent that the 
                        interest is to vest in the devisee as a fee 
                        interest without restrictions; or</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) the interest devised is a 
                        life estate.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) Devise of trust or restricted land as a life 
        estate or in fee.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) In general.--Except as provided 
                under any applicable Federal law, any interest in trust 
                or restricted land that is not devised in accordance 
                with paragraph (1) may be devised only--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) as a life estate without 
                        regard to waste to any person, with the 
                        remainder being devised only in accordance with 
                        subparagraph (B) or paragraph (1); or</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) except as provided in 
                        subparagraph (B), in fee to any 
                        person.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) Limitation.--Any interest in trust 
                or restricted land that is subject to section 4 of the 
                Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 464), may be devised 
                only in accordance with--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) that section;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) subparagraph (A)(i); 
                        or</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(iii) paragraph (1).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) General devise of an interest in trust or 
        restricted personal property.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) Trust or restricted personal 
                property defined.--The term `Trust or restricted 
                personal property' as used in this section includes--
                </DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) all funds and securities of 
                        any kind which are held in trust in an 
                        individual Indian money account or otherwise 
                        supervised for the decedent by the Secretary; 
                        and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) absent clear evidence to 
                        the contrary, all personal property permanently 
                        affixed to trust or restricted lands.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) In general.--Subject to any 
                applicable Federal law relating to the devise or 
                descent of such trust or restricted personal property, 
                or a tribal probate code approved by the Secretary in 
                accordance with section 206, the owner of an interest 
                in trust or restricted personal property may devise 
                such an interest to any person or entity.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) Maintenance as trust or restricted 
                personal property.--Except as provided in paragraph 
                (1)(B), where an interest in trust or restricted 
                personal property is devised to a devisee listed in 
                paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary shall maintain and 
                continue to manage such interests as trust or 
                restricted personal property.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(D) Direct disbursement and 
                distribution.--In the case of a devise of an interest 
                in trust or restricted personal property to a devisee 
                not listed in paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary shall 
                directly disburse and distribute such personal property 
                to the devisee.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(4) Ineligible devisees of trust or restricted 
        interest; invalid wills.--Any interest in trust or restricted 
        land or personal property that is devised as a trust or 
        restricted interest to a devisee not listed in subparagraph (A) 
        of paragraph (1) shall descend to the devisee as a fee 
        interest. Any interest in trust or restricted land or personal 
        property that is not disposed of by a valid will shall descend 
        in accordance with the applicable law of intestate succession 
        as provided for in subsection (b).''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Nontestamentary Disposition.--Section 207 of the 
Indian Land Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 2206) is amended by striking 
subsection (b) and inserting the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(b) Nontestamentary Disposition.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) Rules of descent.--Subject to any applicable 
        Federal law relating to the devise or descent of trust or 
        restricted property, any interest in trust or restricted 
        property, including personal property, that is not disposed of 
        by a valid will--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) shall descend according to a tribal 
                probate code that is approved in accordance with 
                section 206; or</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) in the case of an interest in trust 
                or restricted property to which such a code does not 
                apply, shall descend in accordance with--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) paragraphs (2) through (4); 
                        and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) other applicable Federal 
                        law.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) Rules governing descent of estate.--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) Surviving spouse.--If there is a 
                surviving spouse of the decedent, such spouse shall 
                receive trust and restricted property in the estate as 
                follows:</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) If the decedent is survived 
                        by an heir described in subparagraph (B) (i), 
                        (ii), (iii), or (iv), the surviving spouse 
                        shall receive </DELETED>\<DELETED>1/
                        3</DELETED>\ <DELETED>of the trust or 
                        restricted personal property of the decedent 
                        and a life estate without regard to waste in 
                        the interests in trust or restricted lands of 
                        the decedent.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) If there are no heirs 
                        described in subparagraph (B) (i), (ii), (iii), 
                        or (iv), the surviving spouse shall receive all 
                        of the trust or restricted personal property of 
                        the decedent and a life estate without regard 
                        to waste in the trust or restricted 
                        lands.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(iii) The remainder shall pass 
                        as set forth in subparagraph (B).</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) Indian heirs.--Where there is no 
                surviving spouse of the decedent, or there is a 
                remainder pursuant to subparagraph (A), the estate or 
                remainder of the decedent shall, subject to 
                subparagraph (A), pass as follows:</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) To the Indian children of 
                        the decedent (or if 1 or more of those Indian 
                        children do not survive the decedent, the 
                        Indian children of the deceased child of the 
                        decedent, by right of representation, if such 
                        Indian children of the child survive the 
                        decedent) in equal shares.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) If the property does not 
                        pass under clause (i), to the surviving Indian 
                        great-grandchildren of the decedent in equal 
                        shares.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(iii) If the property does not 
                        pass under clause (i) or (ii), to the surviving 
                        Indian brothers and sisters who are full 
                        siblings of the decedent or who are half-
                        siblings by blood and not by marriage, in equal 
                        shares.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(iv) If the property does not 
                        pass under clause (i), (ii), or (iii), to the 
                        Indian parent or parents of the decedent in 
                        equal shares.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(v) If the property does not 
                        pass under clause (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv), to 
                        the Indian tribe with jurisdiction over the 
                        interests in trust or restricted 
                        lands;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>except that notwithstanding clause (v), an 
                Indian co-owner (including the Indian tribe referred to 
                in clause (v)) of a parcel of trust or restricted land 
                may acquire an interest that would otherwise descend 
                under that clause by paying into the estate of the 
                decedent, before the close of the probate of the 
                estate, the fair market value of the interest in the 
                land; if more than 1 Indian co-owner offers to pay for 
                such interest, the highest bidder shall acquire the 
                interest.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) No indian tribe.--If there is no 
                Indian tribe with jurisdiction over the interests in 
                trust or restricted lands that would otherwise descend 
                under subparagraph (B)(v), then such interests shall be 
                divided equally among co-owners of trust or restricted 
                interests in the parcel; if there are no such co-
                owners, then the Secretary shall accumulate and hold 
                such interests in trust or restricted status for the 
                Indian tribe or tribes from which the decedent 
                descended.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) Right of representation.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph 
                (B)--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) the interests passing to 
                        children and grandchildren of a decedent under 
                        paragraph (2) shall be divided into as many 
                        equal shares as there are surviving children of 
                        the decedent, deceased children who have died 
                        before the decedent without issue, and deceased 
                        children who have died before the decedent and 
                        have left grandchildren who survive the 
                        decedent; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) 1 share shall pass to each 
                        surviving child of the decedent and 1 share 
                        shall pass equally divided among the surviving 
                        children of a deceased child.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) Exception for heirs of equal 
                consanguinity.--Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), when 
                the persons entitled to take under subparagraph (B)(i) 
                of paragraph (2) are all in the same degree of 
                consanguinity to the decedent, they shall take in equal 
                shares.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(4) Special rule relating to survival.--In the 
        case of intestate succession under this subsection, if an 
        individual fails to survive the decedent by at least 120 hours, 
        as established by clear and convincing evidence--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) the individual shall be deemed to 
                have predeceased the decedent for the purpose of 
                intestate succession; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) the heirs of the decedent shall be 
                determined in accordance with this section.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(5) Status of inherited interests.--A trust or 
        restricted interest in land or personal property that descends 
        under the provisions of this subsection (not including any 
        interest in land or personal property passing to a surviving 
        spouse under paragraph (2)(A)) shall continue to have the same 
        trust or restricted status in the hands of the heir as such 
        interest had immediately prior to the decedent's 
        death.''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Section 207(c) of the Indian Land Consolidation Act 
(25 U.S.C. 2206 (c)) is amended by striking all that follows the 
heading, ``Joint Tenancy; Right of Survivorship'', and inserting the 
following: ``If a testator devises interests in the same parcel of 
trust or restricted lands to more than 1 person, in the absence of 
express language in the devise to the contrary, the devise shall be 
presumed to create joint tenancy with the right of survivorship in the 
interests involved.''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (d) Rule of Construction.--Section 207 of the Indian Land 
Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 2206) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(h) Applicable Federal Law.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) In general.--Any references in subsections 
        (a) and (b) to applicable Federal law include--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) Public Law 91-627 (84 Stat. 
                1874);</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) Public Law 92-377 (86 Stat. 
                530);</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) Public Law 92-443 (86 Stat. 
                744);</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(D) Public Law 96-274 (94 Stat. 537); 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(E) Public Law 98-513 (98 Stat. 
                2411).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) No effect on laws.--Nothing in this section 
        amends or otherwise affects the application of any law 
        described in paragraph (1), or any other Federal law that 
        provides for the devise and descent of any trust or restricted 
        land located on a specific Indian reservation or for the devise 
        and descent of the allotted lands of a specific tribe or 
        specific tribes.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(i) Rules of Interpretation.--In the absence of a 
contrary intent, and except as otherwise provided under this Act or a 
tribal probate code approved by the Secretary pursuant to section 206, 
wills shall be construed as to trust and restricted land and personal 
property in accordance with the following rules:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) Construction that will passes all 
        property.--A will shall be construed to apply to all trust and 
        restricted land and personal property which the testator owned 
        at his death, including any such land or property acquired 
        after the execution of his will.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) Class gifts.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) Terms of relationship that do not 
                differentiate relationships by blood from those by 
                affinity, such as `uncles', `aunts', `nieces' or 
                `nephews', are construed to exclude relatives by 
                affinity. Terms of relationship that do not 
                differentiate relationships by the half blood from 
                those by the whole blood, such as `brothers', 
                `sisters', `nieces', or `nephews', are construed to 
                include both types of relationships.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) Meaning of `heirs' and `next of 
                kin,' etc; time of ascertaining class.--A devise of 
                trust or restricted land or trust funds to the 
                testator's or another designated person's `heirs', 
                `next of kin', `relatives', or `family' shall mean 
                those persons, including the spouse, who would be 
                entitled to take under the provisions of this Act for 
nontestamentary disposition. The class is to be ascertained as of the 
date of the testator's death.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) Time for ascertaining class.--In 
                construing a devise to a class other than a class 
                described in subparagraph (B), the class shall be 
                ascertained as of the time the devise is to take effect 
                in enjoyment. The surviving issue of any member of the 
                class who is then dead shall take by right of 
                representation the share which their deceased ancestor 
                would have taken.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) Meaning of `die without issue' and similar 
        phrases.--In any devise under this chapter, the words `die 
        without issue', `die without leaving issue', `have no issue', 
        or words of a similar import shall be construed to mean that an 
        individual had no lineal descendants in his lifetime or at his 
        death, and not that there will be no lineal descendants at some 
        future time.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(4) Persons born out of wedlock.--In construing 
        provisions of this chapter relating to lapsed and void devises, 
        and in construing a devise to a person or persons described by 
        relationship to the testator or to another, a person born out 
        of wedlock shall be considered the child of the natural mother 
        and also of the natural father.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(5) Lapsed and void devises and legacies; shares 
        not in residue.--Where a devise of property that is not part of 
        the residuary estate fails or becomes void because--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) the beneficiary has predeceased the 
                testator;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) the devise has been revoked by the 
                testator; or</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) the devise has been disclaimed by 
                the beneficiary;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>the property shall, if not otherwise expressly 
        provided for under this Act or a tribal probate code, pass 
        under the residuary clause, if any, contained in the 
        will.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(6) Lapsed and void devises and legacies; shares 
        in residue.--When a devise as described in paragraph (7) shall 
        be included in a residuary clause of the will and shall not be 
        available to the issue of the devisee, and if the disposition 
        shall not be otherwise expressly provided for by a tribal 
        probate code, it shall pass to the other residuary devisees, if 
        any, in proportion to their respective shares or interests in 
        the residue.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(7) Family cemetery plot.--If a family cemetery 
        plot owned by the testator at his decease is not mentioned in 
        the decedent's will, the ownership of the plot shall descend to 
        his heirs as if he had died intestate.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(8) After-born heirs.--A child in gestation at 
        the time of decedent's death will be treated as having survived 
        the decedent if the child lives at least 120 hours after its 
        birth.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(9) Advancements of trust or restricted personal 
        property during lifetime; effect on distribution of estate.--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) The trust or restricted personal 
                property of a decedent who dies intestate as to all or 
                a portion of his or her estate, given during the 
                decedent's lifetime to an heir of the decedent, shall 
                be treated as an advancement against the heir's 
                inheritance, but only if the decedent declared in a 
                contemporaneous writing, or the heir acknowledged in 
                writing, that the gift is an advancement or is to be 
                taken into account in computing the division and 
                distribution of the decedent's intestate 
                estate.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) For the purposes of this section, 
                trust or restricted personal property advanced during 
                the decedent's lifetime is valued as of the time the 
                heir came into possession or enjoyment of the property 
                or as of the time of the decedent's death, whichever 
                occurs first.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) If the recipient of the property 
                predeceases the decedent, the property is not treated 
                as an advancement or taken into account in computing 
                the division and distribution of the decedent's 
                intestate estate unless the decedent's contemporaneous 
                writing provides otherwise.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(10) Heirs related to decedent through 2 lines; 
        single share.--A person who is related to the decedent through 
        2 lines of relationship is entitled to only a single share 
        based on the relationship that would entitle the person to the 
        larger share.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(j) Heirship by Killing.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) `Heir by killing' defined.--As used in this 
        subsection, `heir by killing' means any person who 
        participates, either as a principal or as an accessory before 
        the fact, in the willful and unlawful killing of the 
        decedent.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) No acquisition of property by killing.--
        Subject to any applicable Federal law relating to the devise or 
        descent of trust or restricted property, no heir by killing 
        shall in any way acquire any interests in trust or restricted 
        property as the result of the death of the decedent, but such 
        property shall pass in accordance with this 
        subsection.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) Descent, distribution, and right of 
        survivorship.--The heir by killing shall be deemed to have 
        predeceased the decedent as to decedent's interests in trust or 
        restricted property which would have passed from the decedent 
        or his estate to the heir by killing--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) under intestate succession under 
                this chapter;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) under a tribal probate code, unless 
                otherwise provided for;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) as the surviving spouse;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(D) by devise;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(E) as a reversion or a vested 
                remainder;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(F) as a survivorship interest; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(G) as a contingent remainder or 
                executory or other future interest.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(4) Joint tenants, joint owners, and joint 
        obligees.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) Any trust or restricted land or 
                personal property held by only the heir by killing and 
the decedent as joint tenants, joint owners, or joint obligees shall 
pass upon the death of the decedent to his or her estate, as if the 
heir by killing had predeceased the decedent.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) As to trust or restricted property 
                held jointly by 3 or more persons, including both the 
                heir by killing and the decedent, any income which 
                would have accrued to the heir by killing as a result 
                of the death of the decedent shall pass to the estate 
                of the decedent as if the heir by killing had 
                predeceased the decedent and any surviving joint 
                tenants.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) Notwithstanding any other provision 
                of this subsection, the decedent's interest in trust or 
                restricted property that is held in a joint tenancy 
                with the right of survivorship shall be severed from 
                the joint tenancy as though the property held in the 
                joint tenancy were to be severed and distributed 
                equally among the joint tenants and the decedent's 
                interest shall pass to his estate; the remainder of the 
                interests shall remain in joint tenancy with right of 
                survivorship among the surviving joint 
                tenants.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(5) Life estate for the life of another.--If the 
        estate is held by a third person whose possession expires upon 
        the death of the decedent, it shall remain in such person's 
        hands for the period of the life expectancy of the 
        decedent.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(6) Preadjudication rule.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) In general.--If a person has been 
                charged, whether by indictment, information, or 
                otherwise by the United States, a tribe, or any State, 
                with voluntary manslaughter or homicide in connection 
                with a decedent's death, then any and all trust or 
                restricted land or personal property that would 
                otherwise pass to that person from the decedent's 
                estate shall not pass or be distributed by the 
                Secretary until the charges have been resolved in 
                accordance with the provisions of this 
                paragraph.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) Dismissal or withdrawal.--Upon 
                dismissal or withdrawal of the charge, or upon a 
                verdict of not guilty, such land and funds shall pass 
                as if no charge had been filed or made.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) Conviction.--Upon conviction of such 
                person, the trust and restricted land and personal 
                property in the estate shall pass in accordance with 
                this subsection.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(7) Broad construction; policy of subsection.--
        This subsection shall not be considered penal in nature, but 
        shall be construed broadly in order to effect the policy that 
        no person shall be allowed to profit by his own wrong, wherever 
        committed.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(k) General Rules Governing Probate.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) Scope.--The provisions of this subsection 
        shall apply only to estates that are subject to probate under 
        the provisions of subsections (a) and (b).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) Pretermitted spouses and children.--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) Spouses.--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) In general.--Except as 
                        provided in clause (ii), if the surviving 
                        spouse of a testator married the testator after 
                        the testator executed the will of the testator, 
                        the surviving spouse shall receive the 
                        intestate share in trust or restricted land 
                        that the spouse would have received if the 
                        testator had died intestate.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) Exception.--Clause (i) 
                        shall not apply to an interest in trust or 
                        restricted land where--</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(I) the will of a 
                                testator is executed before the date of 
                                enactment of this 
                                subparagraph;</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(II)(aa) the spouse of a 
                                testator is a non-Indian; and</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(bb) the testator 
                                devised the interests in trust or 
                                restricted land of the testator to 1 or 
                                more Indians;</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(III) it appears, based 
                                on an examination of the will or other 
                                evidence, that the will was made in 
                                contemplation of the marriage of the 
                                testator to the surviving 
                                spouse;</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(IV) the will expresses 
                                the intention that the will is to be 
                                effective notwithstanding any 
                                subsequent marriage; or</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(V)(aa) the testator 
                                provided for the spouse by a transfer 
                                of funds or property outside the will; 
                                and</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(bb) an intent that the 
                                transfer be in lieu of a testamentary 
                                provision is demonstrated by statements 
                                of the testator or through a reasonable 
                                inference based on the amount of the 
                                transfer or other evidence.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(iii) Spouses married at the 
                        time of the will.--Should the surviving spouse 
                        of the testator be omitted from the will of the 
                        testator, the surviving spouse shall be 
                        treated, for purposes of trust or restricted 
                        land or personal property in the testator's 
                        estate, as though there was no will under the 
                        provisions of section 207(b)(2)(A) if--
                        </DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(I) the testator and 
                                surviving spouse were continuously 
                                married without legal separation for 
                                the 10-year period preceding the 
                                decedent's death;</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(II) the testator and 
                                surviving spouse have a surviving child 
                                who is the child of the 
                                testator;</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(III) the surviving 
                                spouse has made substantial payments on 
                                or improvements to the trust or 
                                restricted land in such estate; 
                                or</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(IV) the surviving 
                                spouse is under a binding obligation to 
                                continue making loan payments for the 
                                trust or restricted land for a 
                                substantial period of time;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>except that if there is evidence that 
                        the testator adequately provided for the 
                        surviving spouse and any minor children by a 
                        transfer of funds or property outside of the 
                        will, this clause shall not apply.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(iv) Defined terms.--The terms 
                        `substantial payments or improvements' and 
                        `substantial period of time' as used in 
                        subparagraph (A)(iii) (III) and (IV) shall have 
                        the meanings given to them in the regulations 
                        adopted by the Secretary under the provisions 
                        of this Act.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) Children.--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) In general.--If a testator 
                        executed the will of the testator before the 
                        birth or adoption of 1 or more children of the 
                        testator, and the omission of the children from 
                        the will is a product of inadvertence rather 
                        than an intentional omission, the children 
                        shall share in the intestate interests of the 
                        decedent in trust or restricted land as if the 
                        decedent had died intestate.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) Adopted heirs.--Any person 
                        recognized as an heir by virtue of adoption 
                        under the Act of July 8, 1940 (25 U.S.C. 372a), 
                        shall be treated as the child of a decedent 
                        under this subsection.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(iii) Adopted-out children.--
                        </DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(I) In general.--For 
                                purposes of this Act, an adopted person 
                                shall not be considered the child or 
                                issue of his natural parents, except in 
                                distributing the estate of a natural 
                                kin, other than the natural parent, who 
                                has maintained a family relationship 
                                with the adopted person. If a natural 
                                parent shall have married the adopting 
                                parent, the adopted person for purposes 
                                of inheritance by, from and through him 
                                shall also be considered the issue of 
                                such natural parent.</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(II) Eligible heir 
                                pursuant to other federal law or tribal 
                                law.--Notwithstanding the provisions of 
                                subparagraph (B)(iii)(I), other Federal 
                                laws and laws of the Indian tribe with 
                                jurisdiction over the trust or 
                                restricted land may otherwise define 
                                the inheritance rights of adopted-out 
                                children.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) Divorce.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) Surviving spouse.--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) In general.--An individual 
                        who is divorced from a decedent, or whose 
                        marriage to the decedent has been annulled, 
                        shall not be considered to be a surviving 
                        spouse unless, by virtue of a subsequent 
                        marriage, the individual is married to the 
                        decedent at the time of death of the 
                        decedent.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) Separation.--A decree of 
                        separation that does not dissolve a marriage, 
                        and terminate the status of husband and wife, 
                        shall not be considered a divorce for the 
                        purpose of this subsection.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(iii) No effect on 
                        adjudications.--Nothing in clause (i) prevents 
                        an entity responsible for adjudicating an 
                        interest in trust or restricted land from 
                        giving effect to a property right settlement if 
                        1 of the parties to the settlement dies before 
                        the issuance of a final decree dissolving the 
                        marriage of the parties to the property 
                        settlement.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) Effect of subsequent divorce on a 
                will or devise.--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) In general.--If, after 
                        executing a will, a testator is divorced or the 
                        marriage of the testator is annulled, as of the 
                        effective date of the divorce or annulment, any 
                        disposition of interests in trust or restricted 
                        land made by the will to the former spouse of 
                        the testator shall be considered to be revoked 
                        unless the will expressly provides 
                        otherwise.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) Property.--Property that is 
                        prevented from passing to a former spouse of a 
                        decedent under clause (i) shall pass as if the 
                        former spouse failed to survive the 
                        decedent.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(iii) Provisions of wills.--Any 
                        provision of a will that is considered to be 
                        revoked solely by operation of this 
                        subparagraph shall be revived by the remarriage 
                        of a testator to the former spouse of the 
                        testator.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(4) Notice.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) In general.--To the maximum extent 
                practicable, the Secretary shall notify each owner of 
                trust and restricted land of the provisions of this 
                Act.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) Combined notices.--The notice under 
                subparagraph (A) may, at the discretion of the 
                Secretary, be provided with the notice required under 
                section 207(g).''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 4. PARTITION OF HIGHLY FRACTIONATED INDIAN 
              LANDS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Section 205 of the Indian Land Consolidation Act (25 
U.S.C. 2204) is amended by adding at the end the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(c) Partition of Highly Fractionated Indian Lands.--
</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) Applicability.--This subsection shall be 
        applicable only to parcels of land (including surface and 
        subsurface interests, except with respect to a subsurface 
        interest that has been severed from the surface interest, in 
        which case this subsection shall apply only to the surface 
        interest) which the Secretary has determined, pursuant to 
        paragraph (2)(B), to be parcels of highly fractionated Indian 
land.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) Requirements.--Subject to section 223 of 
        this Act, but notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
        Secretary shall ensure that each partition action meets the 
        following requirements:</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) Request.--The Secretary shall 
                commence a process for partitioning a parcel of land by 
                sale in accordance with the provisions of this 
                subsection upon receipt of an application by--
                </DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) the Indian tribe with 
                        jurisdiction over the subject land that owns an 
                        undivided interest in the parcel of land; 
                        or</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) any person owning an 
                        undivided trust or restricted interest in the 
                        parcel of land.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) Determination.--Upon receipt of an 
                application pursuant to subparagraph (A), the Secretary 
                shall determine whether the subject parcel meets the 
                requirements set forth in section 202(6) (25 U.S.C. 
                2201(6)) to be classified as a parcel of highly 
                fractionated Indian land.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) Consent requirements.--A parcel of 
                land may be partitioned under this subsection only with 
                the written consent of--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) the Indian tribe with 
                        jurisdiction over the subject land if such 
                        Indian tribe owns an undivided interest in the 
                        parcel;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) any owner who, for the 3-
                        year period immediately preceding the date on 
                        which the Secretary receives the application, 
                        has--</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(I) continuously 
                                maintained a bona fide residence on the 
                                parcel; or</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(II) continuously 
                                operated a bona fide farm, ranch, or 
                                other business on the parcel; 
                                and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(iii) the owners of at least 50 
                        percent of the undivided interests in the 
                        parcel if, based on the final appraisal 
                        prepared pursuant to subparagraph (F), the 
                        Secretary determines that any person's 
                        undivided trust or restricted interest in the 
                        parcel has a value in excess of $1,000, except 
                        that the Secretary may consent on behalf of 
                        undetermined heirs, minors, and legal 
                        incompetents having no legal guardian, and 
                        missing owners or owners whose whereabouts are 
                        unknown but only after a search for such owners 
                        has been completed in accordance with the 
                        provisions of this subsection.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(D) Preliminary appraisal.--After the 
                Secretary has determined that the subject parcel is a 
                parcel of highly fractionated Indian land pursuant to 
                subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall cause a 
                preliminary appraisal of the subject parcel to be 
                made.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(E) Notice to owners on completion of 
                preliminary appraisal.--Upon completion of the 
                preliminary appraisal, the Secretary shall give written 
                notice of the requested partition and preliminary 
                appraisal to all owners of undivided interests in the 
                parcel, in accordance with the following 
                requirements:</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) Contents of notice.--The 
                        notice required by this subsection shall 
                        state--</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(I) that a proceeding to 
                                partition the parcel of land by sale 
                                has been commenced;</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(II) the legal 
                                description of the subject 
                                parcel;</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(III) the owner's 
                                ownership interest in the subject 
                                parcel;</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(IV) the results of the 
                                preliminary appraisal;</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(V) the owner's right to 
                                request a copy of the preliminary 
                                appraisal;</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(VI) the owner's right 
                                to comment on the proposed partition 
                                and the preliminary 
                                appraisal;</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(VII) the date by which 
                                the owner's comments must be received, 
                                which shall not be less than 60 days 
                                after the date that the notice is 
                                mailed or published under paragraph 
                                (2); and</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(VIII) the address for 
                                requesting copies of the preliminary 
                                appraisal and for submitting written 
                                comments.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) Manner of service.--
                        </DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(I) Service by mail.--
                                The Secretary shall attempt to provide 
                                all owners of interests in the subject 
                                parcel with actual notice of the 
                                partition proceeding by mailing a copy 
                                of the written notice described in 
                                clause (i) by first class mail to each 
                                such owner at the owner's last known 
                                address. In the event the written 
                                notice to an owner is returned 
                                undelivered, the Secretary shall, in 
                                accordance with regulations adopted to 
                                implement the provisions of this 
                                section, attempt to obtain a current 
                                address for such owner by inquiring 
                                with--</DELETED>
                                        <DELETED>    ``(aa) the owner's 
                                        relatives, if any are 
                                        known;</DELETED>
                                        <DELETED>    ``(bb) the Indian 
                                        tribe of which the owner is a 
                                        member; and</DELETED>
                                        <DELETED>    ``(cc) the Indian 
                                        tribe with jurisdiction over 
                                        the subject parcel.</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(II) Service by 
                                publication.--In the event that the 
                                Secretary is unable to serve the notice 
                                by mail pursuant to subclause (II), the 
                                notice shall be served by publishing 
                                the notice 2 times in a newspaper 
of general circulation in the county or counties where the subject 
parcel of land is located.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(F) Final appraisal.--After reviewing 
                and considering comments or information submitted by 
                any owner of an interest in the parcel in response to 
                the notice required under subparagraph (E), the 
                Secretary may--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) modify the preliminary 
                        appraisal and, as modified, determine it to be 
                        the final appraisal for the parcel; 
                        or</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) determine that preliminary 
                        appraisal should be the final appraisal for the 
                        parcel, without modifications.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(G) Notice to owners on determination of 
                final appraisal.--Upon making the determination under 
                subparagraph (F) the Secretary shall provide to each 
                owner of the parcel of land and the Indian tribe with 
                jurisdiction over the subject land, written notice 
                served in accordance with subparagraph (E)(ii) 
                stating--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) the results of the final 
                        appraisal;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) the owner's right to review 
                        a copy of the appraisal upon request; 
                        and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(iii) that the land will be sold 
                        in accordance with subparagraph (G) for not 
                        less than the final appraised value subject to 
                        the consent requirements under paragraph 
                        (2)(C).</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(H) Sale.--Subject to the requirements 
                of paragraph (2)(C), the Secretary shall--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) provide every owner of the 
                        parcel of land and the Indian tribe with 
                        jurisdiction over the subject land with notice 
                        that--</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(I) the decision to 
                                partition by sale is final; 
                                and</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(II) each owner has the 
                                right to appeal the determination of 
                                the Secretary to partition the parcel 
                                of land by sale, including the right to 
                                appeal the final appraisal;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) after providing public 
                        notice of the sale pursuant to regulations 
                        adopted by the Secretary to implement this 
                        subsection, offer to sell the land by 
                        competitive bid for not less than the final 
                        appraised value to the highest bidder from 
                        among the following eligible bidders:</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(I) any owner of a trust 
                                or restricted interest in the parcel 
                                being sold;</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(II) the Indian tribe, 
                                if any, with jurisdiction over the 
                                parcel being sold; and</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(III) any member of the 
                                Indian tribe described in subclause 
                                (II); and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(iii) if no bidder described in 
                        clause (ii) presents a bid that equals or 
                        exceeds the appraised value, provide notice to 
                        the owners of the parcel of land and terminate 
                        the partition process.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(I) Decision not to sell.--If the 
                required owners do not consent to the partition by sale 
                of the parcel of land, in accordance with paragraph 
                (2)(C), by a date established by the Secretary, the 
                Secretary shall provide each Indian tribe with 
                jurisdiction over the subject land and each owner 
                notice of that fact.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) Enforcement.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) In general.--If a partition is 
                approved under this subsection and an owner of an 
                interest in the parcel of land refuses to surrender 
                possession in accordance with the partition decision, 
                or refuses to execute any conveyance necessary to 
                implement the partition, then any affected owner or the 
                United States may--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) commence a civil action in 
                        the United States district court for the 
                        district in which the parcel of land is 
                        located; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) request that the court 
                        issue an appropriate order for the partition of 
                        the land in kind or by sale.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) Federal role.--With respect to any 
                civil action brought under subparagraph (A)--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) the United States--
                        </DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(I) shall receive notice 
                                of the civil action; and</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(II) may be a party to 
                                the civil action; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) the civil action shall not 
                        be dismissed, and no relief requested shall be 
                        denied, on the ground that the civil action is 
                        1 against the United States or that the United 
                        States is an indispensable party.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(4) Regulations.--The Secretary is authorized to 
        adopt such regulations as may be necessary to implement the 
        provisions of this subsection.''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 5. OWNER-MANAGED INTERESTS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    The Indian Land Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 2201 et seq.) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:</DELETED>

