12.02.020 Definitions

(a) "Administrator" means the person appointed by the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Court to administer the estate of a person who dies without having executed a valid Last Will and Testament ("Will").

(b) "Affidavit" is a written, notarized statement, signed by the party making the statement and contains the following oath: "I hereby swear under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true to the best of my belief and knowledge."

(c) "Beneficiary" means any person entitled to take or share in the deceased's estate as provided for under this chapter. A "beneficiary by law" also known as an "heir" or "distributee" is one who is entitled to share in an estate because of a legal relationship with the deceased and usually when there is no Will. A "beneficiary by will" is one who may not necessarily have a legal relationship to the deceased but who is entitled to share in an estate because of the terms of a Will.

(d) "Deceased's Estate" or "Estate" means real property (land) and personal property (everything other than real property, e.g. moveable items for which a transfer of title is needed) which the deceased owned at the time of his or her death, including interests in property acquired during a marriage.

(e) "Executor" means the person designated in the deceased's Will to administer the deceased's estate or who is appointed by the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Court to administer the estate.

(f) "Heir" means a person recognized as being entitled to share in an estate based on a relationship to the deceased, also known as a "beneficiary by law" in this chapter.

(g) "Probate" means the legal process under tribal law by which a deceased's estate is distributed and which includes: determining heirs and beneficiaries; determining the validity of a Will, if any; and determining whether there are valid claims against the estate. Probate will result in the issuance of a final order distributing the estate.

(h) "Real property" means all interests in land or in buildings or improvements permanently attached to land. Reservation land which is held by a tribal member through a use and occupancy deed issued by the Tribe or other written instrument is a "possessory interest" in real property, which means the person has a right to possess the land under tribal law. A possessory interest is real property under this chapter.

(i) "Reservation" means both the Saint Regis Mohawk Indian Tribe Reservation as established by the 1796 Treaty with the Seven Nations of Canada (7 Stat. 55) and any other lands over which the Tribe exercises jurisdiction now or in the future.

(j) "Tribal Clerk" means the elected official responsible for, among other things, administering tribal land records. See Tribal Clerk Act, TCR 2003-115 and any future amendments.

(k) "Tribal Court" means the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Court.

(l) "Tribal Member" means an enrolled member of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe.

(m) "Tribe" means the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe.

(n) "Willmaker" is a person who makes a Will.