DU law students bring nation’s largest tribal will clinic to Ignacio
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IGNACIO, Colo. — Folding tables covered in laptops, clipboards and legal forms filled the Southern Ute Multi-Purpose Facility in late December. Three printers ran nonstop in the corner as tribal members told law students how they wanted their land and belongings passed down after their death.
For four days, 25 students from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law helped tribal members write wills through the school’s Tribal Wills Project, a free legal clinic that travels to tribal communities across the country. It is the largest tribal wills clinic in the country.
Founded by DU law professor Lucy Marsh, the project focuses on writing wills for tribal members who own trust or allotment land — property held in trust by the federal government for Native American landowners. Marsh said these cases are governed by federal laws that are complex and unfamiliar to many attorneys.
“This is a whole different ballgame,” Marsh said. “They can really mess it up if they don’t know what they’re doing.”
During the trip, the team finalized 53 wills. About 70% of clients were members of the Navajo Nation, while 30% were Southern Ute. Translators were available on site to assist tribal elders.
Legal services are limited on many reservations, especially for estate planning. While some tribal members assume their tribal governments can help, many later learn that tribal departments of justice represent the government, not individuals, said Etta Arviso, a Navajo Nation member from the Nageezi community in New Mexico.
“We can’t even look up to the Navajo Nation to help us with any legal matters,” said Arviso, 66. “We’re on our own. We have to find our own attorney.”
Arviso drove about an hour to Ignacio after learning about the clinic through a pamphlet at a Ute Mountain Ute office. She owns allotment land near Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, and said she had struggled to find legal help related to land issues in the area.
“The clinic process was easy and simple,” said Arviso. “We called ahead to check what documents we needed, and we put things together.”
“It is extremely important for tribal members to set up a will,” said Marsh.
Under federal law, if a tribal member with trust land dies without a will, nearly all of the land may pass only to the oldest child or the oldest grandchild. The surviving spouse and other children may receive nothing. In some cases, the land can go to the tribe’s government.
Probate, the legal process in which the courts determine how property is distributed can also take five years or more when there is no will, said Heidi Gassman, a supervising attorney with the Tribal Wills Project.
Thomas Kellywood, 65, a Navajo Nation member and allotment land owner, said that happened to his family. His brother died without a will, and the land went back to the Navajo Nation. Kellywood was the only living member of his family. He inherited nothing.
These rules stem from the American Indian Probate Reform Act, a federal law passed in 2004 and updated in 2008 to address land “fractionation,” in which land ownership becomes divided among dozens or even hundreds of heirs over generations. While the law aimed to reduce fractionation, it also created new challenges for families without wills.
Tribal wills are made more complex by the fact that certain items can only pass down to tribal members. For example, it is illegal for non-Native people to possess eagle feathers or some ceremonial items. Some tribes also have their own probate codes, requiring attorneys to navigate tribal, federal and sometimes state laws at the same time.
The clinic also helps clients include burial instructions in their wills.
The clinic is staffed by six to seven volunteer supervising attorneys and two Bureau of Indian Affairs officers. Students must complete courses in trusts and estates and attend specialized training on tribal probate law before drafting wills. Students who have not completed the course can still participate by assisting with administrative tasks.
Marsh intentionally designed the program without academic credit.
“I’m looking for some sort of commitment to do something useful for someone else,” she said.
For many students, the clinic is their first experience working directly with clients.
“It was a little nerve-wracking at first,” said Chelsea Watson, a second-year law student who drafted wills.
But she said the real-world experience was a welcome challenge.
“In law school, you learn the law and take one big four-hour exam,” she said. “This is very, very different. I understand things better now because I’ve seen how it plays out in an actual will.”
The Tribal Wills Project began in 2012 after John Roach, a fiduciary trust officer with the Department of the Interior, contacted law schools in the southwest looking for students to help tribal members write wills. Marsh was the only professor who responded.
The first clinic took place the following year. Since then, the program has traveled to eight states and now serves about 50 clients per trip. The DU team typically travels three times a year, hauling printers, paper and supplies, sometimes staying up past midnight to finish drafts.
Marsh said attitudes toward wills have changed over time. In the early years of the clinic, there was a strong taboo around writing wills. She once worked with a client who wanted to discuss estate planning but did not want the word “will” mentioned.
“Our people didn’t believe in doing wills in the white man’s way because they say you’re setting yourself and your family to death,” Arviso said. “But now everything’s changed to the English way.”
To Arviso, a will is more than legal paperwork.
“The will is very important for our young generation to learn about,” she said. “It’s very important to know what sacrifices were made for us. To know where you’re coming from and where you’re headed.”
The next Tribal Wills Project clinic is scheduled for spring break in Chinle, Arizona, on the Navajo Nation.
Type of story: News
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. To read more about why you can trust the journalism of Rocky Mountain PBS, please visit our editorial standards and practices page.
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. To read more about why you can trust the journalism of Rocky Mountain PBS, please visit our editorial standards and practices page.