<DELETED>``SEC. 221. OWNER-MANAGED INTERESTS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    ``(a) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to provide 
a means for the co-owners of trust or restricted interests in a parcel 
of land to enter into surface leases of such parcel without approval of 
the Secretary.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(b) Mineral Interests.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed to limit or otherwise affect the application of any Federal 
law requiring the Secretary to approve mineral leases or other 
agreements for the development of the mineral interest in trust or 
restricted land.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(c) Owner Management.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any provision 
        of Federal law requiring the Secretary to approve individual 
        Indian leases or mortgages of individual Indian trust or 
        restricted land, where the owners of all of the undivided trust 
        or restricted interests in a parcel of land have submitted 
        applications to the Secretary pursuant to subsection (a), and 
        the Secretary has approved such applications under subsection 
        (d), such owners may, without further approval by the 
        Secretary, do either of the following with respect to their 
        interest in such parcel:</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) Enter into a lease of the parcel for 
                any purpose authorized by section 1 of the Act of 
                August 9, 1955 (25 U.S.C. 415(a)), for an initial term 
                not to exceed 25 years.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) Renew any lease described in 
                paragraph (1) for 1 renewal term not to exceed 25 
                years.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) Rule of construction.--No such lease or 
        renewal of a lease shall be effective until the owners of all 
        undivided trust or restricted interests in the parcel have 
        executed such lease or renewal.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(d) Approval of Applications for Owner Management.--
</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) In general.--Subject to the provisions of 
        paragraph (2), the Secretary shall approve an application for 
        owner management submitted by a qualified applicant pursuant to 
        this section unless the Secretary has reason to believe that 
        the applicant is submitting the application as the result of 
        fraud or undue influence.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) Commencement of owner-management status.--
        Notwithstanding the approval of 1 or more applications pursuant 
        to paragraph (1), no interest in a parcel of trust or 
        restricted land shall have owner-management status until 
        applications for all of the trust or restricted interests in 
        such parcel have been submitted and approved by the Secretary 
        pursuant to this section and in accordance with regulations 
        adopted pursuant to subsection (l).</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(e) Validity of Leases.--A lease of trust or restricted 
interests in a parcel of land that is owner-managed under this section 
that violates any requirement or limitation set forth in subsection (c) 
shall be null and void and unenforceable against the owners of such 
interests, or against the land, the interest or the United 
States.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(f) Lease Revenues.--The Secretary shall not be 
responsible for the collection of, or accounting for, any lease 
revenues accruing to any interests subject to this section while such 
interest is in owner-management status under the provisions of this 
section.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(g) Jurisdiction.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) Jurisdiction unaffected by status.--The 
        Indian tribe with jurisdiction over an interest in trust or 
        restricted land that becomes owner-managed in accordance with 
        this section shall continue to have jurisdiction over the 
        interest in trust or restricted land to the same extent and in 
        all respects the tribe had prior to the interest acquiring 
        owner managed status.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) Persons using land.--Any person holding, 
        leasing, or otherwise using such interest in land shall be 
        considered to consent to the jurisdiction of the Indian tribe 
        with jurisdiction over the interest, including such tribe's 
        laws and regulations, if any, relating to the use, and any 
        effects associated with the use, of the interest.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(h) Continuation of Owner-Managed Status; Revocation.--
</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) In general.--Subject to the provisions of 
        paragraph (2), after the applications of the owners of all of 
        the trust or restricted interests in a parcel of land have been 
        approved by the Secretary pursuant to subsection (d), each such 
        interest shall continue in owner-managed status under this 
        section notwithstanding any subsequent conveyance of the 
        interest in trust or restricted status to another person or the 
        subsequent descent of the interest in trust or restricted 
        status by testate or intestate succession to 1 or more 
        heirs.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) Revocation.--Owner-managed status of an 
        interest may be revoked upon written request of owners 
        (including the parents or legal guardians of minors or 
        incompetent owners) of all trust or restricted interests in the 
        parcel, submitted to the Secretary in accordance with 
        regulations adopted under subsection (l). The revocation shall 
        become effective as of the date on which the last of all such 
        requests have been delivered to the Secretary.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) Effect of revocation.--Revocation of owner-
        managed status under paragraph (2) shall not affect the 
        validity of any lease made in accordance with the provisions of 
        this section prior to the effective date of the revocation, 
        provided that, after such revocation becomes effective, the 
        Secretary shall be responsible for the collection of, and 
        accounting for, all future lease revenues accruing to the trust 
        or restricted interests in the parcel from and after such 
        effective date.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(i) Defined Terms.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) For purposes of subsection (d)(1), the term 
        `qualified applicant' means--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) a person over the age of 18 who owns 
                a trust or restricted interest in a parcel of land; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) the parent or legal guardian of a 
                minor or incompetent person who owns a trust or 
                restricted interest in a parcel of land.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) For purposes of this section, the term 
        `owner-managed status' means, with respect to a trust or 
        restricted interest, that the interest--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) is a trust or restricted interest in 
                a parcel of land for which applications covering all 
                trust or restricted interests in such parcel have been 
                submitted to and approved by the Secretary pursuant to 
                subsection (d);</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) may be leased without approval of 
                the Secretary pursuant to, and in a manner that is 
                consistent with the requirements of, this section; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) no revocation has occurred under 
                subsection (h)(2).</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(j) Secretarial Approval of Other Transactions.--Except 
with respect to the specific lease transactions described in paragraphs 
(1) and (2) of subsection (c), interests held in owner-managed status 
under the provisions of this section shall continue to be subject to 
all Federal laws requiring the Secretary to approve transactions 
involving trust or restricted land that would otherwise apply to such 
interests.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(k) Effect of Section.--Subject to subsections (c), (f), 
and (h), nothing in this section limits or otherwise affects any 
authority or responsibility of the Secretary with respect to an 
interest in trust or restricted land.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(l) Regulations.--The Secretary shall promulgate such 
regulations as are necessary to carry out this section.''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 6. ADDITIONAL AMENDMENTS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) In General.--The Indian Land Consolidation Act (25 
U.S.C. 2201 et seq.) is amended--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) in the second sentence of section 205(a) (25 
        U.S.C. 2204(a)), by striking ``over 50 per centum of the 
        undivided interests'' and inserting ``undivided interests equal 
        to at least 50 percent of the undivided interest'';</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) in section 205 (25 U.S.C. 2204), by adding 
        subsection (c) as follows:</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(c) Purchase Option at Probate.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) In general.--Subject to section 207(b)(2)(A) 
        of this Act (25 U.S.C. 2206(b)(2)(A)), interests in a parcel of 
        trust or restricted land in the decedent's estate may be 
        purchased at probate in accordance with the provisions of this 
        subsection.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) Sale of interest at minimum fair market 
        value.--Subject to paragraph (3), the Secretary is authorized 
        to sell trust or restricted interests subject to this 
        subsection at no less than fair market value to the highest 
        bidder from among the following eligible bidders:</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) The heirs taking by intestate 
                succession or the devisees listed in section 
                207(a)(1)(A).</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) All persons who own undivided trust 
                or restricted interests in the same parcel of land 
                involved in the probate proceeding.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) The Indian tribe with jurisdiction 
                over the interest, or the Secretary on behalf of such 
                Indian tribe.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) Request for auction.--No auction and sale of 
        an interest in probate shall occur under this subsection 
        unless--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) except as provided in paragraph (6), 
                the heirs or devises of such interest consent to the 
                sale; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) a person or the Indian tribe 
                eligible to bid on the interest under paragraph (2) 
                submits a request for the auction prior to the 
                distribution of the interest to heirs or devisees of 
                the decedent and in accordance with any regulations of 
                the Secretary.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(4) Appraisal and notice.--Prior to the sale of 
        an interest pursuant to this subsection, the Secretary shall--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) appraise the interest; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) publish notice of the time and place 
                of the auction (or the time and place for submitting 
                sealed bids), a description, and the appraised value, 
                of the interest to be sold.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(5) Rights of surviving spouse.--Nothing in this 
        subsection shall be construed to diminish or otherwise affect 
        the rights of a surviving spouse under section 
        207(b)(2)(A).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(6) Highly fractionated indian lands.--
        Notwithstanding paragraph (3)(A), the consent of an heir shall 
        not be required for the auction and sale of an interest at 
        probate under this subsection if--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) the interest is passing by intestate 
                succession; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) prior to the auction the Secretary 
                determines that the interest involved is an interest in 
                a parcel of highly fractionated Indian land.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(7) Regulations.--The Secretary shall promulgate 
        regulations to implement the provisions of this 
        subsection.'';</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) in section 206 (25 U.S.C. 2205)--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) in subsection (a), by striking 
                paragraph (3) and inserting the following:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) Tribal probate codes.--Except as provided in 
        any applicable Federal law, the Secretary shall not approve a 
        tribal probate code, or an amendment to such a code, that 
        prohibits the devise of an interest in trust or restricted land 
        by--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) an Indian lineal descendant of the 
                original allottee; or</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) an Indian who is not a member of the 
                Indian tribe with jurisdiction over such an 
                interest;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>unless the code provides for--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(i) the renouncing of interests to eligible 
        devisees in accordance with the code;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(ii) the opportunity for a devisee who is the 
        spouse or lineal descendant of a testator to reserve a life 
        estate without regard to waste; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(iii) payment of fair market value in the manner 
        prescribed under subsection (c)(2).''; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) in subsection (c)--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) in paragraph (1)--</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (I) by striking the 
                                paragraph heading and inserting the 
                                following:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) Authority.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) In general.--'';</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (II) in the first sentence 
                                of subparagraph (A) (as redesignated by 
                                clause (i)), by striking ``section 
                                207(a)(6)(A) of this title'' and 
                                inserting ``section 207(a)(2)(A)(ii) of 
                                this title''; and</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (III) by striking the last 
                                sentence and inserting the 
                                following:</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) Transfer.--The Secretary shall 
                transfer payments received under subparagraph (A) to 
                any person or persons who would have received an 
                interest in land if the interest had not been acquired 
                by the Indian tribe in accordance with this 
                paragraph.''; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) in paragraph (2)--</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (I) in subparagraph (A)--
                                </DELETED>
                                        <DELETED>    (aa) by striking 
                                        the subparagraph heading and 
                                        all that follows through 
                                        ``Paragraph (1) shall not 
                                        apply'' and inserting the 
                                        following:</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) Inapplicability to certain 
                interests.--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) In general.--Paragraph (1) 
                        shall not apply'';</DELETED>
                                        <DELETED>    (bb) in clause (i) 
                                        (as redesignated by item (aa)), 
                                        by striking ``if, while'' and 
                                        inserting the following: ``if--
                                        </DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(I) while'';</DELETED>
                                        <DELETED>    (cc) by striking 
                                        the period at the end and 
                                        inserting ``; or''; 
                                        and</DELETED>
                                        <DELETED>    (dd) by adding at 
                                        the end the 
                                        following:</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(II)--</DELETED>
                                        <DELETED>    ``(aa) the 
                                        interest is part of a family 
                                        farm that is devised to a 
                                        member of the family of the 
                                        decedent; and</DELETED>
                                        <DELETED>    ``(bb) the devisee 
                                        agrees that the Indian tribe 
                                        with jurisdiction over the land 
                                        will have the opportunity to 
                                        acquire the interest for fair 
                                        market value if the interest is 
                                        offered for sale to an entity 
                                        that is not a member of the 
                                        family of the owner of the 
                                        land.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) Recording of interest.--On 
                        request by an Indian tribe described in clause 
                        (i)(II)(bb), a restriction relating to the 
                        acquisition by the Indian tribe of an interest 
                        in a family farm involved shall be recorded as 
                        part of the deed relating to the interest 
                        involved.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(iii) Mortgage and 
                        foreclosure.--Nothing in clause (i)(II) 
                        prevents or limits the ability of an owner of 
                        land to which that clause applies to mortgage 
                        the land or limit the right of the entity 
                        holding such a mortgage to foreclose or 
                        otherwise enforce such a mortgage agreement in 
                        accordance with applicable law.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(iv) Definition of `member of 
                        the family'.--In this paragraph, the term 
                        `member of the family', with respect to a 
                        decedent or landowner, means--</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(I) a lineal descendant 
                                of a decedent or landowner;</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(II) a lineal descendant 
                                of the grandparent of a decedent or 
                                landowner;</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(III) the spouse of a 
                                descendant or landowner described in 
                                subclause (I) or (II); and</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(IV) the spouse of a 
                                decedent or landowner.'';</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
        ``subparagraph (A)'' and all that follows through 
        ``207(a)(6)(B) of this title'' and inserting ``paragraph 
        (1)'';</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) in section 207 (25 U.S.C. 2206), subsection 
        (g)(5), by striking ``this section'' and inserting 
        ``subsections (a) and (b)'';</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) in section 213 (25 U.S.C. 2212)--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) by striking the section heading and 
                inserting the following:</DELETED>

