1-1-4. INITIATING ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATE.

1. Petition of Probate Estate.
   Any person having an interest in the administration of an estate which is subject to the jurisdiction of the Tribal Court may file a written petition with the Tribal Court requesting that such estate be administered in probate.  Such petition shall set forth:
   1. The name, date of death and residential address of the decedent at the time of his or her death;
   2. That the decedent was an Indian who, at the time of his or her death, was domiciled or owned real or personal property situated within the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation which does not come within the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior;
   3. The nature of the estate and any other facts that may be necessary to give the Tribal Court jurisdiction to probate such estate;
   4. That the decedent did not leave a Will so far as is known to the petitioner, or that the decedent left a Will which has been presented to the Court for admission to probate;
   5. The name, age and residential address of the person nominated in the decedent’s Will, if any, to  administer the decedent’s estate and, if such person desires to be appointed as Administrator, a sworn statement by such person that he or she is willing to serve as Administrator of the decedent’s estate;
   6. The names, ages, relationship to the decedent and resident addresses of all of the decedent’s heirs, devisees and legatees, so far as are known to the petitioner;
   7. The name and address of a disinterested and competent person to appraise the value of the decedent’s estate.
2. Order to Probate Estate.
   Upon finding that the decedent was an Indian who, at the time of his or her death, was domiciled or owned real or person property situated within the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation which does not come within the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Interior; that the decedent left an estate subject to the jurisdiction of the Court; and that it is necessary to probate such estate, the court shall enter an order directing that the estate be probated.  The order shall state whether or not a Will of the decedent has been admitted to probate and if so, the order shall state that any person desiring to contest the validity of such Will must do so within 90 days following the date of the order to probate the estate or within such time as the court may thereafter establish, should it appear that the probate involves an exempt estate having an appraised value which does not exceed $1,500.00.  The order shall also appoint an Administrator to administer the decedent’s estate and appoint an appraiser to appraise the value of the decedent’s estate.
3. Notice of Probate.
   Immediately following the entry of the Order to Probate the Estate, the Administrator shall send by certified mail true copies of the Order to Probate the Estate and the Will of the decedent admitted to probate by such order, if any, for the Tribe and to each heir, devisee and legatee of the decedent, at their last known address, so far as is known to the Administrator.  The Administrator shall, not less than 30 days following the entry of the order, file his or her affidavit with the court showing compliance with this requirement of giving notice of the probate proceedings.