[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 220 (Thursday, November 16, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53516-53517]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-24879]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs

[189A2100DD/AAKC001030/A0A501010.999900 253G; OMB Control Number 1076-
0169]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Probate of Indian 
Estates, Except for Members of the Osage Nation and Five Civilized 
Tribes

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Information Collection; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is proposing to renew an information 
collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
January 16, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the information collection request 
(ICR) by mail to Ms. Charlene Toledo, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office 
of Trust Services, Division of Probate Services 2600 N Central Ave., 
STE MS 102, Phoenix, AZ 85004: or email to [email protected]. 
Please reference OMB Control Number 1076-0169 in the subject line of 
your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information 
about this ICR, contact Ms. Charlene Toledo by telephone at (505) 563-
3371.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, we provide the general public and other Federal agencies 
with an opportunity to comment on new, proposed, revised, and 
continuing collections of information. This helps us assess the impact 
of our information collection requirements and minimize the public's 
reporting burden. It also helps the public understand our information

[[Page 53517]]

collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired 
format.
    We are soliciting comments on the proposed ICR that is described 
below. We are especially interested in public comment addressing the 
following issues: (1) Is the collection necessary to the proper 
functions of the BIA (2) will this information be processed and used in 
a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden accurate; (4) how might 
the BIA enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected; and (5) how might the BIA minimize the burden of this 
collection on the respondents, including through the use of information 
technology.
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. We will include or summarize each comment in our request 
to OMB to approve this ICR. Before including your address, phone 
number, email address, or other personal identifying information in 
your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--including 
your personal identifying information--may be made publicly available 
at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your 
personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so.
    Abstract: The Secretary of the Interior probates the estates of 
individual Indians owning trust or restricted property in accordance 
with 25 U.S.C. 372-373. In order to compile the probate file, the BIA 
must obtain the family heirship data regarding the deceased from 
individuals and the tribe. This section contains the procedures that 
the Secretary of the Interior follows to initiate the probate of the 
trust estate for a deceased person who owns an interest in trust or 
restricted property. The Secretary must perform the necessary research 
of family heirship data collection requests in this part to obtain the 
information necessary to compile an accurate and complete probate file. 
This file will be forwarded to the Office of Hearing and Appeals (OHA) 
for disposition. Responses to these information collection requests are 
required to create a probate file for the decedent's estate so that OHA 
can determine the heirs of the decedent and order distribution of the 
trust assets in the decedent's estate.
    Title of Collection: Probate of Indian Estates, Except for Members 
of the Osage Nation and Five Civilized Tribes.
    OMB Control Number: 1076-0169.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Extension without change of currently approved 
collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Indians, businesses, and tribal 
authorities.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 65,751.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 76,695.
    Estimated Completion Time per Response: Ranges from 0.5 hours to 
45.5 hours (see table below).

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                 Description of info         Hours per
        CFR Section            collection requirement        response
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15.9......................  File affidavit to self-prove             0.5
                             will, codicil, or
                             revocation.
15.9......................  File supporting affidavit to             0.5
                             self-prove will, codicil,
                             or revocation.
15.104....................  Reporting req.- death                      5
                             certificate.
15.105....................  Provide probate documents...            45.5
15.203....................  Provide tribal information                 2
                             for probate file.
15.301....................  Reporting funeral expenses..               2
15.305....................  Provide info on creditor                 0.5
                             claim (6 per probate).
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    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 1,037,513 hours.
    Respondent's Obligation: A response is required to obtain a 
benefit.
    Frequency of Collection: One per respondent each year with the 
exception of tribes that may be required to provide enrollment 
information on an average of approximately 10 times/year.
    Total Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: $0.
    An agency may not conduct or sponsor and a person is not required 
to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a 
currently valid OMB control number.
    The authority for this action is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq).

Elizabeth K. Appel,
Director, Office of Regulatory Affairs and Collaborative Action--Indian 
Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2017-24879 Filed 11-15-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4337-15-P