<DELETED>``SEC. 2212. FRACTIONAL INTEREST ACQUISITION 
              PROGRAM.'';</DELETED>

                <DELETED>    (B) in subsection (a)--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) by striking ``(2) Authority of 
                        Secretary.--'' and all that follows through 
                        ``the Secretary shall submit'' and inserting 
                        the following:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) Authority of secretary.--The Secretary shall 
        submit''; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) by striking ``whether the 
                        program to acquire fractional interests should 
                        be extended or altered to make resources'' and 
                        inserting ``how the fractional interest 
                        acquisition program should be enhanced to 
                        increase the resources made'';</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) in subsection (b), by striking 
                paragraph (4) and inserting the following:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(4) shall minimize the administrative costs 
        associated with the land acquisition program through the use of 
        policies and procedures designed to accommodate the voluntary 
        sale of interests under the pilot program under this section, 
        notwithstanding the existence of any otherwise applicable 
        policy, procedure, or regulation, through the elimination of 
        duplicate--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) conveyance documents;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) administrative proceedings; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) transactions.''.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) in subsection (c)--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) in paragraph (1)--</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (I) in subparagraph (A), 
                                by striking ``at least 5 percent of 
                                the'' and inserting in its place 
                                ``an'';</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (II) in subparagraph (A), 
                                by inserting ``in such parcel'' 
                                following ``the Secretary shall convey 
                                an interest'';</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (III) in subparagraph (A), 
                                by striking ``landowner upon payment'' 
                                and all that follows and inserting the 
                                following: ``landowner--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) on payment by the Indian 
                        landowner of the amount paid for the interest 
                        by the Secretary; or</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) if--</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(I) the Indian referred 
                                to in this subparagraph provides 
                                assurances that the purchase price will 
                                be paid by pledging revenue from any 
                                source, including trust resources; 
                                and</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(II) the Secretary 
                                determines that the purchase price will 
                                be paid in a timely and efficient 
                                manner.''; and</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (IV) in subparagraph (B), 
                                by inserting before the period at the 
                                end the following: ``unless the 
                                interest is subject to a foreclosure of 
                                a mortgage in accordance with the Act 
of March 29, 1956 (25 U.S.C. 483a)''; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) in paragraph (3), by striking 
                        ``10 percent or more of the undivided 
                        interests'' and inserting ``an undivided 
                        interest'';</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (7) in section 214 (25 U.S.C. 2213), by striking 
        subsection (b) and inserting the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(b) Application of Revenue From Acquired Interests to 
Land Consolidation Program.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall have a lien 
        on any revenue accruing to an interest described in subsection 
        (a) until the Secretary provides for the removal of the lien 
        under paragraph (3), (4), or (5).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) Requirements.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) In general.--Until the Secretary 
                removes a lien from an interest in land under paragraph 
                (1)--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) any lease, resource sale 
                        contract, right-of-way, or other document 
                        evidencing a transaction affecting the interest 
                        shall contain a clause providing that all 
                        revenue derived from the interest shall be paid 
                        to the Secretary; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) any revenue derived from 
                        any interest acquired by the Secretary in 
                        accordance with section 213 shall be deposited 
                        in the fund created under section 
                        216.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) Approval of transactions.--
                Notwithstanding section 16 of the Act of June 18, 1934 
                (commonly known as the `Indian Reorganization Act') (25 
                U.S.C. 476), or any other provision of law, until the 
                Secretary removes a lien from an interest in land under 
                paragraph (1), the Secretary may approve a transaction 
                covered under this section on behalf of an Indian 
                tribe.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) Removal of liens after findings.--The 
        Secretary may remove a lien referred to in paragraph (1) if the 
        Secretary makes a finding that--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) the costs of administering the 
                interest from which revenue accrues under the lien will 
                equal or exceed the projected revenues for the parcel 
                of land involved;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) in the discretion of the Secretary, 
                it will take an unreasonable period of time for the 
                parcel of land to generate revenue that equals the 
                purchase price paid for the interest; or</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) a subsequent decrease in the value 
                of land or commodities associated with the parcel of 
                land make it likely that the interest will be unable to 
                generate revenue that equals the purchase price paid 
                for the interest in a reasonable time.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(4) Removal of liens upon payment into the 
        acquisition fund.--The Secretary shall remove a lien referred 
        to in paragraph (1) upon payment of an amount equal to the 
        purchase price of that interest in land into the Acquisition 
        Fund created under section 2215 of this title, except where the 
        tribe with jurisdiction over such interest in land authorizes 
        the Secretary to continue the lien in order to generate 
        additional acquisition funds.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(5) Other removal of liens.--In accordance with 
        regulations to be promulgated by the Secretary, and in 
        consultation with tribal governments and other entities 
        described in section 213(b)(3), the Secretary shall 
        periodically remove liens referred to in paragraph (1) from 
        interests in land acquired by the Secretary.'';</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (8) in section 216 (25 U.S.C. 2215)--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) in subsection (a), by striking 
                paragraph (2) and inserting the following:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) collect all revenues received from the 
        lease, permit, or sale of resources from interests acquired 
        under section 213 or paid by Indian landowners under section 
        213.''; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) in subsection (b)--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) in paragraph (1)--</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (I) in the matter 
                                preceding subparagraph (A), by striking 
                                ``Subject to paragraph (2), all'' and 
                                inserting ``All'';</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (II) in subparagraph (A), 
                                by striking ``and'' at the 
                                end;</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (III) in subparagraph (B), 
                                by striking the period at the end and 
                                inserting ``; and''; and</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    (IV) by adding at the end 
                                the following:</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) be used to acquire undivided 
                interests on the reservation from which the income was 
                derived.''; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) by striking paragraph (2) and 
                        inserting the following:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) Use of funds.--The Secretary may use the 
        revenue deposited in the Acquisition Fund under paragraph (1) 
        to acquire some or all of the undivided interests in any 
        parcels of land in accordance with section 205.'';</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (9) in section 217 (25 U.S.C. 2216)--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) in subsection (b)(1) by striking 
                subparagraph (B) and inserting a new subparagraph (B) 
                as follows--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) Waiver of requirement.--The 
                requirement for an estimate of value under subparagraph 
                (A) may be waived in writing by an owner of an interest 
                in trust or restricted land either selling, exchanging, 
                or conveying by gift deed for no or nominal 
                consideration such interest--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) to an Indian person who is 
                        the owner's spouse, brother, sister, lineal 
                        ancestor, lineal descendant, or collateral 
                        heir; or</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) to an Indian co-owner or to 
                        a tribe with jurisdiction over the subject 
                        parcel of land, where the grantor owns a 
                        fractional interest that represents 5 percent 
                        or less of the parcel.''.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) in subsection (e), by striking the 
                matter preceding paragraph (1), and inserting 
                ``Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the names 
                and mailing addresses of the owners of any interest in 
                trust or restricted lands, and information on the 
location of the parcel and the percentage of undivided interest owned 
by each individual shall, upon written request, be made available to--
'';</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) in subsection (e)(1), by striking 
                ``Indian'';</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) in subsection (e)(3), by striking 
                ``prospective applicants for the leasing, use, or 
                consolidation of'' and insert ``any person that is 
                leasing, using, or consolidating, or is applying to 
                lease, use, or consolidate,''; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (E) by striking subsection (f) and 
                inserting the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(f) Purchase of Land by Indian Tribe.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph 
        (2), before the Secretary approves an application to terminate 
        the trust status or remove the restrictions on alienation from 
        a parcel of trust or restricted land, the Indian tribe with 
        jurisdiction over the parcel shall have the opportunity--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) to match any offer contained in the 
                application; or</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) in a case in which there is no 
                purchase price offered, to acquire the interest in the 
                parcel by paying the fair market value of the 
                interest.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) Exception for family farms.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) In general.--Paragraph (1) shall not 
                apply to a parcel of trust or restricted land that is 
                part of a family farm that is conveyed to a member of 
                the family of a landowner (as defined in section 
                206(c)(2)(A)(iv)) if the conveyance requires that in 
                the event that the interest is offered for sale to an 
                entity that is not a member of the family of the 
                landowner, the Indian tribe with jurisdiction over the 
                land shall be afforded the opportunity to purchase the 
                interest pursuant to paragraph (1).</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) Applicability of other provision.--
                Section 206(c)(2)(A) shall apply with respect to the 
                recording and mortgaging of any trust or restricted 
                land referred to in subparagraph (A).''; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (10) in section 219(b)(1)(A) (25 U.S.C. 
        2218(b)(1)(A)), by striking ``100'' and inserting 
        ``90''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Definitions.--Section 202 of the Indian Land 
Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 2201) is amended--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 
        following:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) `Indian' means--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) any person who is a member of any 
                Indian tribe, is eligible to become a member of any 
                Indian tribe, or is an owner (as of the date of 
                enactment of the American Indian Probate Reform Act of 
                2003) of an interest in trust or restricted 
                land;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) any person meeting the definition of 
                Indian under the Indian Reorganization Act (25 U.S.C. 
                479) and the regulations promulgated 
                thereunder;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) any person not included in 
                subparagraph (A) or (B) who is a lineal descendant 
                within 3 degrees of a person described in subparagraph 
                (A);</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(D) an owner of a trust or restricted 
                interest in a parcel of land for purposes of inheriting 
                another trust or restricted interest in such parcel; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(E) with respect to the ownership, 
                devise, or descent of trust or restricted land in the 
                State of California, any person who meets the 
                definition of `Indians of California' contained in the 
                first section of the Act of May 18, 1928 (25 U.S.C. 
                651), until otherwise provided by Congress in 
                accordance with section 809(b) of the Indian Health 
                Care Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 1679)(b)).''; 
                and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) by adding at the end the following:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(6) `Parcel of highly fractionated Indian land' 
        means a parcel of land that the Secretary, pursuant to 
        authority under a provision of this Act, determines to have at 
        the time of the determination--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A)(i) 100 or more but less than 200 co-
                owners of undivided trust or restricted interests; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(ii) no undivided trust or restricted 
                interest owned by any 1 person which represents more 
                than 2 percent of the total undivided ownership of the 
                parcel; or</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B)(i) 200 or more but less than 350 co-
                owners of undivided trust or restricted interests; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(ii) no undivided trust or restricted 
                interest owned by any 1 person which represents more 
                than 5 percent of the total undivided ownership of the 
                parcel; or</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) 350 or more co-owners of undivided 
                trust or restricted interests.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(7) `Person' means a natural 
        person.''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Issuance of Patents.--Section 5 of the Act of February 
8, 1887 (25 U.S.C. 348), is amended by striking the second proviso and 
inserting the following: `Provided, That the rules of intestate 
succession under the Indian Land Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 2201 et 
seq.) (including a tribal probate code approved under that Act or 
regulations promulgated under that Act) shall apply to that land for 
which patents have been executed and delivered:''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (d) Transfers of Restricted Indian Land.--Section 4 of the 
Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 464), is amended in the first proviso 
by--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) striking ``, in accordance with'' and all that 
        follows through ``or in which the subject matter of the 
        corporation is located,'';</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) striking ``, except as provided by the Indian 
        Land Consolidation Act'' and all that follows through the 
        colon; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) inserting ``in accordance with the Indian Land 
        Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 2201 et seq.) (including a tribal 
        probate code approved under that Act or regulations promulgated 
        under that Act):''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (e) Estate Planning.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Conduct of activities.--Section 207(f)(1) of 
        the Indian Land Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 2206) is amended 
        by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following--
        </DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) In general.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) The activities conducted under this 
                subsection shall be conducted in accordance with any 
                applicable--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) tribal probate code; 
                        or</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) tribal land consolidation 
                        plan.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) The Secretary shall provide estate 
                planning assistance in accordance with this subsection, 
                to the extent amounts are appropriated for such 
                purpose.''.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Requirements.--Section 207(f) of the Indian 
        Land Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 2206(f)) is amended by 
        striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (A), redesignating 
        subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (D), and adding the 
        following--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) dramatically increase the use of 
                wills and other methods of devise among Indian 
                landowners;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) substantially reduce the quantity 
                and complexity of Indian estates that pass intestate 
                through the probate process, while protecting the 
                rights and interests of Indian landowners; and''; 
                and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) by striking ``(3) Contracts.--'' and inserting 
        the following--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) Indian civil legal assistance grants.--In 
        carrying out this section, the Secretary shall award grants to 
        nonprofit entities, as defined under section 501(c)(3) of the 
        Internal Revenue Code of 1986, which provide legal assistance 
        services for Indian tribes, individual owners of interests in 
        trust or restricted lands, or Indian organizations pursuant to 
        Federal poverty guidelines which submit an application to the 
        Secretary, in such form and manner as the Secretary may 
        prescribe, for the provision of civil legal assistance to such 
        Indian tribes, individual owners, and Indian organizations for 
        the development of tribal probate codes, for estate planning 
        services or for other purposes consistent with the services 
        they provide to Indians and Indian tribes.''; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) by adding at the end of section 207 (25 U.S.C. 
        2206) the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(k) Notification to Landowners.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after 
        the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall provide 
        to each Indian landowner a report that lists, with respect to 
        each tract of trust or restricted land in which the Indian 
        landowner has an interest--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) the location of the tract of land 
                involved;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) the identity of each other co-owner 
                of interests in the parcel of land; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) the percentage of ownership of each 
                owner of an interest in the tract.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) Statutory construction.--Nothing in this 
        subsection shall preclude any individual Indian from obtaining 
        from the Secretary, upon the request of that individual, any 
        information specified in paragraph (1) before the expiration of 
        the 2-year period specified in paragraph (1).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) Requirements for notification.--Each 
        notification made under paragraph (1) shall include information 
        concerning estate planning and land consolidation options under 
        the provisions of this Act and other applicable Federal law, 
        including information concerning--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) the preparation and execution of 
                wills;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) negotiated sales;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) gift deeds;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(D) exchanges; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(E) life estates without regard to 
                waste.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(4) Prohibition.--No individual Indian may be 
        denied access to information relating to land in which that 
        individual has an interest described in this section on the 
        basis of section 552a of title 5, United States Code (commonly 
        referred to as the `Privacy Act').</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(l) Private and Family Trusts Pilot Project.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) Development pilot project.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) The Secretary shall consult with 
                tribes, individual landowner organizations, Indian 
                advocacy organizations, and other interested parties 
                to--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) develop a pilot project for 
                        the creation and management of private and 
                        family trusts for interests in trust or 
                        restricted lands; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) develop proposed rules, 
                        regulations, and guidelines to implement the 
                        pilot project.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) The pilot project shall commence on 
                the date of enactment of the American Indian Probate 
                Reform Act of 2003 and shall continue for 3 years after 
                the date of enactment of this subsection.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) Characteristics of private and family 
        trusts.--For purposes of this subsection and any proposed 
        rules, regulations, or guidelines developed under this 
        subsection--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) the terms `private trust' and 
                `family trust' shall both mean trusts created pursuant 
                to this subsection for the management and 
                administration of interests in trust or restricted 
                land, held by 1 or more persons, which comprise the 
                corpus of a trust, by a private trustee subject to the 
                approval of the Secretary;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) private and family trusts shall be 
                created and managed in furtherance of the purposes of 
                the Indian Land Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 2201 et 
                seq.); and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) private and family trusts shall not 
                be construed to impair, impede, replace, abrogate, or 
                modify in any respect the trust duties or 
                responsibilities of the Secretary, nor shall anything 
                in this subsection or in any rules, regulations, or 
                guidelines developed under this subsection enable any 
                private or family trustee of interests in trust or 
restricted lands to exercise any powers over such interests greater 
than that held by the Secretary with respect to such 
interests.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) Report to congress.--Prior to the expiration 
        of the pilot project provided for under this subsection, the 
        Secretary shall submit a report to Congress stating--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) a description of the Secretary's 
                consultation with Indian tribes, individual landowner 
                associations, Indian advocacy organizations, and other 
                parties consulted with regarding the development of 
                rules, regulations, and/or guidelines for the creation 
                and management of private and family trusts over 
                interests in trust and restricted lands;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) the feasibility of accurately 
                tracking such private and family trusts;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) the impact that private and family 
                trusts would have with respect to the accomplishment of 
                the goals of the Indian Land Consolidation Act (25 
                U.S.C. 2201 et seq.); and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(D) a final recommendation regarding 
                whether to adopt the creation of a permanent private 
                and family trust program as a management and 
                consolidation measure for interests in trust or 
                restricted lands.''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 7. UNCLAIMED AND ABANDONED PROPERTY.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    The Indian Land Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 2201 et seq.) 
(as amended by section 5) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:</DELETED>

