Employment Opportunities

General Description

Responsibilities

• Must be willing to cross-train with duties such as realty specialist.
• Receives calls and visitors and answers inquiries from owners of trust and restricted land regarding rules governing probate/realty. 
• Examines legal documents for the purpose of ascertaining ownership status of lands and resources held in trust or restricted states, and to ensure the accuracy of legal descriptions; researches land titles and prepares an inventory of real property in Indian estates;
• Collects information regarding trust and restricted funds in Indian estate accounts maintained by the Department; researches and assembles statistical and historical data and prepares casework (family data and heirship information, etc.) for submission to the BIA Attorney Decision Maker or the OHA Administrative Law Judge for probate hearings. 
• Applies specialized knowledge of probate/realty legal principles in evaluating factual documents and other information to determine the level of legal complexity in Indian probate cases; assembles inventories, and all legal documents, including heirship data, wills and codicils into a probate case package for referral to BIA Attorney Decision Makers or OHA Administrative Law Judge; works independently in developing facts and evidence for inclusion in the probate package; maintains administrative records that track Indian probate proceedings until completion of the case.
• During the pendency of the probate proceedings, reviews, analyzes and makes recommendations to the Attorney Decision Makers, Attorney Advisors, or Administrative Law Judge regarding proposed leases, rights of way, or other encumbrances of the trust or restricted lands and resources in the estate; performs a wide variety of legal research to assist the decision makers in resolving problems arising under federal, tribal and state case law applicable to testamentary disposition of property, title status, genealogy and other probate matters.
• Interprets the decision of the Attorney Decision Makers and the Administrative Law Judges at the close of probate proceedings, takes all actions necessary to effect new land and resource ownership data (manual and automated, e.g., tract folders, allotment files, inheritance cards, leases, and data stored in title systems such as IRMS and RDRS); payment of any trust and restricted funds in the estate account; notifies all federal, tribal and state officials who have an official need to know the final decision.  Maintains all ownership records.
• Provides guidance in estate planning in accordance with federal, state and tribal inheritance codes to Indians who own trust or restricted lands and resources; independently drafts and supervises the execution of wills, codicils, revocations of wills, and other property disposition documents in accordance with the intent of Indian clients and in compliance with federal statutes and regulations, tribal and state laws; maintains files that contain executed testamentary documents; maintains statistical records on estate administration matters.
• Uses legal descriptions to create land plats of property owned by the tribe and tribal members; creates new legal descriptions and land plats for gift deeds, partitions, housing leases and other land conveyances.
• Knowledge of grammar, spelling, punctuation and required formats; Skill in operating personal computers applicable to automated performance of administrative tasks as well as calculators, fax machines, typewriters, etc.,
• Expert administrative knowledge of the forms and legal effects of all documents affecting the title, encumbrance, use rights, and rights to income from land administered by the BIA, including but not limited to, land patents, trust patents, deeds, mortgages, grants for rights of way, leases and various land and title documents;
• Ability to read, understand and create sufficient legal land descriptions for trust and fee lands;
• The Probate/Realty Specialist must possess and be able to accurately apply a quasi-legal knowledge of the following: duties include but not limited gift deeds, Oil& Gas Leasing, Real and personal property legal principles, laws, practices and legal documents that affect land titles, (e.g., disclaimers, deeds, patents, mortgages, releases, liens, divorce decrees, probate orders, tax deeds, tax exemption certificates, guardianship orders) sufficient to analyze land sales, acquisitions, leases, easements, partitions and wills.

• Duties include but not limited to gift deed and Oil & Gas

Education/knowledge requirements

• Must have a high school Diploma or Equivalent. Associate’s Degree preferred.
• Prefer at least 2 yrs experience working as a Tribal Probate/Realty Specialist.
• Knowledge of the federal, state and tribal laws, constitutions, probate and administration of estates laws, inheritance laws and ordinances, Departmental and Bureau regulations, policy directives and delegations of authority as they relate to land titles and transactions involving trust lands, trust and restricted money accounts, e.g., Code of Federal Regulations (25 CFR Parts 15 and 115, 43 CFR, Part 4, etc.) United States Statutes and Codes, IBIA decisions, BIAM, ILCA; BIA, OTFM, and OHA organizational missions, program purposes and operations and the interrelationships of DOI programs affecting Indian probate activities; Privacy Act and Freedom of Information Act, as they apply to the management, ownership and inheritance of Indian trust lands.

• The work is principally sedentary desk work with no special physical demands required.  Duties are performed in an office environment, training rooms, conference rooms, etc.  Work involves walking, standing, bending and carrying papers, books and ledgers. 
• Must posses a valid Oklahoma Driver’s License.
• Must be able to pass a comprehensive federal background check.