WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Department of the Interior launched a digital probate system for American Indian and Alaska Native families, replacing paper-based case management in an effort to reduce delays, improve tracking and address longstanding backlogs involving federally managed trust property.
The Electronic Probate System allows beneficiaries to report a death, submit documents, provide family information and monitor a case through a secure online portal. It also gives Bureau of Indian Affairs staff a separate system for reviewing records, validating documents and preparing files for the Office of Hearings and Appeals.
The department expects the platform to improve data quality and standardize probate work by organizing cases into defined stages. Assisted tools will extract and validate submitted information, while federal employees retain decision-making authority.
“The Electronic Probate System modernizes a critical service by reducing unnecessary paperwork, improving accountability, and helping us process cases more quickly while maintaining the careful human review that these important decisions require,” Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Billy Kirkland stated.
Federal probate proceedings determine how trust land, funds and other interests are distributed after the death of an American Indian or Alaska Native individual whose property is administered by the government.
The previous paper-based process limited beneficiaries’ ability to track cases and required staff to perform more manual processing. Interior said the new system will allow probate specialists to spend more time assisting families and resolving case-specific issues.
The department did not provide figures on the size of the current backlog, average processing times or projected savings from the transition.
Interior plans additional upgrades to its eNativeTrust platform as it continues digitizing federal trust-management services.
The Electronic Probate System is available at https://enativetrust.indianaffairs.gov/.
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