<DELETED>``SEC. 222. UNCLAIMED AND ABANDONED PROPERTY.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    ``(a) Interests Presumed Abandoned.--An undivided trust or 
restricted interest in a parcel of land owned by a person shall be 
presumed abandoned and subject to the provisions of this section if the 
Secretary makes a determination that--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) a period of 6 consecutive years next 
        preceding such determination has passed during which the person 
        owning such interest has not made any indication or expression 
        of interest in the trust or restricted interest as set forth in 
        subsection (b);</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) the person owning the trust or restricted 
        interest was, at all times during the 6-year period described 
        in paragraph (1), over the age of 18; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) as of the expiration of the 6-year period 
        described in paragraph (1), such parcel was a parcel of highly 
        fractionated Indian land.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(b) Indicators of Owner Interest.--For purposes of 
subsection (a), an indication or expression of an owner's interest in 
the property shall mean the owner or any person acting on behalf of the 
owner--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) making a deposit to, withdrawal from, or 
        inquiry into an individual Indian money account associated with 
        such interest;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) negotiating a Treasury check derived from 
        such interest or account;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) providing the Secretary with a valid 
        address; or</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(4) communicating with the Secretary regarding 
        such interest or account.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(c) Related Property.--At the time that property is 
presumed to be abandoned under this section, any other property right 
accrued or accruing to the owner as a result of the interest, including 
funds in an associated individual Indian money account, that has not 
previously been presumed abandoned under this section, also shall be 
presumed abandoned.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(d) Annual List of Property; Notice to Owners.--No later 
than the first day of November of each year, the Secretary shall 
prepare and distribute a list of names of persons owning property 
presumed abandoned under this section during the preceding fiscal year 
and provide notice to such persons in accordance with the following 
requirements:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) Contents of annual list.--The list shall set 
        forth--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) the names of all persons owning 
                interests in land and property presumed to be abandoned 
                under this section;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) with respect to each person named on 
                the list, the reservation, if any, and the county and 
                State in which the person's interest in land is 
                located;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) the reservation, if any, the city or 
                town, county and State of the person's last known 
                address; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(D) the name, address, and telephone 
                number of the official or officials within the 
                Department of the Interior to contact for purposes of 
                identifying persons or lands included on the 
                list.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) Distribution of list.--The list shall be 
        distributed to all regional offices and agencies of the Bureau 
        of Indian Affairs and to all reservations where land described 
        on this list is located and shall cause the list to be 
        published in the Federal Register within 15 days after the list 
        is prepared.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) Notice by mail.--In addition to publishing 
        and distributing the list described in paragraph (1), the 
        Secretary shall attempt to provide the persons owning such 
        trust or restricted interests with actual written notice that 
        the interest and any associated funds or property is presumed 
        abandoned under the provisions of this section. Such notice 
        shall be sent by first class mail to the owner at the owner's 
        last known address and shall include the following:</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) A legal description of the parcel of 
                which the interest is a part.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) A description of the owner's 
                interest.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) A statement that the owner has not 
                indicated or expressed an interest in the trust or 
                restricted interest for a period of 6 consecutive years 
                and that such interest, and any funds in an associated 
                individual Indian money account, is presumed 
                abandoned.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(D) A statement that the interest will 
                be appraised and sold for its appraised value unless 
                the owner responds to the notice within 60 days after 
                the notice is mailed or published.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(E) A statement that in the event the 
                owner fails to respond and the notice and the property 
                is sold, the proceeds of such sale and any funds in any 
                associated individual Indian money account will be 
deposited in an unclaimed property account.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(4) Search for whereabouts of owner.--If the 
        notice described in paragraph (3) is returned undelivered, the 
        Secretary shall attempt to locate the owner by--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) searching publicly available records 
                and Federal records, including telephone and address 
                directories and using electronic search 
                methods;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) inquiring with--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) the owner's relatives, if 
                        any are known;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) any Indian tribe of which 
                        the owner is a member; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(iii) the Indian tribe, if any, 
                        with jurisdiction over the interest; 
                        and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) if the value of the interest and any 
                funds in an associated individual Indian money account 
                exceeds $1,000, engaging an independent search firm to 
                perform a missing person search.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(5) Notice by publication.--In the event that 
        the Secretary is unable to locate the owner pursuant to 
        paragraph (4), the Secretary shall publish a notice not later 
        than November 30 following the fiscal year in which the 
        property was presumed to be abandoned under this section. The 
        notice shall include the same information required for the 
        notice described in paragraph (3) and shall be--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) published in a newspaper of general 
                circulation on or near the apparent owner's home 
                reservation and near the last known address of the 
                owner; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) in a form that is likely to attract 
                the attention of the apparent owner of the 
                property.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(e) Conversion of Abandoned Interests.--If, after 2 
years from the date the notice is published under subsection (d)(3), 
any such real property or interest therein remains unclaimed, the 
Secretary shall appraise such property in a manner consistent with 
section 215 of the Indian Land Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 2214) and 
shall purchase the property at its appraised value, or sell the 
property to an Indian tribe with jurisdiction over such property or a 
person who owns an undivided trust or restricted interest in such 
property, by competitive bid for not less than the appraised value. The 
Secretary shall then transfer any monetary interest that the Secretary 
holds for the previous apparent owner to the unclaimed property account 
described in subsection (f).</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(f) Unclaimed Property Account.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) Except as otherwise provided by this 
        section, the Secretary shall promptly deposit in a special 
        unclaimed property account all funds received under this 
        section. The Secretary shall pay all claims under subsection 
        (g) from this account. The Secretary shall record the name and 
        last known address of each person appearing to be entitled to 
        the property.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) The Secretary is authorized to use interest 
        earned on the special unclaimed property account to pay--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) the administrative costs of 
                conversion of real property under subsection (g); 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) costs of mailing and publication in 
                connection with abandoned property.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) The Secretary shall retain a sufficient 
        balance in the account at all times from which to pay claims 
        duly allowed. All other funds shall be available to the 
        Secretary to use for the purposes of land consolidation 
        pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 2212.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(g) Claims.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) Filing of claim.--An individual, or the 
        heirs of an individual, may file a claim to recover property or 
        the proceeds of the conversion of the property on a form 
        prescribed by the Secretary.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) Allowance or denial of claim.--Not more than 
        180 days after a claim is filed, the Secretary shall allow or 
        deny the claim and give written notice of the decision to the 
        claimant. If the claim is denied, the Secretary shall inform 
        the claimant of the reasons for the denial and specify what 
        additional evidence is required before the claim will be 
        allowed. The claimant may then file a new claim with the 
        Secretary or maintain an action under this 
        subsection.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) Payment of allowed claim.--Not more than 60 
        days after a claim is allowed, the property or the net proceeds 
        of the conversion of the property shall be delivered or paid by 
        the Secretary to the claimant, together with any interest, or 
        other increment to which the claimant is entitled under this 
        section.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(4) Judicial review.--An individual aggrieved by 
        a decision of the Secretary under this subsection or whose 
        claim has not been acted upon within 180 days may, after 
        exhausting administrative remedies, seek--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) judicial review or other appropriate 
                relief against the Secretary in a United States 
                district court, which may include an order quieting 
                beneficial title in the name of petitioner whose 
                property was sold by the Secretary in violation of this 
                section; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) recover reasonable attorneys fees if 
                he is the prevailing party.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(h) Voluntary Abandonment.--Any person who is an owner 
of an interest subject to this section may, with the Secretary's 
approval, voluntarily abandon that interest to the benefit of the tribe 
with jurisdiction over the parcel of land or a co-owner of a trust or 
restricted interest in the same parcel of land in accordance with 
regulations adopted pursuant to subsection (j).</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(i) Transfer of Abandoned Interests in Land.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) Any interest in land acquired under 
        subsection (e) or (h) over which an Indian tribe has 
        jurisdiction shall be held in trust by the Secretary for the 
        benefit of that tribe, provided that the tribe may decline any 
        such property in its discretion, and provided that if the tribe 
        declines or does not currently own any interest within that 
        parcel a co-owner with a majority interest shall have the first 
right of purchase of the property at the appraised price.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) Any interest in real property acquired under 
        subsection (e) or (h) that is not subject to the jurisdiction 
        of an Indian tribe shall be held in trust by the Secretary for 
        all of the other co-owners of undivided trust or restricted 
        interests in the parcel in proportion to their respective 
        interests in the property, provided that any owner may decline 
        to accept such interest, in which case that interest shall be 
        allocated proportionately among such other co-owners who do not 
        decline.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) The Indian tribe or other subsequent owner 
        described in paragraph (2) takes such interest free of all 
        claims by the owner who abandoned the interest and of all 
        persons claiming through or under such owner.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(j) Regulations.--The Secretary is authorized to adopt 
such regulations as may be necessary to implement the provisions of 
this section.''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 8. MISSING HEIRS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Section 207 of the Indian Land Consolidation Act (25 
U.S.C. 2206) is amended by adding the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(m) Notice.--Prior to holding a hearing to determine the 
heirs to trust or restricted property, or making a decision determining 
such heirs, the Secretary shall seek to provide actual written notice 
of the proceedings to all heirs, including notice of the provisions of 
this subsection and of section 207(n) of this Act. Such efforts shall 
include--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) a search of publicly available records and 
        Federal records, including telephone and address directories 
        and including electronic search methods;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) an inquiry with family members and co-heirs 
        of the property;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) an inquiry with the tribal government of 
        which the owner is a member, and the tribal government with 
        jurisdiction over the property, if any; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(4) if the property is of a value greater than 
        $1,000, an independent firm shall be contracted to conduct a 
        missing persons search.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(n) Missing Heirs.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) For purposes of this subsection and 
        subsection (m), an heir will be presumed missing if his 
        whereabouts remain unknown 60 days after completion of notice 
        efforts under subsection (m) and they have had no contact with 
        other heirs or the Department for 6 years prior to a hearing or 
        decision to ascertain heirs.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) Before the date for declaring an heir 
        missing, any person may request an extension of time to locate 
        an heir. An extension may be granted for good cause.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) An heir shall be declared missing only after 
        a review of the efforts made and a finding that this section 
        has been complied with.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(4) A missing heir shall be presumed to have 
        predeceased the decedent for purposes of descent and 
        devise.''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 9. ANNUAL NOTICE AND FILING REQUIREMENT FOR OWNERS OF 
              INTERESTS IN TRUST OR RESTRICTED LANDS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    The Indian Land Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 2201 et seq.) 
(as amended by section 7) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:</DELETED>

<DELETED>``SEC. 222. ANNUAL NOTICE AND FILING; CURRENT WHEREABOUTS OF 
              INTEREST OWNERS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    ``(a) In General.--On an annual basis, the Secretary shall 
send a notice, response form, and a change of name and address form to 
each owner of an interest in trust or restricted land. The notice shall 
inform owners of their interest and obligation to provide the Secretary 
with a notice of any change in their name or address immediately upon 
such change. The response form should include a section in which the 
owner may confirm or update his name and address. The change of name 
and address form may be used by the owner at any time when his name or 
address changes subsequent to his annual filing of the response 
form.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(b) Owner Response.--The owner of an interest in trust 
or restricted land shall file the response form upon receipt to confirm 
or update his name and address on an annual basis.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(c) No Response; Initiation of Search.--In the event 
that an owner does not file the response form or provide the Secretary 
with a confirmation or update of his name and address through other 
means, the Secretary shall initiate a search in order to ascertain the 
whereabouts and status of the owner.''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 10. EFFECTIVE DATE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    The amendments made by this Act shall not apply to the 
estate of an individual who dies before the later of--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) the date that is 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this Act; or</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) the date specified in section 207(g)(5) of the 
        Indian Land Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 2206(g)(5)).</DELETED>

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 
        disposition 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 
        allotments 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 
                succession 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
                            (ii) makes probate planning more difficult;
            (4) a uniform Federal probate code would likely--
                    (A) reduce the number of fractionated interests in 
                trust or restricted land;
                    (B) facilitate efforts to provide probate planning 
                assistance and advice and create incentives for owners 
                of trust and restricted land to engage in estate 
                planning;
                    (C) facilitate intertribal efforts to produce 
                tribal probate codes in accordance with section 206 of 
                the Indian Land Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 2205); and
                    (D) provide essential elements of general probate 
                law that are not applicable on the date of enactment of 
                this Act to interests in trust or restricted land; and
            (5) the provisions of a uniform Federal probate code and 
        other forth in this Act should operate to further the policy of 
        the United States as stated in the Indian Land Consolidated Act 
        Amendments of 2000, Public Law 106-462, 102, November 7, 2000, 
        114 Stat. 1992.

SEC. 3. INDIAN PROBATE REFORM.

