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Native American Estate PlanningMany years ago, when Native Americans were forced to leave their homes and re-locate to new areas designated by the United States government, the United States agreed that, in exchange for uprooting the Native Americans, the tribes would have sovereignty over their new lands. That means that tribal lands are technically not part of the United States, and therefore have their own laws and legal procedures. If you own property on tribal lands, there are a few things to take into consideration when creating your estate plan:
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- Unlike most default probate laws in the United States (the laws that apply if you don’t have a will), many tribal laws designate the tribe as the heir of any tribal lands instead of your family members. If you own tribal property and don’t have estate planning documents in place that comply with that tribe’s law, your property may simply revert to the tribe when you pass away.
- Planning for individuals with tribal property is similar to international planning. If a tribe recognizes your US-compliant estate planning documents, we would just make sure that the documents properly address assets in both jurisdictions. If the tribe has separate requirements, we would create two separate plans that are coordinated between the two jurisdictions (rather than cancelling each other out).
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E-book: "Estate Planning For Aliens to Natives & Everyone In Between"If you own property outside of the United States or governed by foreign law, that property could be at risk if something happens to you. Our upcoming E-Book, "Estate Planning for Aliens to Natives & Everyone in Between" discusses important planning considerations for anyone with property abroad, property on Native American Tribal Lands, and/or anyone who has emigrated to another country. In today's global economy planning is extremely important for anyone with multi-national connections.
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