Indian Land Consolidation Payoff in the Great Lakes Region ...

Tim LaPointe and his staff worked closely with a beneficiary to keep his trust information up to date. The beneficiary was in no hurry to fill out requisite forms because of the small balance and lack of recurring income in his account. LaPointe advised the beneficiary he might be able to sell his interests through the Indian Land Consolidation Office's buy-back program to receive additional funds. When the beneficiary updated his information, ILCO sent him an ownership inventory and application. In a few months the man received $11,786 from one sale; another was pending at press time.

Processing Probates at the Fort Peck Agency ...

Trust Officer Charles Knowlton worked with a beneficiary’s widower to help him with his wife’s estate distribution. Knowlton was first informed that the estate account would be submitted for closure in four to six months. The beneficiary was upset at the delay, so Knowlton worked with the deputy superintendent at Fort Peck to have the estate given priority. Because of the collaboration between OST and BIA, the estate package was submitted for distribution in just over three months.

Understanding the Indian Probate Reform Act at the Northern Cheyenne Agency ...

Trust Officer Lynette Verlanic gave a presentation at a Montana State Symposium on the American Indian Probate Reform Act. Verlanic discussed OST and trust officers and how they can help beneficiaries. The audience expressed concern about probates and Interior’s new policies. Verlanic was able to help them with information. After the meeting she met with a tribal council member from Northern Cheyenne who was very interested in AIPRA information. The two began collaborating to give presentations and informational meetings on the new law for beneficiaries all around the region.

Helping Families With Ailing Parents in Rocky Mountain Region ...

Trust Officer Bruce Loudermilk received a telephone call from a beneficiary whose elderly father just had surgery. The beneficiary told Loudermilk that she didn’t know who she could contact for assistance. She explained that a friend who works for her tribe, Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes, directed her to OST, and to Loudermilk. She then let him know that the tribe had told her to fill out various trust forms but that she was having a hard time understanding them. Loudermilk went to the hospital and helped the family complete the forms, and others, to admit her father to a nursing home. Sadly, a week later the beneficiary’s father passed away. A month later Loudermilk ran into the beneficiary at the Fort Peck Agency. “I told her that I heard of her father's passing and expressed my condolences, ” he said. “She told me that it was so nice to have someone to turn to for help when she was going through this difficult time.”