    (a) Nontestamentary Disposition.--Section 207 of the Indian Land 
Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 2206) is amended by striking subsection 
(a) and inserting the following:
    ``(a) Nontestamentary Disposition.--
            ``(1) Rules of descent.--Subject to any applicable Federal 
        law relating to the devise or descent of trust or restricted 
        property, any trust or restricted interest in land or interest 
        in trust personalty that is not disposed of by a valid will--
                    ``(A) shall descend according to an applicable 
                tribal probate code approved in accordance with section 
                206; or
                    ``(B) in the case of a trust or restricted interest 
                in land or interest in trust personalty to which a 
                tribal probate code does not apply, shall descend in 
                accordance with--
                            ``(i) paragraphs (2) through (5); and
                            ``(ii) other applicable Federal law.
            ``(2) Rules governing descent of estate.--
                    ``(A) Surviving spouse.--If there is a surviving 
                spouse of the decedent, such spouse shall receive trust 
                and restricted land and trust personalty in the estate 
                as follows:
                            ``(i) If the decedent is survived by 1 or 
                        more eligible heirs described in subparagraph 
                        (B) (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv), the surviving 
                        spouse shall receive \1/3\ of the trust 
                        personalty of the decedent and a life estate 
                        without regard to waste in the interests in 
                        trust or restricted lands of the decedent.
                            ``(ii) If there are no eligible heirs 
                        described in subparagraph (B) (i), (ii), (iii), 
                        or (iv), the surviving spouse shall receive all 
                        of the trust personalty of the decedent and a 
                        life estate without regard to waste in the 
                        trust or restricted lands of the decedent.
                            ``(iii) The remainder shall pass as set 
                        forth in subparagraph (B).
                            ``(iv) Trust personalty passing to a 
                        surviving spouse under the provisions of this 
                        subparagraph shall be maintained by the 
                        Secretary in an account as trust personalty, 
                        but only if such spouse is Indian.
                    ``(B) Individual and tribal heirs.--Where there is 
                no surviving spouse of the decedent, or there is a 
                remainder interest pursuant to subparagraph (A), the 
                trust or restricted estate or such remainder shall, 
                subject to subparagraphs (A) and (D), pass as follows:
                            ``(i) To those of the decedent's children 
                        who are eligible heirs (or if 1 or more of such 
                        children do not survive the decedent, the 
                        children of any such deceased child who are 
                        eligible heirs, by right of representation, but 
                        only if such children of the deceased child 
                        survive the decedent) in equal shares.
                            ``(ii) If the property does not pass under 
                        clause (i), to those of the decedent's 
                        surviving great-grandchildren who are eligible 
                        heirs, in equal shares.
                            ``(iii) If the property does not pass under 
                        clause (i) or (ii), to the decedent's surviving 
                        parent who is an eligible heir, and if both 
                        parents survive the decedent and are both 
                        eligible heirs, to both parents in equal 
                        shares.
                            ``(iv) If the property does not pass under 
                        clause (i), (ii), or (iii), to those of the 
                        decedent's surviving siblings who are eligible 
                        heirs, in equal shares.
                            ``(v) If the property does not pass under 
                        clause (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv), to the Indian 
                        tribe with jurisdiction over the interests in 
                        trust or restricted lands;
                except that notwithstanding clause (v), an Indian co-
                owner (including the Indian tribe referred to in clause 
                (v)) of a parcel of trust or restricted land may 
                acquire an interest that would otherwise descend under 
                that clause by paying into the estate of the decedent, 
                before the close of the probate of the estate, the fair 
                market value of the interest in the land; if more than 
                1 Indian co-owner offers to pay for such interest, the 
                highest bidder shall acquire the interest.
                    ``(C) No indian tribe.--
                            ``(i) In general.--If there is no Indian 
                        tribe with jurisdiction over the interests in 
                        trust or restricted lands that would otherwise 
                        descend under subparagraph (B)(v), then such 
                        interests shall be divided equally among co-
                        owners of trust or restricted interests in the 
                        parcel; if there are no such co-owners, then to 
                        the United States, provided that any such 
                        interests in land passing to the United States 
                        under this subparagraph shall be sold by the 
                        Secretary and the proceeds from such sale 
                        deposited into the land acquisition fund 
                        established under section 216 (25 U.S.C. 2215) 
                        and used for the purposes described in 
                        subsection (b) of that section.
                            ``(ii) Contiguous parcel.--If the interests 
                        passing to the United States under this 
                        subparagraph are in a parcel of land that is 
                        contiguous to another parcel of trust or 
                        restricted land, the Secretary shall give the 
                        owner or owners of the trust or restricted 
                        interest in the contiguous parcel the first 
                        opportunity to purchase the interest at not 
                        less than fair market value determined in 
                        accordance with this Act. If more than 1 such 
                        owner in the contiguous parcel request to 
                        purchase the parcel, the Secretary shall sell 
                        the parcel by public auction or sealed bid (as 
                        determined by the Secretary) at not less than 
                        fair market value to the owner of a trust or 
                        restricted interest in the contiguous parcel 
                        submitting the highest bid.
                    ``(D) Intestate descent of small fractional 
                interests in land.--
                            ``(i) General rule.--Notwithstanding 
                        subparagraphs (A) and (B), and subject to any 
                        applicable Federal law, any trust or restricted 
                        interest in land in the decedent's estate that 
                        is not disposed of by a valid will and 
                        represents less than 5 percent of the entire 
                        undivided ownership of the parcel of land of 
                        which such interest is a part, as evidenced by 
                        the decedent's estate inventory at the time of 
                        the heirship determination, shall descend in 
                        accordance with clauses (ii) through (iv).
                            ``(ii) Surviving spouse.--If there is a 
                        surviving spouse, and such spouse was residing 
                        on a parcel of land described in clause (i) at 
                        the time of the decedent's death, the spouse 
                        shall receive a life estate without regard to 
                        waste in the decedent's trust or restricted 
                        interest in only such parcel, and the remainder 
                        interest in that parcel shall pass in 
                        accordance with clause (iii).
                            ``(iii) Single heir rule.--Where there is 
                        no life estate created under clause (ii) or 
                        there is a remainder interest under that 
                        clause, the trust or restricted interest or 
                        remainder interest that is subject to this 
                        subparagraph shall descend, in trust or 
                        restricted status, to--
                                    ``(I) the decedent's surviving 
                                child, but only if such child is an 
                                eligible heir; and if 2 or more 
                                surviving children are eligible heirs, 
                                then to the oldest of such children;
                                    ``(II) if the interest does not 
                                pass under subclause (I), the 
                                decedent's surviving grandchild, but 
                                only if such grandchild is an eligible 
                                heir; and if 2 or more surviving 
                                grandchildren are eligible heirs, then 
                                to the oldest of such grandchildren;
                                    ``(III) if the interest does not 
                                pass under subclause (I) or (II), the 
                                decedent's surviving great grandchild, 
                                but only if such great grandchild is an 
                                eligible heir; and if 2 or more 
                                surviving great grandchildren are 
                                eligible heirs, then to the oldest of 
                                such great grandchildren;
                                    ``(IV) if the interest does not 
                                pass under subclause (I), (II), or 
                                (III), the Indian tribe with 
                                jurisdiction over the interest; or
                                    ``(V) if the interest does not pass 
                                under subclause (I), (II), or (III), 
                                and there is no such Indian tribe to 
                                inherit the property under subclause 
                                (IV), the interest shall be divided 
                                equally among co-owners of trust or 
                                restricted interests in the parcel; and 
                                if there are no such co-owners, then to 
                                the United States, to be sold, and the 
                                proceeds from sale used, in the same 
                                manner provided in subparagraph (C).
                The determination of which person is the oldest 
                eligible heir for inheritance purposes under this 
                clause shall be made by the Secretary in the decedent's 
                probate proceeding and shall be consistent with the 
                provisions of this Act.
                            ``(iv) Exceptions.--Notwithstanding clause 
                        (iii)--
                                    ``(I)(aa) the heir of an interest 
                                under clause (iii), unless the heir is 
                                a minor or incompetent person, may 
                                agree in writing entered into the 
                                record of the decedent's probate 
                                proceeding to renounce such interest, 
                                in trust or restricted status, in favor 
                                of--
                                            ``(AA) any other eligible 
                                        heir or Indian person related 
                                        to the heir by blood, but in 
                                        any case never in favor of more 
                                        than 1 such heir or person;
                                            ``(BB) any co-owner of 
                                        another trust or restricted 
                                        interest in such parcel of 
                                        land; or
                                            ``(CC) the Indian tribe 
                                        with jurisdiction over the 
                                        interest, if any; and
                                    ``(bb) the Secretary shall give 
                                effect to such agreement in the 
                                distribution of the interest in the 
                                probate proceeding; and
                                    ``(II) the governing body of the 
                                Indian tribe with jurisdiction over an 
                                interest in trust or restricted land 
                                that is subject to the provisions of 
this subparagraph may adopt a rule of intestate descent applicable to 
such interest that differs from the order of decedent set forth in 
clause (iii). The Secretary shall apply such rule to the interest in 
distributing the decedent's estate, but only if--
                                            ``(aa) a copy of the tribal 
                                        rule is delivered to the 
                                        official designated by the 
                                        Secretary to receive copies of 
                                        tribal rules for the purposes 
                                        of this clause;
                                            ``(bb) the tribal rule 
                                        provides for the intestate 
                                        inheritance of such interest by 
                                        no more than 1 heir, so that 
                                        the interest does not further 
                                        fractionate;
                                            ``(cc) the tribal rule does 
                                        not apply to any interest 
                                        disposed of by a valid will;
                                            ``(dd) the decedent died on 
                                        or after the date described in 
                                        subsection (b) of section 8 of 
                                        the American Indian Probate Act 
                                        of 2004, or on or after the 
                                        date on which a copy of the 
                                        tribal rule was delivered to 
                                        the Secretary pursuant to item 
                                        (aa), whichever is later; and
                                            ``(ee) the Secretary does 
                                        not make a determination within 
                                        90 days after a copy of the 
                                        tribal rule is delivered 
                                        pursuant to item (aa) that the 
                                        rule would be unreasonably 
                                        difficult to administer or does 
                                        not conform with the 
                                        requirements in item (bb) or 
                                        (cc).
                            ``(v) Rule of construction.--This 
                        subparagraph shall not be construed to limit a 
                        person's right to devise any trust or 
                        restricted interest by way of a valid will in 
                        accordance with subsection (b).
            ``(3) Right of representation.--If, under this subsection, 
        all or any part of the estate of a decedent is to pass to 
        children of a deceased child by right of representation, that 
        part is to be divided into as many equal shares as there are 
        living children of the decedent and pre-deceased children who 
        left issue who survive the decedent. Each living child of the 
        decedent, if any, shall receive 1 share, and the share of each 
        pre-deceased child shall be divided equally among the pre-
        deceased child's children.
            ``(4) Special rule relating to survival.--In the case of 
        intestate succession under this subsection, if an individual 
        fails to survive the decedent by at least 120 hours, as 
        established by clear and convincing evidence--
                    ``(A) the individual shall be deemed to have 
                predeceased the decedent for the purpose of intestate 
                succession; and
                    ``(B) the heirs of the decedent shall be determined 
                in accordance with this section.
            ``(5) Status of inherited interests.--Except as provided in 
        paragraphs (2) (A) and (D) regarding the life estate of a 
        surviving spouse, a trust or restricted interest in land or 
        trust personalty that descends under the provisions of this 
        subsection shall vest in the heir in the same trust or 
        restricted status as such interest was held immediately prior 
        to the decedent's death.''.
    (b) Testamentary Disposition.--Section 207 of the Indian Land 
Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 2206) is amended by striking subsection 
(b) and inserting the following:
    ``(b) Testamentary Disposition.--
            ``(1) General devise of an interest in trust or restricted 
        land.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Subject to any applicable 
                Federal law relating to the devise or descent of trust 
                or restricted land, or a tribal probate code approved 
                by the Secretary in accordance with section 206, the 
                owner of a trust or restricted interest in land may 
                devise such interest to--
                            ``(i) any lineal descendant of the 
                        testator;
                            ``(ii) any person who owns a preexisting 
                        undivided trust or restricted interest in the 
                        same parcel of land;
                            ``(iii) the Indian tribe with jurisdiction 
                        over the interest in land; or
                            ``(iv) any Indian;
                in trust or restricted status.
                    ``(B) Rules of interpretation.--Any devise of a 
                trust or restricted interest in land pursuant to 
                subparagraph (A) to an Indian or the Indian tribe with 
                jurisdiction over the interest shall be deemed to be a 
                devise of the interest in trust or restricted status. 
                Any devise of a trust or restricted interest in land to 
                a person who is only eligible to be a devisee under 
                clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (A) shall be 
                presumed to be a devise of the interest in trust or 
                restricted status unless language in such devise 
                clearly evidences an intent on the part of the testator 
                that the interest is to pass as a life estate or fee 
                interest in accordance with paragraph (2)(A).
            ``(2) Devise of trust or restricted land as a life estate 
        or in fee.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Except as provided under any 
                applicable Federal law, any trust or restricted 
                interest in land that is not devised in accordance with 
                paragraph (1)(A) may be devised only--
                            ``(i) as a life estate to any person, with 
                        the remainder being devised only in accordance 
                        with subparagraph (B) or paragraph (1); or
                            ``(ii) except as provided in subparagraph 
                        (B), as a fee interest without Federal 
                        restrictions against alienation to any person 
                        who is not eligible to be a devisee under 
                        clause (iv) of paragraph (1)(A).
                    ``(B) Indian reorganization act lands.--Any 
                interest in trust or restricted land that is subject to 
section 4 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 464), may be devised 
only in accordance with--
                            ``(i) that section;
                            ``(ii) subparagraph (A)(i); or
                            ``(iii) paragraph (1)(A);
                provided that nothing in this section or in section 4 
                of the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 464), shall be 
                construed to authorize the devise of any interest in 
                trust or restricted land that is subject to section 4 
                of that Act to any person as a fee interest under 
                subparagraph (A)(ii).
            ``(3) General devise of an interest in trust personalty.--
                    ``(A) Trust personality defined.--The term `trust 
                personalty' as used in this section includes all funds 
                and securities of any kind which are held in trust in 
                an individual Indian money account or otherwise 
                supervised by the Secretary.
                    ``(B) In general.--Subject to any applicable 
                Federal law relating to the devise or descent of such 
                trust personalty, or a tribal probate code approved by 
                the Secretary in accordance with section 206, the owner 
                of an interest in trust personalty may devise such an 
                interest to any person or entity.
                    ``(C) Maintenance as trust personalty.--In the case 
                of a devise of an interest in trust personalty to a 
                person or Indian tribe eligible to be a devisee under 
                paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary shall maintain and 
                continue to manage such interests as trust personalty.
                    ``(D) Direct disbursement and distribution.--In the 
                case of a devise of an interest in trust personalty to 
                a person or Indian tribe not eligible to be a devisee 
                under paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary shall directly 
                disburse and distribute such personalty to the devisee.
            ``(4) Invalid devises and wills.--
                    ``(A) Land.--Any trust or restricted interest in 
                land that is not devised in accordance with paragraph 
                (1) or (2) or that is not disposed of by a valid will 
                shall descend in accordance with the applicable law of 
                intestate succession as provided for in subsection (a).
                    ``(B) Personalty.--Any trust personalty that is not 
                disposed of by a valid will shall descend in accordance 
                with the applicable law of intestate succession as 
                provided for in subsection (a).''.
    (c) Joint Tenancy; Right of Survivorship.--Section 207(c) of the 
Indian Land Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 2206(c)) is amended by 
striking all that follows the heading, ``Joint Tenancy; Right of 
Survivorship'', and inserting the following:
            ``(1) Presumption of joint tenancy.--If a testator devises 
        trust or restricted interests in the same parcel of land to 
        more than 1 person, in the absence of clear and express 
        language in the devise stating that the interest is to pass to 
        the devisees as tenants in common, the devise shall be presumed 
        to create a joint tenancy with the right of survivorship in the 
        interests involved.
            ``(2) Exception.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any 
        devise of an interest in trust or restricted land where the 
        will in which such devise is made was executed prior to the 
        date that is 1 year after the date on which the Secretary 
        publishes the certification required by section 8(a)(4) of the 
        American Indian Probate Reform Act of 2004.''.
    (d) Rule of Construction.--Section 207 of the Indian Land 
Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 2206) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(h) Applicable Federal Law.--
            ``(1) In general.--Any references in subsections (a) and 
        (b) to applicable Federal law include--
                    ``(A) Public Law 91-627 (84 Stat. 1874);
                    ``(B) Public Law 92-377 (86 Stat. 530);
                    ``(C) Public Law 92-443 (86 Stat. 744);
                    ``(D) Public Law 96-274 (94 Stat. 537); and
                    ``(E) Public Law 98-513 (98 Stat. 2411).
            ``(2) No effect on laws.--Nothing in this Act amends or 
        otherwise affects the application of any law described in 
        paragraph (1), or any other Federal law that pertains to--
                    ``(A) trust or restricted land located on 1 or more 
                specific Indian reservations that are expressly 
                identified in such law; or
                    ``(B) the allotted lands of 1 or more specific 
                Indian tribes that are expressly identified in such 
                law.
    ``(i) Rules of Interpretation.--In the absence of a contrary 
intent, and except as otherwise provided under this Act, applicable 
Federal law, or a tribal probate code approved by the Secretary 
pursuant to section 206, wills shall be construed as to trust and 
restricted land and trust personalty in accordance with the following 
rules:
            ``(1) Construction that will passes all property.--A will 
        shall be construed to apply to all trust and restricted land 
        and trust personalty which the testator owned at his death, 
        including any such land or personalty acquired after the 
        execution of his will.
            ``(2) Class gifts.--
                    ``(A) No differentiation between relationship by 
                blood and relationship by affinity.--Terms of 
                relationship that do not differentiate relationships by 
                blood from those by affinity, such as `uncles', 
                `aunts', `nieces', or `nephews', are construed to 
                exclude relatives by affinity. Terms of relationship 
                that do not differentiate relationships by the half 
                blood from those by the whole blood, such as 
                `brothers', `sisters', `nieces', or `nephews', are 
                construed to include both types of relationships.
                    ``(B) Meaning of `heirs' and `next of kin', etc.; 
                time of ascertaining class.--A devise of trust or 
                restricted interest in land or an interest in trust 
                personalty to the testator's or another designated 
                person's `heirs', `next of kin', `relatives', or 
                `family' shall mean those persons, including the 
                spouse, who would be entitled to take under the 
provisions of this Act for nontestamentary disposition. The class is to 
be ascertained as of the date of the testator's death.
                    ``(C) Time for ascertaining class.--In construing a 
                devise to a class other than a class described in 
                subparagraph (B), the class shall be ascertained as of 
                the time the devise is to take effect in enjoyment. The 
                surviving issue of any member of the class who is then 
                dead shall take by right of representation the share 
                which their deceased ancestor would have taken.
            ``(3) Meaning of `die without issue' and similar phrases.--
        In any devise under this chapter, the words `die without 
        issue', `die without leaving issue', `have no issue', or words 
        of a similar import shall be construed to mean that an 
        individual had no lineal descendants in his lifetime or at his 
        death, and not that there will be no lineal descendants at some 
        future time.
            ``(4) Persons born out of wedlock.--In construing 
        provisions of this chapter relating to lapsed and void devises, 
        and in construing a devise to a person or persons described by 
        relationship to the testator or to another, a person born out 
        of wedlock shall be considered the child of the natural mother 
        and also of the natural father.
            ``(5) Lapsed devises.--Subject to the provisions of 
        subsection (b), where the testator devises or bequeaths a trust 
        or restricted interest in land or trust personalty to the 
        testator's grandparents or to the lineal descendent of a 
        grandparent, and the devisee or legatee dies before the 
        testator leaving lineal descendents, such descendents shall 
        take the interest so devised or bequeathed per stirpes.
            ``(6) Void devises.--Except as provided in paragraph (5), 
        and if the disposition shall not be otherwise expressly 
        provided for by a tribal probate code approved under section 
        206 (25 U.S.C. 2205), if a devise other than a residuary devise 
        of a trust or restricted interest in land or trust personalty 
        fails for any reason, such interest shall become part of the 
        residue and pass, subject to the provisions of subsection (b), 
        to the other residuary devisees, if any, in proportion to their 
        respective shares or interests in the residue.
            ``(7) Family cemetery plot.--If a family cemetery plot 
        owned by the testator at his decease is not mentioned in the 
        decedent's will, the ownership of the plot shall descend to his 
        heirs as if he had died intestate.
    ``(j) Heirship by Killing.--
            ``(1) Heir by killing defined.--As used in this subsection, 
        `heir by killing' means any person who knowingly participates, 
        either as a principal or as an accessory before the fact, in 
        the willful and unlawful killing of the decedent.
            ``(2) No acquisition of property by killing.--Subject to 
        any applicable Federal law relating to the devise or descent of 
        trust or restricted land, no heir by killing shall in any way 
        acquire any trust or restricted interests in land or interests 
        in trust personalty as the result of the death of the decedent, 
        but such property shall pass in accordance with this 
        subsection.
            ``(3) Descent, distribution, and right of survivorship.--
        The heir by killing shall be deemed to have predeceased the 
        decedent as to decedent's trust or restricted interests in land 
        or trust personalty which would have passed from the decedent 
        or his estate to such heir--
                    ``(A) under intestate succession under this 
                section;
                    ``(B) under a tribal probate code, unless otherwise 
                provided for;
                    ``(C) as the surviving spouse;
                    ``(D) by devise;
                    ``(E) as a reversion or a vested remainder;
                    ``(F) as a survivorship interest; and
                    ``(G) as a contingent remainder or executory or 
                other future interest.
            ``(4) Joint tenants, joint owners, and joint obligees.--
                    ``(A) Any trust or restricted land or trust 
                personalty held by only the heir by killing and the 
                decedent as joint tenants, joint owners, or joint 
                obligees shall pass upon the death of the decedent to 
                his or her estate, as if the heir by killing had 
                predeceased the decedent.
                    ``(B) As to trust or restricted land or trust 
                personalty held jointly by 3 or more persons, including 
                both the heir by killing and the decedent, any income 
                which would have accrued to the heir by killing as a 
                result of the death of the decedent shall pass to the 
                estate of the decedent as if the heir by killing had 
                predeceased the decedent and any surviving joint 
                tenants.
                    ``(C) Notwithstanding any other provision of this 
                subsection, the decedent's trust or restricted interest 
                land or trust personalty that is held in a joint 
                tenancy with the right of survivorship shall be severed 
                from the joint tenancy as though the property held in 
                the joint tenancy were to be severed and distributed 
                equally among the joint tenants and the decedent's 
                interest shall pass to his estate; the remainder of the 
                interests shall remain in joint tenancy with right of 
                survivorship among the surviving joint tenants.
            ``(5) Life estate for the life of another.--If the estate 
        is held by a third person whose possession expires upon the 
        death of the decedent, it shall remain in such person's hands 
        for the period of time following the decedent's death equal to 
        the life expectancy of the decedent but for the killing.
            ``(6) Preadjudication rule.--
                    ``(A) In general.--If a person has been charged, 
                whether by indictment, information, or otherwise by the 
                United States, a tribe, or any State, with voluntary 
                manslaughter or homicide in connection with a 
                decedent's death, then any and all trust or restricted 
                land or trust personalty that would otherwise pass to 
                that person from the decedent's estate shall not pass 
or be distributed by the Secretary until the charges have been resolved 
in accordance with the provisions of this paragraph.
                    ``(B) Dismissal or withdrawal.--Upon dismissal or 
                withdrawal of the charge, or upon a verdict of not 
                guilty, such land and personalty shall pass as if no 
                charge had been filed or made.
                    ``(C) Conviction.--Upon conviction of such person, 
                and the exhaustion of all appeals, if any, the trust 
                and restricted land and trust personalty in the estate 
                shall pass in accordance with this subsection.
            ``(7) Broad construction; policy of subsection.--This 
        subsection shall not be considered penal in nature, but shall 
        be construed broadly in order to effect the policy that no 
        person shall be allowed to profit by his own wrong, wherever 
        committed.
    ``(k) General Rules Governing Probate.--
            ``(1) Scope.--Except as provided under applicable Federal 
        law or a tribal probate code approved under section 206, the 
        provisions of this subsection shall govern the probate of 
        estates containing trust and restricted interests in land or 
        trust personalty.
            ``(2) Pretermitted spouses and children.--
                    ``(A) Spouses.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Except as provided in 
                        clause (ii), if the surviving spouse of a 
                        testator married the testator after the 
                        testator executed the will of the testator, the 
                        surviving spouse shall receive the intestate 
                        share in the decedent's trust or restricted 
                        land and trust personalty that the spouse would 
                        have received if the testator had died 
                        intestate.
                            ``(ii) Exception.--Clause (i) shall not 
                        apply to a trust or restricted interest land 
                        where--
                                    ``(I) the will of a testator is 
                                executed before the date of enactment 
                                of this subparagraph;
                                    ``(II)(aa) the spouse of a testator 
                                is a non-Indian; and
                                    ``(bb) the testator devised the 
                                interests in trust or restricted land 
                                of the testator to 1 or more Indians;
                                    ``(III) it appears, based on an 
                                examination of the will or other 
                                evidence, that the will was made in 
                                contemplation of the marriage of the 
                                testator to the surviving spouse;
                                    ``(IV) the will expresses the 
                                intention that the will is to be 
                                effective notwithstanding any 
                                subsequent marriage; or
                                    ``(V)(aa) the testator provided for 
                                the spouse by a transfer of funds or 
                                property outside the will; and
                                    ``(bb) an intent that the transfer 
                                be in lieu of a testamentary provision 
                                is demonstrated by statements of the 
                                testator or through a reasonable 
                                inference based on the amount of the 
                                transfer or other evidence.
                            ``(iii) Spouses married at the time of the 
                        will.--Should the surviving spouse of the 
                        testator be omitted from the will of the 
                        testator, the surviving spouse shall be 
                        treated, for purposes of trust or restricted 
                        land or trust personalty in the testator's 
                        estate, in accordance with the provisions of 
                        section 207(a)(2)(A), as though there was no 
                        will but only if--
                                    ``(I) the testator and surviving 
                                spouse were continuously married 
                                without legal separation for the 5-year 
                                period preceding the decedent's death;
                                    ``(II) the testator and surviving 
                                spouse have a surviving child who is 
                                the child of the testator;
                                    ``(III) the surviving spouse has 
                                made substantial payments toward the 
                                purchase of, or improvements to, the 
                                trust or restricted land in such 
                                estate; or
                                    ``(IV) the surviving spouse is 
                                under a binding obligation to continue 
                                making loan payments for the trust or 
                                restricted land for a substantial 
                                period of time;
                        except that, if there is evidence that the 
                        testator adequately provided for the surviving 
                        spouse and any minor children by a transfer of 
                        funds or property outside of the will, this 
                        clause shall not apply.
                    ``(B) Children.--
                            ``(i) In general.--If a testator executed 
                        the will of the testator before the birth or 
                        adoption of 1 or more children of the testator, 
                        and the omission of the children from the will 
                        is a product of inadvertence rather than an 
                        intentional omission, the children shall share 
                        in the trust or restricted interests in land 
                        and trust personalty as if the decedent had 
                        died intestate.
                            ``(ii) Adopted heirs.--Any person 
                        recognized as an heir by virtue of adoption 
                        under the Act of July 8, 1940 (25 U.S.C. 372a), 
                        shall be treated as the child of a decedent 
                        under this subsection.
                            ``(iii) Adopted-out children.--
                                    ``(I) In general.--For purposes of 
                                this Act, an adopted person shall not 
                                be considered the child or issue of his 
                                natural parents, except in distributing 
                                the estate of a natural kin, other than 
                                the natural parent, who has maintained 
                                a family relationship with the adopted 
                                person. If a natural parent shall have 
                                married the adopting parent, the 
                                adopted person for purposes of 
                                inheritance by, from and through him 
                                shall also be considered the issue of 
                                such natural parent.
                                    ``(II) Eligible heir pursuant to 
                                other Federal law or tribal law.--
                                Notwithstanding the provisions of 
                                subparagraph (B)(iii)(I), other Federal 
                                laws and laws of the Indian tribe with 
                                jurisdiction over the trust or 
                                restricted interest in land may 
                                otherwise define the inheritance rights 
                                of adopted-out children.
            ``(3) Divorce.--
                    ``(A) Surviving spouse.--
                            ``(i) In general.--An individual who is 
                        divorced from a decedent, or whose marriage to 
                        the decedent has been annulled, shall not be 
                        considered to be a surviving spouse unless, by 
                        virtue of a subsequent marriage, the individual 
                        is married to the decedent at the time of death 
                        of the decedent.
                            ``(ii) Separation.--A decree of separation 
                        that does not dissolve a marriage, and 
                        terminate the status of husband and wife, shall 
not be considered a divorce for the purpose of this subsection.
                            ``(iii) No effect on adjudications.--
                        Nothing in clause (i) shall prevent the 
                        Secretary from giving effect to a property 
                        right settlement relating to a trust or 
                        restricted interest in land or an interest in 
                        trust personalty if 1 of the parties to the 
                        settlement dies before the issuance of a final 
                        decree dissolving the marriage of the parties 
                        to the property settlement.
                    ``(B) Effect of subsequent divorce on a will or 
                devise.--
                            ``(i) In general.--If, after executing a 
                        will, a testator is divorced or the marriage of 
                        the testator is annulled, as of the effective 
                        date of the divorce or annulment, any 
                        disposition of trust or restricted interests in 
                        land or of trust personalty made by the will to 
                        the former spouse of the testator shall be 
                        considered to be revoked unless the will 
                        expressly provides otherwise.
                            ``(ii) Property.--Property that is 
                        prevented from passing to a former spouse of a 
                        decedent under clause (i) shall pass as if the 
                        former spouse failed to survive the decedent.
                            ``(iii) Provisions of wills.--Any provision 
                        of a will that is considered to be revoked 
                        solely by operation of this subparagraph shall 
                        be revived by the remarriage of a testator to 
                        the former spouse of the testator.
            ``(4) After-born heirs.--A child in gestation at the time 
        of decedent's death will be treated as having survived the 
        decedent if the child lives at least 120 hours after its birth.
            ``(5) Advancements of trust personalty during lifetime; 
        effect on distribution of estate.--
                    ``(A) The trust personalty of a decedent who dies 
                intestate as to all or a portion of his or her estate, 
                given during the decedent's lifetime to a person 
                eligible to be an heir of the decedent under subsection 
                (b)(2)(B), shall be treated as an advancement against 
                the heir's inheritance, but only if the decedent 
                declared in a contemporaneous writing, or the heir 
                acknowledged in writing, that the gift is an 
                advancement or is to be taken into account in computing 
                the division and distribution of the decedent's 
                intestate estate.
                    ``(B) For the purposes of this section, trust 
                personalty advanced during the decedent's lifetime is 
                valued as of the time the heir came into possession or 
                enjoyment of the property or as of the time of the 
                decedent's death, whichever occurs first.
                    ``(C) If the recipient of the trust personalty 
                predeceases the decedent, the property shall not be 
                treated as an advancement or taken into account in 
                computing the division and distribution of the 
                decedent's intestate estate unless the decedent's 
                contemporaneous writing provides otherwise.
            ``(6) Heirs related to decedent through 2 lines; single 
        share.--A person who is related to the decedent through 2 lines 
        of relationship is entitled to only a single share of the trust 
        or restricted land or trust personalty in the decedent's estate 
        based on the relationship that would entitle such person to the 
        larger share.
            ``(7) Notice.--
                    ``(A) In general.--To the maximum extent 
                practicable, the Secretary shall notify each owner of 
                trust and restricted land of the provisions of this 
                Act.
                    ``(B) Combined notices.--The notice under 
                subparagraph (A) may, at the discretion of the 
                Secretary, be provided with the notice required under 
                subsection (a) of section 8 of the American Indian 
                Probate Reform Act of 2004.
            ``(8) Renunciation or disclaimer of interests.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Any person 18 years of age or 
                older may renounce or disclaim an inheritance of a 
                trust or restricted interest in land or in trust 
                personalty through intestate succession or devise, 
                either in full or subject to the reservation of a life 
                estate (where the interest is an interest in land), in 
                accordance with subparagraph (B), by filing a signed 
                and acknowledged declaration with the probate 
                decisionmaker prior to entry of a final probate order. 
                No interest so renounced or disclaimed shall be 
                considered to have vested in the renouncing or 
                disclaiming heir or devisee, and the renunciation or 
                disclaimer shall not be considered to be a transfer or 
                gift of the renounced or disclaimed interest.
                    ``(B) Eligible recipients of renounced or 
                disclaimed interests; notice to recipients.--
                            ``(i) Interests in land.--A trust or 
                        restricted interest in land may be renounced or 
                        disclaimed only in favor of--
                                    ``(I) an eligible heir;
                                    ``(II) any person who would have 
                                been eligible to be a devisee of the 
                                interest in question pursuant to 
                                subsection (b)(1)(A) (but only in cases 
                                where the renouncing person is a 
                                devisee of the interest under a valid 
                                will); or
                                    ``(III) the Indian tribe with 
                                jurisdiction over the interest in 
                                question;
                        and the interest so renounced shall pass to its 
                        recipient in trust or restricted status.
                            ``(ii) Trust personalty.--An interest in 
                        trust personalty may be renounced or disclaimed 
                        in favor of any person who would be eligible to 
                        be a devisee of such an interest under 
                        subsection (b)(3) and shall pass to the 
                        recipient in accordance with the provisions of 
                        that subsection.
                            ``(iii) Unauthorized renunciations and 
                        disclaimers.--Unless renounced or disclaimed in 
                        favor of a person or Indian tribe eligible to 
                        receive the interest in accordance with the 
                        provisions of this subparagraph, a renounced or 
                        disclaimed interest shall pass as if the 
                        renunciation or disclaimer had not been made.
                    ``(C) Acceptance of interest.--A renunciation or 
                disclaimer of an interest filed in accordance with this 
                paragraph shall be considered accepted when implemented 
                in a final order by a decisionmaker, and shall 
                thereafter be irrevocable. No renunciation or 
                disclaimer of an interest shall be included in such 
                order unless the recipient of the interest has been 
                given notice of the renunciation or disclaimer and has 
                not refused to accept the interest. All disclaimers and 
                renunciations filed and implemented in probate orders 
                made effective prior to the date of enactment of the 
                American Indian Probate Reform Act of 2004 are hereby 
                ratified.
                    ``(D) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this 
                paragraph shall be construed to allow the renunciation 
                of an interest that is subject to the provisions of 
section 207(a)(2)(D) (25 U.S.C. 2206(a)(2)(D)) in favor of more than 1 
person.
            ``(9) Consolidation agreements.--
                    ``(A) In general.--During the pendency of probate, 
                the decisionmaker is authorized to approve written 
                consolidation agreements effecting exchanges or gifts 
                voluntarily entered into between the decedent's 
                eligible heirs or devisees, to consolidate interests in 
                any tract of land included in the decedent's trust 
                inventory. Such agreements may provide for the 
                conveyance of interests already owned by such heirs or 
                devisees in such tracts, without having to comply with 
                the Secretary's rules and requirements otherwise 
                applicable to conveyances by deed of trust or 
                restricted interests in land.
                    ``(B) Effective.--An agreement approved under 
                subparagraph (A) shall be considered final when 
                implemented in an order by a decisionmaker. The final 
                probate order shall direct any changes necessary to the 
                Secretary's land records, to reflect and implement the 
                terms of the approved agreement.
                    ``(C) Effect on purchase option at probate.--Any 
                interest in trust or restricted land that is subject to 
                a consolidation agreement under this paragraph or 
                section 207(e) (25 U.S.C. 2206(e)) shall not be 
                available for purchase under section 207(p) (25 U.S.C. 
                2206(p)) unless the decisionmaker determines that the 
                agreement should not be approved.''.

