12.02.230 Executor Duties and Procedures

(a) Preliminary Expenses.

The Executor is required to pay for funeral expenses or any outstanding medical bills using the property of the estate, if available. The Executor is not required to pay any expenses out of pocket.

(b) Inventory.

(1) List of Assets. The Executor is required to take an inventory of all property and assets of the deceased. Assets may or may not include family heirlooms or items of sentimental value. This inventory is to be filed with Tribal Court within thirty (30) days after his/her appointment. The inventory should include an estimated value of all property and assets of the deceased. If an asset is of significant value, such as real property, an appraisal is recommended. The inventory should also indicate those items intended to be sold for the payment of debts or other estate requirements, if any. The Executor shall provide a copy of this inventory to all persons with a known interest in the estate at the same time it is filed with the Court.

(2) Objection to Inventory. Within thirty (30) days of the receipt of the inventory, any person with an interest in the estate may file an objection to the inventory or to the sale of any item in the inventory.

(3) Hearing and Court Review. If objections to the inventory are filed, the Tribal Court shall schedule a hearing to be held within thirty (30) days of date objections are filed. The Tribal Court shall notify all interested parties of the hearing. Upon consideration of the objections, the Tribal Court may order an amendment to the inventory or appraisal, or issue an order regarding the sale of property, as it deems just and proper to carry out the terms of the estate.

(1) Identification. The Executor is required to identify all creditors of the estate. To do so, the Executor shall search the deceased's records for bills, notices, loan papers, and other documentation that suggests the deceased may have outstanding debts. The Executor has the duty to contact all known creditors to determine amounts owed and the process for addressing bills and other debts. The Executor shall also publish a public notice within thirty (30) days of appointment stating that all other creditors must present their claims to the Executor and that only the claims presented may be considered for payment by the estate. The notice shall give the creditors thirty (30) days to respond and will clearly state the final date for claims to be presented. Unless there is a waiver or modification approved by the Court, the notice shall be posted on the Tribe's website, and published for three consecutive weeks in a publication of general distribution on the Reservation and if deemed necessary in the nearby towns of Massena and Malone.

(2) Documentation. For those debts identified by the Executor from the estate records, the Executor shall prepare a list of the amounts owed and any necessary forms or documentation needed to resolve the debts and close accounts. Any other claims submitted by a creditor shall state under oath that his claim is justly due, that to the extent payments were made by the deceased they have been credited, and that he/she knows of no offsets against the claim. If a creditor fails to present a claim within the time period allowed, the creditor may request that the Tribal Court in its discretion allow him/her to file the claim directly with the Tribal Court at the same as the Executor presents the creditors' claims under subsection (4) below. Such requests shall not be unreasonably denied.

(3) Executor Review. Once the Executor collects the creditors' claims, the Executor will review them and will notify the creditors as to whether they are accepted or rejected and explain the reasons for the decision. The Executor is required to make a decision and provide notice within thirty (30) days of presentation of the claim.

(4) Court Review.

(A) The Executor shall notify the Tribal Court as to whether any creditor claims have been presented.

(B) If there are claims, the Executor shall provide the Tribal Court with a list of claims with supporting documentation explaining whether the claim has been accepted or rejected. The Executor must present this information to the Court no later than forty-five (45) days after the creditor claim period has closed.

(C) Rejected creditors have ten (10) days to respond to the list filed with the Court. If after ten (10) days, no objections are filed, the Court may approve the list and the Executor may pay the approved claims. If a rejected creditor files an objection, the Tribal Court shall determine the validity of the claim and the objection, relying on the affidavit or personal testimony of the claimant. An order regarding a creditor's claim may be appealed. If an objection or appeal is filed, the Administrator may pay creditors only after the Tribal Court issues an order regarding the validity of the claims. At no time, shall the Tribal Court permit the sale of Tribal Land to satisfy an estate's debts except if the claimant can show that the deceased expected his/her land to be sold to satisfy the outstanding debt.

(5) Timing

In sum, the time frame for the Executor as set forth in this chapter is as follows:

(A) Inventory.

Within thirty (30) days after appointment, the Executor will present an estate inventory to the Court.
Objections to the inventory are to be filed with the court no later than thirty (30) days thereafter.
If objections are filed, the court must hold a hearing within thirty (30) days.

(B) Creditor's Claims.

Within thirty (30) days after appointment, the Executor must publish a public notice asking for creditors to bring forth their claims.
A Creditor will have thirty (30) days from the date of the last public notice to file a claim with the Administrator.
The Executor will have thirty (30) days from the filing of the claim to decide whether to recognize the creditor's claim.
If claims are filed or debts are identified, the Executor must file a list of claims with the Court within forty-five (45) days after the claim period closes.
Rejected creditors have ten (10) days to file with the Court documentation explaining why they should be paid.

(d) Insufficient Estate and Reduction of Shares.

(1) Priority. If there are not enough assets in the deceased's estate to make a full distribution of property under the Will, beneficiary shares shall be reduced, without any preference or priority as between real and personal property, as follows: (1) shares that may be inherited through the application of the rules for distribution without a Will are reduced first; (2) shares that may be inherited though the residual provision of a Will are reduced second, and (3) only then are specific devises under the Will reduced.

(2) Proportion. The reduction of the shares is in proportion to the amount of property each of the beneficiaries would have received if a full distribution of the property had been made in accordance with the terms of the Will.

(3) Specific Devise. If the estate is so insufficient that the subject of a specific devise is sold or used as part of estate administration, the remaining shares shall be adjusted to reflect the contribution of the specific devise.

(e) Distribution of Estate.

The Executor is responsible for distributing the estate once beneficiaries are identified and the creditors, if any, have been identified.

(1) Creditors. All verified claims of creditors allowed by the Tribal Court shall be paid before distribution of the estate to the heirs.

(2) Accounting. Before distributing the estate to the beneficiaries, the Executor must provide the Tribal Court with an accounting of the estate for approval. The accounting will show all disbursements made for expenses and creditors, and shall include receipts. The accounting will also show the computation of any attorney's and/or Executor's fees for which approval is sought. The accounting will set out the remaining estate to be distributed and contain a statement that the estate is ready to be distributed to the beneficiaries. The accounting may include a signed consent form from each beneficiary to the proposed distribution from the estate.

(3) Advances. When distributing property among the beneficiaries, any property that was advanced is valued at the time the beneficiary came into possession of the property.

(4) Executor Fee. If an Executor requests a fee, the Tribal Court shall establish the percentage for compensation on a case by case basis, but in no event shall the percentage be more than five (5%) percent of the total value of the gross estate

(f) Order Approving Distribution and Closing of Estate.

(1) Order of Distribution. When the Tribal Court is satisfied that an estate is ready to be distributed and the Executor has set out the plan for distribution in the accounting, the Tribal Court shall issue an order approving the distribution.

(2) Closing of Estate. Once the estate is distributed, the Executor shall file a statement with the Tribal Court stating that the estate is fully administered and ready to be closed and submit receipts showing that the estate is fully distributed. Upon receipt of this statement, the estate shall be closed, the Executor of the estate shall be dismissed, and if applicable, any bond shall be released.

(g) Reopening an Estate. If property is discovered after an estate has been closed, the estate may be reopened to dispose of the property. The Tribal Court shall order distribution of the property to the person or persons entitled thereto after issuing whatever orders are necessary to assure a just participation of the after-discovered property in the expenses of the estate.