SEC. 4. PARTITION OF HIGHLY FRACTIONATED INDIAN LANDS.

    Section 205 of the Indian Land Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 2204) 
(as amended by section 6(a)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(d) Partition of Highly Fractionated Indian Lands.--
            ``(1) Applicability.--This subsection shall be applicable 
        only to parcels of land (including surface and subsurface 
        interests, except with respect to a subsurface interest that 
        has been severed from the surface interest, in which case this 
        subsection shall apply only to the surface interest) which the 
        Secretary has determined, pursuant to paragraph (2)(B), to be 
        parcels of highly fractionated Indian land.
            ``(2) Requirements.--Each partition action under this 
        subsection shall be conducted by the Secretary in accordance 
        with the following requirements:
                    ``(A) Application.--Upon receipt of any payment or 
                bond required under subparagraph (B), the Secretary 
                shall commence a process for partitioning a parcel of 
                land by sale in accordance with the provisions of this 
                subsection upon receipt of an application by--
                            ``(i) the Indian tribe with jurisdiction 
                        over the subject land that owns an undivided 
                        interest in the parcel of land; or
                            ``(ii) any person owning an undivided 
                        interest in the parcel of land who is eligible 
                        to bid at the sale of the parcel pursuant to 
                        subclause (II), (III), or (IV) of subparagraph 
                        (I)(i);
                provided that no such application shall be valid or 
                considered if it is received by the Secretary prior to 
                the date that is 1 year after the date on which notice 
                is published pursuant to section 8(a)(4) of the 
                American Indian Probate Reform Act of 2004.
                    ``(B) Costs of serving notice and publication.--The 
                costs of serving and publishing notice under 
                subparagraph (F) shall be borne by the applicant. Upon 
                receiving written notice from the Secretary, the 
                applicant must pay to the Secretary an amount 
                determined by the Secretary to be the estimated costs 
                of such service of notice and publication, or furnish a 
                sufficient bond for such estimated costs within the 
                time stated in the notice, failing which, unless an 
                extension is granted by the Secretary, the Secretary 
                shall not be required to commence the partition process 
                under subparagraph (A) and may deny the application. 
                The Secretary shall have the discretion and authority 
                in any case to waive either the payment or the bond (or 
                any portion of such payment or bond) otherwise required 
                by this subparagraph, upon making a determination that 
                such waiver will further the policies of this Act.
                    ``(C) Determination.--Upon receipt of an 
                application pursuant to subparagraph (A), the Secretary 
                shall determine whether the subject parcel meets the 
                requirements set forth in section 202(6) (25 U.S.C. 
                2201(6)) to be classified as a parcel of highly 
                fractionated Indian land.
                    ``(D) Consent requirements.--
                            ``(i) In general.--A parcel of land may be 
                        partitioned under this subsection only if the 
                        applicant obtains the written consent of--
                                    ``(I) the Indian tribe with 
                                jurisdiction over the subject land if 
                                such Indian tribe owns an undivided 
                                interest in the parcel;
                                    ``(II) any owner who, for the 3-
                                year period immediately preceding the 
                                date on which the Secretary receives 
                                the application, has
                                            ``(aa) continuously 
                                        maintained a bona fide 
                                        residence on the parcel; or
                                            ``(bb) operated a bona fide 
                                        farm, ranch, or other business 
                                        on the parcel; and
                                    ``(III) the owners (including 
                                parents of minor owners and legal 
                                guardians of incompetent owners) of at 
                                least 50 percent of the undivided 
                                interests in the parcel, but only in 
                                cases where the Secretary determines 
                                that, based on the final appraisal 
                                prepared pursuant to subparagraph (F), 
                                any 1 owner's total undivided interest 
                                in the parcel (not including the 
                                interest of an Indian tribe or that of 
                                the owner requesting the partition) has 
                                a value in excess of $1,500.
                        Any consent required by this clause must be in 
                        writing and acknowledged before a notary public 
                        (or other official authorized to make 
                        acknowledgments), and shall be approved by 
                        Secretary unless the Secretary has reason to 
                        believe that the consent was obtained as a 
                        result of fraud or undue influence.
                            ``(ii) Consent by the secretary on behalf 
                        of certain individuals.--For the purposes of 
                        clause (i)(III), the Secretary may consent on 
                        behalf of--
                                    ``(I) undetermined heirs of trust 
                                or restricted interests and owners of 
                                such interests who are minors and legal 
                                incompetents having no parents or legal 
                                guardian; and
                                    ``(II) missing owners or owners of 
                                trust or restricted interests whose 
                                whereabouts are unknown, but only after 
                                a search for such owners has 
been completed in accordance with the provisions of this subsection.
                    ``(E) Appraisal.--After the Secretary has 
                determined that the subject parcel is a parcel of 
                highly fractionated Indian land pursuant to 
                subparagraph (C), the Secretary shall cause to be made, 
                in accordance with the provisions of this Act for 
                establishing fair market value, an appraisal of the 
                fair market value of the subject parcel.
                    ``(F) Notice to owners on completion of 
                appraisal.--Upon completion of the appraisal, the 
                Secretary shall give notice of the requested partition 
                and appraisal to all owners of undivided interests in 
                the parcel, in accordance with principles of due 
                process. Such notice shall include the following 
                requirements:
                            ``(i) Written notice.--The Secretary shall 
                        attempt to give each owner written notice of 
                        the partition action stating the following:
                                    ``(I) That a proceeding to 
                                partition the parcel of land by sale 
                                has been commenced.
                                    ``(II) The legal description of the 
                                subject parcel.
                                    ``(III) The owner's ownership 
                                interest in the subject parcel as 
                                evidenced by the Secretary's records as 
                                of the date that owners are determined 
                                in accordance with clause (ii).
                                    ``(IV) The results of the 
                                appraisal.
                                    ``(V) The owner's right to receive 
                                a copy of the appraisal upon written 
                                request.
                                    ``(VI) The owner's right to comment 
                                on or object to the proposed partition 
                                and the appraisal.
                                    ``(VII) That the owner must timely 
                                comment on or object in writing to the 
                                proposed partition or the appraisal, in 
                                order to receive notice of approval of 
                                the appraisal and right to appeal.
                                    ``(VIII) The date by which the 
                                owner's written comments or objections 
                                must be received, which shall not be 
                                less than 90 days after the date that 
                                the notice is mailed under this clause 
                                or last published under clause 
                                (ii)(II).
                                    ``(IX) The address for requesting 
                                copies of the appraisal and for 
                                submitting written comments or 
                                objections.
                                    ``(X) The name and telephone number 
                                of the official to be contacted for 
                                purposes of obtaining information 
                                regarding the proceeding, including the 
                                time and date of the auction of the 
                                land or the date for submitting sealed 
                                bids.
                                    ``(XI) Any other information the 
                                Secretary deems to be appropriate.
                            ``(ii) Manner of service.--
                                    ``(I) Service by certified mail.--
                                The Secretary shall use due diligence 
                                to provide all owners of interests in 
                                the subject parcel, as evidenced by the 
                                Secretary's records at the time of the 
                                determination under subparagraph (C), 
                                with actual notice of the partition 
                                proceedings by mailing a copy of the 
                                written notice described in clause (i) 
                                by certified mail, restricted delivery, 
                                to each such owner at the owner's last 
                                known address. For purposes of this 
                                subsection, owners shall be determined 
                                from the Secretary's land title records 
                                as of the date of the determination 
                                under subparagraph (C) or a date that 
                                is not more than 90 days prior to the 
                                date of mailing under this clause, 
                                whichever is later. In the event the 
                                written notice to an owner is returned 
                                undelivered, the Secretary shall 
                                attempt to obtain a current address for 
                                such owner by conducting a reasonable 
                                search (including a reasonable search 
                                of records maintained by local, state, 
                                Federal and tribal governments and 
                                agencies) and by inquiring with the 
                                Indian tribe with jurisdiction over the 
                                subject parcel, and, if different from 
                                that tribe, the Indian tribe of which 
                                the owner is a member, and, if 
                                successful in locating any such owner, 
                                send written notice by certified mail 
                                in accordance with this subclause.
                                    ``(II) Notice by publication.--The 
                                Secretary shall give notice by 
                                publication of the partition 
                                proceedings to all owners that the 
                                Secretary was unable to serve pursuant 
                                to subclause (I), and to unknown heirs 
                                and assigns by--
                                            ``(aa) publishing the 
                                        notice described in clause (i) 
                                        at least 2 times in a newspaper 
                                        of general circulation in the 
                                        county or counties where the 
                                        subject parcel of land is 
                                        located or, if there is an 
                                        Indian tribe with jurisdiction 
                                        over the parcel of land and 
                                        that tribe publishes a tribal 
                                        newspaper or newsletter at 
                                        least once every month, 1 time 
                                        in such newspaper of general 
                                        circulation and 1 time in such 
                                        tribal newspaper or newsletter;
                                            ``(bb) posting such notice 
                                        in a conspicuous place in the 
                                        tribal headquarters or 
                                        administration building (or 
                                        such other tribal building 
                                        determined by the Secretary to 
                                        be most appropriate for giving 
                                        public notice) of the Indian 
                                        tribe with jurisdiction over 
                                        the parcel of land, if any; and
                                            ``(cc) in addition to the 
                                        foregoing, in the Secretary's 
                                        discretion, publishing notice 
                                        in any other place or means 
                                        that the Secretary determines 
                                        to be appropriate.
                    ``(G) Review of comments on appraisal.--
                            ``(i) In general.--After reviewing and 
                        considering comments or information timely 
                        submitted by any owner of an interest in the 
                        parcel in response to the notice required under 
                        subparagraph (F), the Secretary may, consistent 
                        with the provisions of this Act for 
                        establishing fair market value--
                                    ``(I) order a new appraisal; or
                                    ``(II) approve the appraisal;
                provided that if the Secretary orders a new appraisal 
                under subclause (I), notice of the new appraisal shall 
                be given as specified in clause (ii).
                            ``(ii) Notice.--Notice shall be given--
                                    ``(I) in accordance with 
                                subparagraph (H), where the new 
                                appraisal results in a higher valuation 
                                of the land; or
                                    ``(II) in accordance with 
                                subparagraph (F)(ii), where the new 
                                appraisal results in a lower valuation 
                                of the land.
                    ``(H) Notice to owners of approval of appraisal and 
                right to appeal.--Upon making the determination under 
                subparagraph (G), the Secretary shall provide to the 
                Indian tribe with jurisdiction over the subject land 
                and to all persons who submitted written comments on or 
                objections to the proposed partition or appraisal, a 
                written notice to be served on such tribe and persons 
                by certified mail. Such notice shall state--
                            ``(i) the results of the appraisal;
                            ``(ii) that the owner has the right to 
                        review a copy of the appraisal upon request;
                            ``(iii) that the land will be sold for not 
                        less than the appraised value, subject to the 
                        consent requirements under paragraph (2)(D);
                            ``(iv) the time of the sale or for 
                        submitting bids under subparagraph (I);
                            ``(v) that the owner has the right, under 
                        the Secretary's regulations governing 
                        administrative appeals, to pursue an 
                        administrative appeal from--
                                    ``(I) the determination that the 
                                land may be partitioned by sale under 
                                the provisions of this section; and
                                    ``(II) the Secretary's order 
                                approving the appraisal;
                            ``(vi) the date by which an administrative 
                        appeal must be taken, a citation to the 
                        provisions of the Secretary's regulations that 
                        will govern the owner's appeal, and any other 
                        information required by such regulations to be 
                        given to parties affected by adverse decisions 
                        of the Secretary;
                            ``(vii) in cases where the Secretary 
                        determines that any person's undivided trust or 
                        restricted interest in the parcel exceeds 
                        $1,500 pursuant to paragraph (2)(D)(iii), that 
                        the Secretary has authority to consent to the 
                        partition on behalf of undetermined heirs of 
                        trust or restricted interests in the parcel and 
                        owners of such interests whose whereabouts are 
                        unknown; and
                            ``(viii) any other information the 
                        Secretary deems to be appropriate.
                    ``(I) Sale to eligible purchaser.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Subject to clauses (ii) 
                        and (iii) and the consent requirements of 
                        paragraph (2)(D), the Secretary shall, after 
                        providing notice to owners under subparagraph 
                        (H), including the time and place of sale or 
                        for receiving sealed bids, at public auction or 
                        by sealed bid (whichever of such methods of 
                        sale the Secretary determines to be more 
                        appropriate under the circumstances) sell the 
                        parcel of land by competitive bid for not less 
                        than the final appraised fair market value to 
                        the highest bidder from among the following 
                        eligible bidders:
                                    ``(I) The Indian tribe, if any, 
                                with jurisdiction over the trust or 
                                restricted interests in the parcel 
                                being sold.
                                    ``(II) Any person who is a member, 
                                or is eligible to be a member, of the 
                                Indian tribe described in subclause 
                                (I).
                                    ``(III) Any person who is a member, 
                                or is eligible to be a member, of an 
                                Indian tribe but not of the tribe 
                                described in subclause (I), but only if 
                                such person already owns an undivided 
                                interest in the parcel at the time of 
                                sale.
                                    ``(IV) Any lineal descendent of the 
                                original allottee of the parcel who is 
                                a member or is eligible to be a member 
                                of an Indian tribe or, with respect to 
                                a parcel located in the State of 
                                California that is not within an Indian 
                                tribe's reservation or not otherwise 
                                subject to the jurisdiction of an 
                                Indian tribe, who is a member, or 
                                eligible to be a member, of an Indian 
                                tribe or owns a trust or restricted 
                                interest in the parcel.
                            ``(ii) Right to match highest bid.--If the 
                        highest bidder is a person who is only eligible 
                        to bid under clause (i)(III), the Indian tribe 
                        that has jurisdiction over the parcel, if any, 
                        shall have the right to match the highest bid 
                        and acquire the parcel, but only if--
                                    ``(I) prior to the date of the 
                                sale, the governing body of such tribe 
                                has adopted a tribal law or resolution 
                                reserving its right to match the bids 
                                of such nonmember bidders in partition 
                                sales under this subsection and 
                                delivered a copy of such law or 
                                resolution to the Secretary; and
                                    ``(II) the parcel is not acquired 
                                under clause (iii).
                            ``(iii) Right to purchase.--Any person who 
                        is a member, or eligible to be a member, of the 
                        Indian tribe with jurisdiction over the trust 
                        or restricted interests in the parcel being 
                        sold and is, as of the time of sale under this 
                        subparagraph, the owner of the largest 
                        undivided interest in the parcel shall have a 
                        right to purchase the parcel by tendering to 
                        the Secretary an amount equal to the highest 
                        sufficient bid submitted at the sale, less that 
                        amount of the bid attributable to such owner's 
                        share, but only if--
                                    ``(I) the owner submitted a 
                                sufficient bid at the sale;
                                    ``(II) the owner's total undivided 
                                interest in the parcel immediately 
                                prior to the sale was--
                                            ``(aa) greater than the 
                                        undivided interest held by any 
                                        other co-owners, except where 
                                        there are 2 or more co-owners 
                                        whose interests are of equal 
                                        size but larger than the 
                                        interests of all other co-
                                        owners and such owners of the 
                                        largest interests have agreed 
                                        in writing that 1 of them may 
                                        exercise the right of purchase 
                                        under this clause; and
                                            ``(bb) equal to or greater 
                                        than 20 percent of the entire 
                                        undivided ownership of the 
                                        parcel;
                                    ``(III) within 3 days following the 
                                date of the auction or for receiving 
                                sealed bids, and in accordance with the 
                                regulations adopted to implement this 
                                section, the owner delivers to the 
                                Secretary a written notice of intent to 
                                exercise the owner's rights under this 
                                clause; and
                                    ``(IV) such owner tenders the 
                                amount of the purchase price required 
                                under this clause--
                                            ``(aa) not less than 30 
                                        days after the date of the 
                                        auction or time for receiving 
                                        sealed bids; and
                                            ``(bb) in accordance with 
                                        any requirements of the 
                                        regulations promulgated to 
                                        implement this section.
                            ``(iv) Interest acquired.--A purchaser of a 
                        parcel of land under this subparagraph shall 
                        acquire title to the parcel in trust or 
                        restricted status, free and clear of any and 
                        all claims of title or ownership of all persons 
                        or entities (not including the United States) 
                        owning or claiming to own an interest in such 
                        parcel prior to the time of sale.
                    ``(J) Proceeds of sale.--
                            ``(i) Subject to clauses (ii) and (iii), 
                        the Secretary shall distribute the proceeds of 
                        sale of a parcel of land under the provisions 
                        of this section to the owners of interests in 
                        such parcel in proportion to their respective 
                        ownership interests.
                            ``(ii) Proceeds attributable to the sale of 
                        trust or restricted interests shall be 
                        maintained in accounts as trust personalty.
                            ``(iii) Proceeds attributable to the sale 
                        of interests of owners whose whereabouts are 
                        unknown, of undetermined heirs, and of other 
                        persons whose ownership interests have not been 
                        recorded shall be held by the Secretary until 
                        such owners, heirs, or other persons have been 
                        determined, at which time such proceeds shall 
                        be distributed in accordance with clauses (i) 
                        and (ii).
                    ``(K) Lack of bids or consent.--
                            ``(i) Lack of bids.--If no bidder described 
                        in subparagraph (I) presents a bid that equals 
                        or exceeds the final appraised value, the 
                        Secretary may either--
                                    ``(I) purchase the parcel of land 
                                for its appraised fair market value on 
                                behalf of the Indian tribe with 
                                jurisdiction over the land, subject to 
                                the lien and procedures provided under 
                                section 214(b) (25 U.S.C. 2213(b)); or
                                    ``(II) terminate the partition 
                                process.
                            ``(ii) Lack of consent.--If an applicant 
                        fails to obtain any applicable consent required 
                        under the provisions of subparagraph (D) by the 
                        date established by the Secretary prior to the 
                        proposed sale, the Secretary may either extend 
                        the time for obtaining any such consent or deny 
                        the request for partition.
            ``(3) Enforcement.--
                    ``(A) In general.--If a partition is approved under 
                this subsection and an owner of an interest in the 
                parcel of land refuses to surrender possession in 
                accordance with the partition decision, or refuses to 
                execute any conveyance necessary to implement the 
                partition, then any affected owner or the United States 
                may--
                            ``(i) commence a civil action in the United 
                        States district court for the district in which 
                        the parcel of land is located; and
                            ``(ii) request that the court issue an 
                        order for ejectment or any other appropriate 
                        remedy necessary for the partition of the land 
                        by sale.
                    ``(B) Federal role.--With respect to any civil 
                action brought under subparagraph (A)--
                            ``(i) the United States--
                                    ``(I) shall receive notice of the 
                                civil action; and
                                    ``(II) may be a party to the civil 
                                action; and
                            ``(ii) the civil action shall not be 
                        dismissed, and no relief requested shall be 
                        denied, on the ground that the civil action is 
                        against the United States or that the United 
                        States is a necessary and indispensable party.
            ``(4) Grants and loans.--The Secretary may provide grants 
        and low interest loans to successful bidders at sales 
        authorized by this subsection, provided that--
                    ``(A) the total amount of such assistance in any 
                such sale shall not exceed 20 percent of the appraised 
                value of the parcel of land sold; and
                    ``(B) the grant or loan funds provided shall only 
                be applied toward the purchase price of the parcel of 
                land sold.
            ``(5) Regulations.--The Secretary is authorized to adopt 
        such regulations as may be necessary to implement the 
        provisions of this subsection. Such regulations shall include 
        provisions for giving notice of sales to prospective purchasers 
        eligible to submit bids at sales conducted under paragraph 
        (2)(I).''.

SEC. 5. OWNER-MANAGED INTERESTS.

    The Indian Land Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 2201 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 221. OWNER-MANAGED INTERESTS.

    ``(a) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to provide a means 
for the co-owners of trust or restricted interests in a parcel of land 
to enter into surface leases of such parcel for certain purposes 
without approval of the Secretary.
    ``(b) Mineral Interests.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed to limit or otherwise affect the application of any Federal 
law requiring the Secretary to approve mineral leases or other 
agreements for the development of the mineral interest in trust or 
restricted land.
    ``(c) Owner Management.--
            ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any provision of Federal 
        law requiring the Secretary to approve individual Indian leases 
        of individual Indian trust or restricted land, where the owners 
        of all of the undivided trust or restricted interests in a 
        parcel of land have submitted applications to the Secretary 
        pursuant to subsection (a), and the Secretary has approved such 
        applications under subsection (d), such owners may, without 
        further approval by the Secretary, enter into a lease of the 
        parcel for agricultural purposes for a term not to exceed 10 
        years.
            ``(2) Rule of construction.--No such lease shall be 
        effective until it has been executed by the owners of all 
        undivided trust or restricted interests in the parcel.
    ``(d) Approval of Applications for Owner Management.--
            ``(1) In general.--Subject to the provisions of paragraph 
        (2), the Secretary shall approve an application for owner 
        management submitted by a qualified applicant pursuant to this 
        section unless the Secretary has reason to believe that the 
        applicant is submitting the application as the result of fraud 
        or undue influence. No such application shall be valid or 
        considered if it is received by the Secretary prior to the date 
        that is 1 year after the date on which notice is published 
        pursuant to section 8(a)(4) of the American Indian Probate 
        Reform Act of 2004.
            ``(2) Commencement of owner-managed status.--
        Notwithstanding the approval of 1 or more applications pursuant 
        to paragraph (1), no trust or restricted interest in a parcel 
        of land shall acquire owner-managed status until applications 
        for all of the trust or restricted interests in such parcel of 
        land have been submitted to and approved by the Secretary 
        pursuant to this section.
    ``(e) Validity of Leases.--No lease of trust or restricted 
interests in a parcel of land that is owner-managed under this section 
shall be valid or enforceable against the owners of such interests, or 
against the land, the interest or the United States, unless such 
lease--
            ``(1) is consistent with, and entered into in accordance 
        with, the requirements of this section; or
            ``(2) has been approved by the Secretary in accordance with 
        other Federal laws applicable to the leasing of trust or 
        restricted land.
    ``(f) Lease Revenues.--The Secretary shall not be responsible for 
the collection of, or accounting for, any lease revenues accruing to 
any interests under a lease authorized by subsection (e), so long as 
such interest is in owner-managed status under the provisions of this 
section.
    ``(g) Jurisdiction.--
            ``(1) Jurisdiction unaffected by status.--The Indian tribe 
        with jurisdiction over an interest in trust or restricted land 
        that becomes owner-managed pursuant to this section shall 
        continue to have jurisdiction over the interest to the same 
        extent and in all respects that such tribe had prior to the 
        interest acquiring owner-managed status.
            ``(2) Persons using land.--Any person holding, leasing, or 
        otherwise using such interest in land shall be considered to 
        consent to the jurisdiction of the Indian tribe referred to in 
        paragraph (1), including such tribe's laws and regulations, if 
        any, relating to the use, and any effects associated with the 
        use, of the interest.
    ``(h) Continuation of Owner-Managed Status; Revocation.--
            ``(1) In general.--Subject to the provisions of paragraph 
        (2), after the applications of the owners of all of the trust 
        or restricted interests in a parcel of land have been approved 
        by the Secretary pursuant to subsection (d), each such interest 
        shall continue in owner-managed status under this section 
        notwithstanding any subsequent conveyance of the interest in 
        trust or restricted status to another person or the subsequent 
        descent of the interest in trust or restricted status by 
        testate or intestate succession to 1 or more heirs.
            ``(2) Revocation.--Owner-managed status of an interest may 
        be revoked upon written request of the owners (including the 
        parents or legal guardians of minors or incompetent owners) of 
        all trust or restricted interests in the parcel, submitted to 
        the Secretary in accordance with regulations adopted under 
        subsection (l). The revocation shall become effective as of the 
        date on which the last of all such requests has been delivered 
        to the Secretary.
            ``(3) Effect of revocation.--Revocation of owner-managed 
        status under paragraph (2) shall not affect the validity of any 
        lease made in accordance with the provisions of this section 
        prior to the effective date of the revocation, provided that, 
        after such revocation becomes effective, the Secretary shall be 
        responsible for the collection of, and accounting for, all 
        future lease revenues accruing to the trust or restricted 
        interests in the parcel from and after such effective date.
    ``(i) Defined Terms.--
            ``(1) For purposes of subsection (d)(1), the term 
        `qualified applicant' means--
                    ``(A) a person over the age of 18 who owns a trust 
                or restricted interest in a parcel of land; and
                    ``(B) the parent or legal guardian of a minor or 
                incompetent person who owns a trust or restricted 
                interest in a parcel of land.
            ``(2) For purposes of this section, the term `owner-managed 
        status' means, with respect to a trust or restricted interest, 
        that--
                    ``(A) the interest is a trust or restricted 
                interest in a parcel of land for which applications 
                covering all trust or restricted interests in such 
                parcel have been submitted to and approved by the 
                Secretary pursuant to subsection (d);
                    ``(B) the interest may be leased without approval 
                of the Secretary pursuant to, and in a manner that is 
                consistent with, the requirements of this section; and
                    ``(C) no revocation has occurred under subsection 
                (h)(2).
    ``(j) Secretarial Approval of Other Transactions.--Except with 
respect to the specific lease transaction described in paragraph (1) of 
subsection (c), interests that acquire owner-managed status under the 
provisions of this section shall continue to be subject to all Federal 
laws requiring the Secretary to approve transactions involving trust or 
restricted land (including leases with terms of a duration in excess of 
10 years) that would otherwise apply to such interests if the interests 
had not acquired owner-managed status under this section.
    ``(k) Effect of Section.--Subject to subsections (c), (f), and (h), 
nothing in this section diminishes or otherwise affects any authority 
or responsibility of the Secretary with respect to an interest in trust 
or restricted land.''.

SEC. 6. ADDITIONAL AMENDMENTS.

    (a) In General.--The Indian Land Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 2201 
et seq.) is amended--
            (1) in the second sentence of section 205(a) (25 U.S.C. 
        2204(a)), by striking ``over 50 per centum of the undivided 
        interests'' and inserting ``undivided interests equal to at 
        least 50 percent of the undivided interest'';
            (2) in section 207 (25 U.S.C. 2206), by adding a subsection 
        at the end as follows:
    ``(p) Purchase Option at Probate.--
            ``(1) In general.--The trust or restricted interests in a 
        parcel of land in the decedent's estate may be purchased at 
        probate in accordance with the provisions of this subsection.
            ``(2) Sale of interest at fair market value.--Subject to 
        paragraph (3), the Secretary is authorized to sell trust or 
        restricted interests in land subject to this subsection, 
        including the interest that a surviving spouse would otherwise 
        receive under section 207(a)(2) (A) or (D), at no less than 
        fair market value, as determined in accordance with the 
        provisions of this Act, to any of the following eligible 
        purchasers:
                    ``(A) Any other eligible heir taking an interest in 
                the same parcel of land by intestate succession or the 
                decedent's other devisees of interests in the same 
                parcel who are eligible to receive a devise under 
                section 207(b)(1)(A).
                    ``(B) All persons who own undivided trust or 
                restricted interests in the same parcel of land 
                involved in the probate proceeding.
                    ``(C) The Indian tribe with jurisdiction over the 
                interest, or the Secretary on behalf of such Indian 
                tribe.
            ``(3) Request to purchase; auction; consent requirements.--
        No sale of an interest in probate shall occur under this 
        subsection unless--
                    ``(A) an eligible purchaser described in paragraph 
                (2) submits a written request to purchase prior to the 
                distribution of the interest to heirs or devisees of 
                the decedent and in accordance with any regulations of 
                the Secretary; and
                    ``(B) except as provided in paragraph (5), the 
                heirs or devisees of such interest, and the decedent's 
                surviving spouse, if any, receiving a life estate under 
                section 207(a)(2) (A) or (D) consent to the sale.
        If the Secretary receives more than 1 request to purchase the 
        same interest, the Secretary shall sell the interest by public 
        auction or sealed bid (as determined by the Secretary) at not 
        less than the appraised fair market value to the eligible 
        purchaser submitting the highest bid.
            ``(4) Appraisal and notice.--Prior to the sale of an 
        interest pursuant to this subsection, the Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) appraise the interest at its fair market 
                value in accordance with this Act;
                    ``(B) provide eligible heirs, other devisees, and 
                the Indian tribe with jurisdiction over the interest 
                with written notice, sent by first class mail, that the 
                interest is available for purchase in accordance with 
                this subsection; and
                    ``(C) if the Secretary receives more than 1 request 
                to purchase the interest by a person described in 
                subparagraph (B), provide notice of the manner (auction 
                or sealed bid), time and place of the sale, a 
                description, and the appraised fair market value, of 
                the interest to be sold--
                            ``(i) to the heirs or other devisees and 
                        the Indian tribe with jurisdiction over the 
                        interest, by first class mail; and
                            ``(ii) to all other eligible purchasers, by 
                        posting written notice in at least 5 
                        conspicuous places in the vicinity of the place 
                        of hearing.
            ``(5) Small undivided interests in indian lands.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), the 
                consent of a person who is an heir otherwise required 
                under paragraph (3)(B) shall not be required for the 
                auction and sale of an interest at probate under this 
                subsection if--
                            ``(i) the interest is passing by intestate 
                        succession; and
                            ``(ii) prior to the auction the Secretary 
                        determines in the probate proceeding that the 
                        interest passing to such heir represents less 
                        than 5 percent of the entire undivided 
                        ownership of the parcel of land as evidenced by 
                        the Secretary's records as of the time the 
                        determination is made.
                    ``(B) Exception.--Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), 
                the consent of such heir shall be required for the sale 
                at probate of the heir's interest if, at the time of 
                the decedent's death, the heir was residing on the 
                parcel of land of which the interest to be sold was a 
                part.
            ``(6) Distribution of proceeds.--Proceeds from the sale of 
        interests under this subsection shall be distributed to the 
        heirs, devisees, or spouse whose interest was sold in 
        accordance with the values of their respective interests. The 
        proceeds attributable to an heir or devisee shall be held in an 
        account as trust personalty if the interest sold would have 
        otherwise passed to the heir or devisee in trust or restricted 
status.'';
            (3) in section 206 (25 U.S.C. 2205)--
                    (A) in subsection (a), by striking paragraph (3) 
                and inserting the following:
            ``(3) Tribal probate codes.--Except as provided in any 
        applicable Federal law, the Secretary shall not approve a 
        tribal probate code, or an amendment to such a code, that 
        prohibits the devise of an interest in trust or restricted land 
        to--
                    ``(A) an Indian lineal descendant of the original 
                allottee; or
                    ``(B) an Indian who is not a member of the Indian 
                tribe with jurisdiction over such an interest;
        unless the code provides for--
                            ``(i) the renouncing of interests to 
                        eligible devisees in accordance with the code;
                            ``(ii) the opportunity for a devisee who is 
                        the spouse or lineal descendant of a testator 
                        to reserve a life estate without regard to 
                        waste; and
                            ``(iii) payment of fair market value in the 
                        manner prescribed under subsection (c)(2).''; 
                        and
                    (B) in subsection (c)--
                            (i) in paragraph (1)--
                                    (I) by striking the paragraph 
                                heading and inserting the following:
            ``(1) Authority.--
                    ``(A) In general.--'';
                                    (II) in the first sentence of 
                                subparagraph (A) (as redesignated by 
                                clause (i)), by striking ``section 
                                207(a)(6)(A) of this title'' and 
                                inserting ``section 207(b)(2)(A)(ii) of 
                                this title''; and
                                    (III) by striking the last sentence 
                                and inserting the following:
                    ``(B) Transfer.--The Secretary shall transfer 
                payments received under subparagraph (A) to any person 
                or persons who would have received an interest in land 
                if the interest had not been acquired by the Indian 
                tribe in accordance with this paragraph.''; and
                            (ii) in paragraph (2)--
                                    (I) in subparagraph (A)--
                                            (aa) by striking the 
                                        subparagraph heading and all 
                                        that follows through 
                                        ``Paragraph (1) shall not 
                                        apply'' and inserting the 
                                        following:
                    ``(A) Inapplicability to certain interests.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Paragraph (1) shall not 
                        apply'';
                                            (bb) in clause (i) (as 
                                        redesignated by item (aa)), by 
                                        striking ``if, while'' and 
                                        inserting the following: ``if--
                                    ``(I) while'';
                                            (cc) by striking the period 
                                        at the end and inserting ``; 
                                        or''; and
                                            (dd) by adding at the end 
                                        the following:
                                    ``(II)(aa) the interest is part of 
                                a family farm that is devised to a 
                                member of the family of the decedent; 
                                and
                                    ``(bb) the devisee agrees that the 
                                Indian tribe with jurisdiction over the 
                                land will have the opportunity to 
                                acquire the interest for fair market 
                                value if the interest is offered for 
                                sale to a person or entity that is not 
                                a member of the family of the owner of 
                                the land.
                            ``(ii) Recording of interest.--On request 
                        by the Indian tribe described in clause 
                        (i)(II)(bb), a restriction relating to the 
                        acquisition by the Indian tribe of an interest 
                        in a family farm involved shall be recorded as 
                        part of the deed relating to the interest 
                        involved.
                            ``(iii) Mortgage and foreclosure.--Nothing 
                        in clause (i)(II) limits--
                                    ``(I) the ability of an owner of 
                                land to which that clause applies to 
                                mortgage the land; or
                                    ``(II) the right of the entity 
                                holding such a mortgage to foreclose or 
                                otherwise enforce such a mortgage 
                                agreement in accordance with applicable 
                                law.
                            ``(iv) Definition of `member of the 
                        family'.--In this paragraph, the term `member 
                        of the family', with respect to a decedent or 
                        landowner, means--
                                    ``(I) a lineal descendant of a 
                                decedent or landowner;
                                    ``(II) a lineal descendant of the 
                                grandparent of a decedent or landowner;
                                    ``(III) the spouse of a descendant 
                                or landowner described in subclause (I) 
                                or (II); and
                                    ``(IV) the spouse of a decedent or 
                                landowner.''; and
                                    (II) in subparagraph (B), by 
                                striking ``subparagraph (A)'' and all 
                                that follows through ``207(a)(6)(B) of 
                                this title'' and inserting ``paragraph 
                                (1)'';
            (4) in section 207 (25 U.S.C. 2206), by striking subsection 
        (g);
            (5) in section 213 (25 U.S.C. 2212)--
                    (A) by striking the section heading and inserting 
                the following:

``SEC. 2212. FRACTIONAL INTEREST ACQUISITION PROGRAM.'';

                    (B) in subsection (a), by--
                            (i) adding in paragraph (1) ``or from an 
                        heir during probate in accordance with section 
                        207(p) (25 U.S.C. 2206(p))'' after ``owner,''; 
                        and
                            (ii) striking ``(2) Authority of 
                        secretary.--'' and all that follows through 
                        ``the Secretary shall submit'' and inserting 
                        the following:
            ``(2) Authority of secretary.--The Secretary shall 
        submit''; and
                            (iii) by striking ``whether the program to 
                        acquire fractional interests should be extended 
                        or altered to make resources'' and inserting 
                        ``how the fractional interest acquisition 
                        program should be enhanced to increase the 
                        resources made'';
                    (C) in subsection (b), by striking paragraph (4) 
                and inserting the following:
            ``(4) shall minimize the administrative costs associated 
        with the land acquisition program through the use of policies 
        and procedures designed to accommodate the voluntary sale of 
        interests under this section, notwithstanding the existence of 
        any otherwise applicable policy, procedure, or regulation, 
        through the elimination of duplicate--
                    ``(A) conveyance documents;
                    ``(B) administrative proceedings; and
                    ``(C) transactions.'';
                    (D) in subsection (c)--
                            (i) in paragraph (1)--
                                    (I) in subparagraph (A), by 
                                striking ``at least 5 percent of the'' 
                                and inserting in its place ``an'';
                                    (II) in subparagraph (A), by 
                                inserting ``in such parcel'' following 
                                ``the Secretary shall convey an 
                                interest'';
                                    (III) in subparagraph (A), by 
                                striking ``landowner upon payment'' and 
                                all that follows and inserting the 
                                following: ``landowner--
                            ``(i) on payment by the Indian landowner of 
                        the amount paid for the interest by the 
                        Secretary; or
                            ``(ii) if--
                                    ``(I) the Indian referred to in 
                                this subparagraph provides assurances 
                                that the purchase price will be paid by 
                                pledging revenue from any source, 
                                including trust resources; and
                                    ``(II) the Secretary determines 
                                that the purchase price will be paid in 
                                a timely and efficient manner.''; and
                                    (IV) in subparagraph (B), by 
                                inserting before the period at the end 
                                the following: ``unless the interest is 
                                subject to a foreclosure of a mortgage 
                                in accordance with the Act of March 29, 
                                1956 (25 U.S.C. 483a)''; and
                            (ii) in paragraph (3), by striking ``10 
                        percent or more of the undivided interests'' 
                        and inserting ``an undivided interest''; and
                    (E) by adding at the end of the section:
    ``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $75,000,000 for fiscal year 
2005, $95,000,000 for fiscal year 2006, and $145,000,000 for each of 
fiscal years 2007 through 2010.'';
            (6) in section 214 (25 U.S.C. 2213), by striking subsection 
        (b) and inserting the following:
    ``(b) Application of Revenue From Acquired Interests to Land 
Consolidation Program.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall have a lien on any 
        revenue accruing to an interest described in subsection (a) 
        until the Secretary provides for the removal of the lien under 
        paragraph (3), (4), or (5).
            ``(2) Requirements.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Until the Secretary removes a 
                lien from an interest in land under paragraph (1)--
                            ``(i) any lease, resource sale contract, 
                        right-of-way, or other document evidencing a 
                        transaction affecting the interest shall 
                        contain a clause providing that all revenue 
                        derived from the interest shall be paid to the 
                        Secretary; and
                            ``(ii) any revenue derived from any 
                        interest acquired by the Secretary in 
                        accordance with section 213 shall be deposited 
                        in the fund created under section 216.
                    ``(B) Approval of transactions.--Notwithstanding 
                section 16 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (commonly known 
                as the `Indian Reorganization Act') (25 U.S.C. 476), or 
                any other provision of law, until the Secretary removes 
                a lien from an interest in land under paragraph (1), 
                the Secretary may approve a transaction covered under 
                this section on behalf of an Indian tribe.
            ``(3) Removal of liens after findings.--The Secretary may 
        remove a lien referred to in paragraph (1) if the Secretary 
        makes a finding that--
                    ``(A) the costs of administering the interest from 
                which revenue accrues under the lien will equal or 
                exceed the projected revenues for the parcel of land 
                involved;
                    ``(B) in the discretion of the Secretary, it will 
                take an unreasonable period of time for the parcel of 
                land to generate revenue that equals the purchase price 
                paid for the interest; or
                    ``(C) a subsequent decrease in the value of land or 
                commodities associated with the parcel of land make it 
                likely that the interest will be unable to generate 
                revenue that equals the purchase price paid for the 
                interest in a reasonable time.
            ``(4) Removal of liens upon payment into the acquisition 
        fund.--The Secretary shall remove a lien referred to in 
        paragraph (1) upon payment of an amount equal to the purchase 
        price of that interest in land into the Acquisition Fund 
        created under section 2215 of this title, except where the 
        tribe with jurisdiction over such interest in land authorizes 
        the Secretary to continue the lien in order to generate 
        additional acquisition funds.
            ``(5) Other removal of liens.--The Secretary may, in 
        consultation with tribal governments and other entities 
        described in section 213(b)(3), periodically remove liens 
        referred to in paragraph (1) from interests in land acquired by 
        the Secretary.'';
            (7) in section 215 (25 U.S.C. 2214), in the last sentence, 
        by striking ``section 2212 of this title'' and inserting ``this 
        Act'';
            (8) in section 216 (25 U.S.C. 2215)--
                    (A) in subsection (a), by striking paragraph (2) 
                and inserting the following:
            ``(2) collect all revenues received from the lease, permit, 
        or sale of resources from interests acquired under section 213 
        or paid by Indian landowners under section 213.''; and
                    (B) in subsection (b)--
                            (i) in paragraph (1)--
                                    (I) in the matter preceding 
                                subparagraph (A), by striking ``Subject 
                                to paragraph (2), all'' and inserting 
                                ``All'';
                                    (II) in subparagraph (A), by 
                                striking ``and'' at the end;
                                    (III) in subparagraph (B), by 
                                striking the period at the end and 
                                inserting ``; and''; and
                                    (IV) by adding at the end the 
                                following:
                    ``(C) be used to acquire undivided interests on the 
                reservation from which the income was derived.''; and
                            (ii) by striking paragraph (2) and 
                        inserting the following:
            ``(2) Use of funds.--The Secretary may use the revenue 
        deposited in the Acquisition Fund under paragraph (1) to 
        acquire some or all of the undivided interests in any parcels 
        of land in accordance with section 205.'';
            (9) in section 217 (25 U.S.C. 2216)--
                    (A) in subsection (b)(1), by striking subparagraph 
                (B) and inserting a new subparagraph (B) as follows:
                    ``(B) Waiver of requirement.--The requirement for 
                an estimate of value under subparagraph (A) may be 
                waived in writing by an owner of a trust or restricted 
                interest in land either selling, exchanging, or 
                conveying by gift deed for no or nominal consideration 
                such interest--
                            ``(i) to an Indian person who is the 
                        owner's spouse, brother, sister, lineal 
                        ancestor, lineal descendant, or collateral 
                        heir; or
                            ``(ii) to an Indian co-owner or to the 
                        tribe with jurisdiction over the subject parcel 
                        of land, where the grantor owns a fractional 
                        interest that represents 5 percent or less of 
                        the parcel.'';
                    (B) in subsection (e), by striking the matter 
                preceding paragraph (1), and inserting 
                ``Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the names 
                and mailing addresses of the owners of any interest in 
                trust or restricted lands, and information on the 
                location of the parcel and the percentage of undivided 
                interest owned by each individual shall, upon written 
                request, be made available to'';
                    (C) in subsection (e)(1), by striking ``Indian'';
                    (D) in subsection (e)(3), by striking ``prospective 
                applicants for the leasing, use, or consolidation of'' 
                and inserting ``any person that is leasing, using, or 
                consolidating, or is applying to lease, use, or 
                consolidate,''; and
                    (E) by striking subsection (f) and inserting the 
                following:
    ``(f) Purchase of Land by Indian Tribe.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), 
        before the Secretary approves an application to terminate the 
        trust status or remove the restrictions on alienation from a 
        parcel of, or interest in, trust or restricted land, the Indian 
        tribe with jurisdiction over the parcel shall have the 
        opportunity--
                    ``(A) to match any offer contained in the 
                application; or
                    ``(B) in a case in which there is no purchase price 
                offered, to acquire the interest in the parcel by 
                paying the fair market value of the interest.
            ``(2) Exception for family farms.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply to 
                a parcel of, or interest in, trust or restricted land 
                that is part of a family farm that is conveyed to a 
                member of the family of a landowner (as defined in 
                section 206(c)(2)(A)(iv)) if the conveyance requires 
                that in the event that the parcel or interest is 
                offered for sale to an entity or person that is not a 
                member of the family of the landowner, the Indian tribe 
                with jurisdiction over the land shall be afforded the 
                opportunity to purchase the interest pursuant to 
                paragraph (1).
                    ``(B) Applicability of other provision.--Section 
                206(c)(2)(A) shall apply with respect to the recording 
                and mortgaging of any trust or restricted land referred 
                to in subparagraph (A).'';
            (10) in section 219(b)(1)(A) (25 U.S.C. 2218(b)(1)(A)), by 
        striking ``100'' and inserting ``90''; and
            (11) in section 219, by adding at the end of the section:
    ``(g) Other Laws.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed to 
supersede, repeal, or modify any general or specific statute 
authorizing the grant or approval of any type of land use transaction 
involving fractional interests in trust or restricted land.''.
    (b) Definitions.--Section 202 of the Indian Land Consolidation Act 
(25 U.S.C. 2201) is amended--
            (1) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:
            ``(2) `Indian' means--
                    ``(A) any person who is a member of any Indian 
                tribe, is eligible to become a member of any Indian 
                tribe, or is an owner (as of the date of enactment of 
                the American Indian Probate Reform Act of 2004) of a 
                trust or restricted interest in land;
                    ``(B) any person meeting the definition of Indian 
                under the Indian Reorganization Act (25 U.S.C. 479) and 
                the regulations promulgated thereunder; and
                    ``(C) with respect to the inheritance and ownership 
                of trust or restricted land in the State of California 
                pursuant to section 207, any person described in 
                subparagraph (A) or (B) or any person who owns a trust 
                or restricted interest in a parcel of such land in that 
                State.'';
            (2) by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the following:
            ``(4) `trust or restricted lands' means lands, title to 
        which is held by the United States in trust for an Indian tribe 
        or individual, or which is held by an Indian tribe or 
        individual subject to a restriction by the United States 
        against alienation; and `trust or restricted interest in land' 
        or `trust or restricted interest in a parcel of land' means an 
        interest in land, title to which is held in trust by the United 
        States for an Indian tribe or individual, or which is held by 
        an Indian tribe or individual subject to a restriction by the 
        United States against alienation.''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(6) `parcel of highly fractionated Indian land' means a 
        parcel of land that the Secretary, pursuant to authority under 
        a provision of this Act, determines to have, as evidenced by 
        the Secretary's records at the time of the determination--
                    ``(A) 50 or more but less than 100 co-owners of 
                undivided trust or restricted interests, and no 1 of 
                such co-owners holds a total undivided trust or 
                restricted interest in the parcel that is greater than 
                10 percent of the entire undivided ownership of the 
                parcel; or
                    ``(B) 100 or more co-owners of undivided trust or 
                restricted interests;
            ``(7) `land' means any real property, and includes within 
        its meaning for purposes of this Act improvements permanently 
        affixed to real property;
            ``(8) `person' or `individual' means a natural person;
            ``(9) `eligible heirs' means, for purposes of section 207 
        (25 U.S.C. 2206), any of a decedent's children, grandchildren, 
        great grandchildren, full siblings, half siblings by blood, and 
        parents who are--
                    ``(A) Indian; or
                    ``(B) lineal descendents within 2 degrees of 
                consanguinity of an Indian; or
                    ``(C) owners of a trust or restricted interest in a 
                parcel of land for purposes of inheriting by descent, 
                renunciation, or consolidation agreement under section 
                207 (25 U.S.C. 2206), another trust or restricted 
                interest in such parcel from the decedent; and
            ``(10) `without regard to waste' means, with respect to a 
        life estate interest in land, that the holder of such estate is 
        entitled to the receipt of all income, including bonuses and 
        royalties, from such land to the exclusion of the 
        remaindermen.''.
    (c) Issuance of Patents.--Section 5 of the Act of February 8, 1887 
(25 U.S.C. 348), is amended by striking the second proviso and 
inserting the following: ``Provided, That the rules of intestate 
succession under the Indian Land Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 2201 et 
seq.) (including a tribal probate code approved under that Act or 
regulations promulgated under that Act) shall apply to that land for 
which patents have been executed and delivered:''.
    (d) Transfers of Restricted Indian Land.--Section 4 of the Act of 
June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 464), is amended in the first proviso by--
            (1) striking ``, in accordance with'' and all that follows 
        through ``or in which the subject matter of the corporation is 
        located,'';
            (2) striking ``, except as provided by the Indian Land 
        Consolidation Act'' and all that follows through the colon; and
            (3) inserting ``in accordance with the Indian Land 
        Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 2201 et seq.) (including a tribal 
        probate code approved under that Act or regulations promulgated 
        under that Act):''.
    (e) Estate Planning.--
            (1) Conduct of activities.--Section 207(f)(1) of the Indian 
        Land Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 2206) is amended by striking 
        paragraph (1) and inserting the following:
            ``(1) In general.--
                    ``(A) The activities conducted under this 
                subsection shall be conducted in accordance with any 
                applicable--
                            ``(i) tribal probate code; or
                            ``(ii) tribal land consolidation plan.
                    ``(B) The Secretary shall provide estate planning 
                assistance in accordance with this subsection, to the 
                extent amounts are appropriated for such purpose.''.
            (2) Requirements.--Section 207(f)(2) of the Indian Land 
        Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 2206(f)(2)) is amended by striking 
        ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (A), redesignating 
        subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (D), and adding the following:
                    ``(B) dramatically increase the use of wills and 
                other methods of devise among Indian landowners;
                    ``(C) substantially reduce the quantity and 
                complexity of Indian estates that pass intestate 
                through the probate process, while protecting the 
                rights and interests of Indian landowners; and''.
            (3) Probate code development and legal assistance grants.--
        Section 207(f)(3) of the Indian Land Consolidation Act (25 
        U.S.C. 2206(f)(3)) is amended by striking paragraph (3) and 
        inserting the following:
            ``(3) Probate code development and legal assistance 
        grants.--In carrying out this section, the Secretary may award 
        grants to--
                    ``(A) Indian tribes, for purposes of tribal probate 
                code development and estate planning services to tribal 
                members;
                    ``(B) organizations that provide legal assistance 
                services for Indian tribes, Indian organizations, and 
                individual owners of interests in trust or restricted 
                lands that are qualified as nonprofit organizations 
                under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
                1986 and provide such services pursuant to Federal 
                poverty guidelines, for purposes of providing civil 
                legal assistance to such Indian tribes, individual 
                owners, and Indian organizations for the development of 
                tribal probate codes, for estate planning services or 
                for other purposes consistent with the services they 
                provide to Indians and Indian tribes; and
                    ``(C) in specific areas and reservations where 
                qualified nonprofit organizations referred to in 
                subparagraph (B) do not provide such legal assistance 
                to Indian tribes, Indian organizations, or individual 
                owners of trust or restricted land, to other providers 
                of such legal assistance;
        that submit an application to the Secretary, in such form and 
        manner as the Secretary may prescribe.
            ``(4) Authorization for appropriations.--There is 
        authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to 
        carry out the provisions of paragraph (3).''.
            (4) Notification to landowners.--Section 207 of the Indian 
        Land Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 2206) is amended by adding at 
        the end the following:
    ``(l) Notification to Landowners.--After receiving written request 
by any owner of a trust or restricted interest in land, the Secretary 
shall provide to such landowner the following information with respect 
to each tract of trust or restricted land in which the landowner has an 
interest:
            ``(1) The location of the tract of land involved.
            ``(2) The identity of each other co-owner of interests in 
        the parcel of land.
            ``(3) The percentage of ownership of each owner of an 
        interest in the tract.
    ``(m) Pilot Project for the Management of Trust Assets of Indian 
Families and Relatives.--
            ``(1) Development pilot project.--The Secretary shall 
        consult with tribes, individual landowner organizations, Indian 
        advocacy organizations, and other interested parties to--
                    ``(A) develop a pilot project for the creation of 
                legal entities such as private or family trusts, 
                partnerships corporations, or other organizations to 
                improve, facilitate, and assist in the efficient 
                management of interests in trust or restricted lands or 
funds owned by Indian family members and relatives; and
                    ``(B) develop proposed rules, regulations, and 
                guidelines to implement the pilot project, including--
                            ``(i) the criteria for establishing such 
                        legal entities;
                            ``(ii) reporting and other requirements 
                        that the Secretary determines to be appropriate 
                        for administering such entities; and
                            ``(iii) provisions for suspending or 
                        revoking the authority of an entity to engage 
                        in activities relating to the management of 
                        trust or restricted assets under the pilot 
                        project in order to protect the interests of 
                        the beneficial owners of such assets.
            ``(2) Primary purposes; limitation; approval of 
        transactions; payments by secretary.--
                    ``(A) Purposes.--The primary purpose of any entity 
                organized under the pilot project shall be to improve, 
                facilitate, and assist in the management of interests 
                in trust or restricted land, held by 1 or more persons, 
                in furtherance of the purposes of this Act.
                    ``(B) Limitation.--The organization or activities 
                of any entity under the pilot project shall not be 
                construed to impair, impede, replace, abrogate, or 
                modify in any respect the trust duties or 
                responsibilities of the Secretary, nor shall anything 
                in this subsection or in any rules, regulations, or 
                guidelines developed under this subsection enable any 
                private or family trustee of trust or restricted 
                interests in land to exercise any powers over such 
                interests greater than that held by the Secretary with 
                respect to such interests.
                    ``(C) Secretarial approval of transactions.--Any 
                transaction involving the lease, use, mortgage or other 
                disposition of trust or restricted land or other trust 
                assets administered by or through an entity under the 
                pilot project shall be subject to approval by the 
                Secretary in accordance with applicable Federal law.
                    ``(D) Payments.--The Secretary shall have the 
                authority to make payments of income and revenues 
                derived from trust or restricted land or other trust 
                assets administered by or through an entity 
                participating in the pilot project directly to the 
                entity, in accordance with requirements of the 
                regulations adopted pursuant to this subsection.
            ``(3) Limitations on pilot project.--
                    ``(A) Number of organizations.--The number of 
                entities established under the pilot project authorized 
                by this subsection shall not exceed 30.
                    ``(B) Regulations required.--No entity shall 
                commence activities under the pilot project authorized 
                by this subsection until the Secretary has adopted 
                final rules and regulations under paragraph (1)(B).
            ``(4) Report to congress.--Prior to the expiration of the 
        pilot project provided for under this subsection, the Secretary 
        shall submit a report to Congress stating--
                    ``(A) a description of the Secretary's consultation 
                with Indian tribes, individual landowner associations, 
                Indian advocacy organizations, and other parties 
                consulted with regarding the development of rules and 
                regulations for the creation and management of 
                interests in trust and restricted lands under the pilot 
                project;
                    ``(B) the feasibility of accurately monitoring the 
                performance of legal entities such as those involved in 
                the pilot project, and the effectiveness of such 
                entities as mechanisms to manage and protect trust 
                assets;
                    ``(C) the impact that the use of entities such as 
                those in the pilot project may have with respect to the 
                accomplishment of the goals of the Indian Land 
                Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 2201 et seq.); and
                    ``(D) any recommendations that the Secretary may 
                have regarding whether to adopt a permanent program as 
                a management and consolidation measure for interests in 
                trust or restricted lands.
    ``(n) Notice to Heirs.--Prior to holding a hearing to determine the 
heirs to trust or restricted property, or making a decision determining 
such heirs, the Secretary shall seek to provide actual written notice 
of the proceedings to all heirs. Such efforts shall include--
            ``(1) a search of publicly available records and Federal 
        records, including telephone and address directories and 
        including electronic search services or directories;
            ``(2) an inquiry with family members and co-heirs of the 
        property;
            ``(3) an inquiry with the tribal government of which the 
        owner is a member, and the tribal government with jurisdiction 
        over the property, if any; and
            ``(4) if the property is of a value greater than $2,000, 
        engaging the services of an independent firm to conduct a 
        missing persons search.
    ``(o) Missing Heirs.--
            ``(1) For purposes of this subsection and subsection (m), 
        an heir may be presumed missing if--
                    ``(A) such heir's whereabouts remain unknown 60 
                days after completion of notice efforts under 
                subsection (m); and
                    ``(B) in the proceeding to determine a decedent's 
                heirs, the Secretary finds that the heir has had no 
                contact with other heirs of the decedent, if any, or 
                with the Department relating to trust or restricted 
                land or other trust assets at any time during the 6-
                year period preceding the hearing to determine heirs.
            ``(2) Before the date for declaring an heir missing, any 
        person may request an extension of time to locate such heir. 
        The Secretary shall grant a reasonable extension of time for 
        good cause.
            ``(3) An heir shall be declared missing only after a review 
        of the efforts made in the heirship proceeding and a finding 
has been made that this subsection has been complied with.
            ``(4) An heir determined to be missing pursuant to this 
        subsection shall be deemed to have predeceased the decedent for 
        purposes of descent and devise of trust or restricted land and 
        trust personalty within that decedent's estate.''.

SEC. 7. ANNUAL NOTICE AND FILING REQUIREMENT FOR OWNERS OF INTERESTS IN 
              TRUST OR RESTRICTED LANDS.

    The Indian Land Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 2201 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 222. ANNUAL NOTICE AND FILING; CURRENT WHEREABOUTS OF INTEREST 
              OWNERS.

    ``On at least an annual basis, the Secretary shall include along 
with other regular reports to owners of trust or restricted interests 
in land and individual Indian money account owners a change of name and 
address form by means of which the owner may confirm or update the 
owner's name and address. The change of name and address form shall 
include a section in which the owner may confirm and update the owner's 
name and address.''.

SEC. 8. NOTICE; EFFECTIVE DATE.

    (a) Notice.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall notify Indian tribes 
        and owners of trust or restricted lands of the amendments made 
        by this Act.
            (2) Specifications.--The notice required under paragraph 
        (1) shall be designed to inform Indian owners of trust or 
        restricted land of--
                    (A) the effect of this Act and the amendments made 
                by this Act, with emphasis on the effect of the 
                provisions of this Act and the amendments made by this 
                Act, on the testate disposition and intestate descent 
                of their interests in trust or restricted land;
                    (B) estate planning options available to the 
                owners, including any opportunities for receiving 
                estate planning assistance or advice;
                    (C) the use of negotiated sales, gift deeds, land 
                exchanges, and other transactions for consolidating the 
                ownership of land; and
                    (D) a toll-free telephone number to be used for 
                obtaining information regarding the provisions of this 
                Act and any trust assets of such owners.
            (3) Requirements.--The Secretary shall provide the notice 
        required under paragraph (1)--
                    (A) by direct mail for those Indians with interests 
                in trust and restricted lands for which the Secretary 
                has an address for the interest holder;
                    (B) through the Federal Register;
                    (C) through local newspapers in areas with 
                significant Indian populations, reservation newspapers, 
                and newspapers that are directed at an Indian audience; 
                and
                    (D) through any other means determined appropriate 
                by the Secretary.
            (4) Certification.--After providing notice under this 
        subsection, the Secretary shall--
                    (A) certify that the requirements of this 
                subsection have been met; and
                    (B) publish notice of that certification in the 
                Federal Register.
    (b) Effective Date.--Section 207 of the Indian Land Consolidation 
Act (25 U.S.C. 2206), except subsections (e) and (f) of that section, 
shall not apply to the estate of an individual who dies before the date 
that is 1 year after the date on which the Secretary makes the 
certification required under subsection (a)(4).

SEC. 9. SEVERABILITY.

    If any provision of this Act or of any amendment made by this Act, 
or the application of any such provision to any person or circumstance, 
is held to be invalid for any reason, the remainder of this Act and of 
amendments made by this Act, and the application of the provisions and 
of the amendments made by this Act to any other person or circumstance 
shall not be affected by such holding, except that each of subclauses 
(II), (III), and (IV) of section 205(d)(2)(I)(i) is deemed to be 
inseverable from the other 2, such that if any 1 of those 3 subclauses 
is held to be invalid for any reason, neither of the other 2 of such 
subclauses shall be given effect.

SEC. 10. REGULATIONS.

    The Secretary is authorized to adopt such regulations as may be 
necessary to implement the provisions of this Act.




                                                       Calendar No. 515

108th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                S. 1721

                          [Report No. 108-264]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

   To amend the Indian Land Consolidation Act to improve provisions 
    relating to probate of trust and restricted land, and for other 
                               purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                              May 13, 2004

                       Reported with an amendment