U.S. Code » Title 25 » Chapter CHAPTER 10— DESCENT AND DISTRIBUTION; HEIRS OF ALLOTTEE

25 U.S.C. § 372a

Heirs by adoption

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In probate matters under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior, no person shall be recognized as an heir of a deceased Indian by virtue of an adoption—(1) Unless such adoption shall have been—(a) by a judgment or decree of a State court;(b) by a judgment or decree of an Indian court;(c) by a written adoption approved by the superintendent of the agency having jurisdiction over the tribe of which either the adopted child or the adoptive parent is a member, and duly recorded in a book kept by the superintendent for that purpose; or(d) by an adoption in accordance with a procedure established by the tribal authority, recognized by the Department of the Interior, of the tribe either of the adopted child or the adoptive parent, and duly recorded in a book kept by the tribe for that purpose; or(2) Unless such adoption shall have been recognized by the Department of the Interior prior to the effective date of this section or in the distribution of the estate of an Indian who has died prior to that date: Provided, That an adoption by Indian custom made prior to the effective date of this section may be made valid by recordation with the superintendent if both the adopted child and the adoptive parent are still living, if the adoptive parent requests that the adoption be recorded, and if the adopted child is an adult and makes such a request or the superintendent on behalf of a minor child approves of the recordation.This section shall not apply with respect to the distribution of the estates of Indians of the Five Civilized Tribes or the Osage Tribe in the State of Oklahoma, or with respect to the distribution of estates of Indians who have died prior to the effective date of this section.(July 8, 1940, ch. 555, §§ 1, 2, 54 Stat. 746.)Editorial NotesReferences in Text

For effective date of this section, referred to in text, see Effective Date note set out below.

Codification

First and second paragraphs of this section are from sections 1 and 2, respectively, of act July 8, 1940.

Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesEffective Date

Act July 8, 1940, ch. 555, § 3, 54 Stat. 746, provided that: “This Act shall become effective six months after the date of its approval [July 8, 1940].”

Executive DocumentsTransfer of Functions

For transfer of functions of other officers, employees, and agencies of Department of the Interior, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of the Interior, with power to delegate, see Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1950, §§ 1, 2, eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3174, 64 Stat. 1262, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 8 cases, 1960–2016 · leading case: Fisher v. Dist. Court of the Sixteenth Jud. Dist. of Montana, 424 U.S. 382 (1976).
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Fisher v. Dist. Court of the Sixteenth Jud. Dist. of Montana, 424 U.S. 382 (1976). · cites it 2× “The court reasoned that prior to the organization of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe in 1935, the Montana courts possessed jurisdiction over adoptions involving tribal members residing on the reservation and that this jurisdiction could not be unilaterally divested by tribal…”
Lewis v. Sac & Fox Tribe of Oklahoma Hous. Auth., 896 P.2d 503 (Okla. 1994). · cites it 2× “Relying on a federal statute, 25 U.S.C. § 372a, the Montana Supreme Court recognized concurrent state and tribal jurisdiction over adoption of Indians.”
Nanonka v. Heirs of Nanonka, 645 P.2d 507 (Okla. 1982). · cites it 2× “3 The uncles assert that 25 U.S.C. § 372a 4 is controlling and that it precludes recognition of appellee as the heir because the adoption is not in conformity with the statutory requirements.”
Evans v. United States, 107 Fed. Cl. 442 (Fed. Cl. 2012). · cites it 5× “The statute at 25 U.S.C. § 372a concerns children adopted by an Indian, not children like the plaintiff, who claims he was born to an Indian and then adopted by another family.”
Est. of Sauser v. United States, 171 F. Supp. 3d 947 (D.S.D. 2016). “(ii) Adopted heirs Any person recognized as an heir by virtue of adoption under the Act of July 8, 1940 (25 U.S.C. § 372a), shall be treated as the child of a decedent under this subsection.”
State ex rel. Adams v. Superior Court for Okanogan Cnty., 356 P.2d 985 (Wash. 1960). “Respondent contends the juvenile court has jurisdiction by reason of 25 USCA § 372a (1959), which reads: “In probate matters under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior, no person shall be recognized as an heir of a deceased Indian by virtue of an adoption—…”
State Ex Rel. Adams v. Sup. Ct. for Okanogan Cty., 356 P.2d 985 (Wash. 1960). “[5] Respondent contends the juvenile court has jurisdiction by reason of 25 USCA § 372a (1959), which reads: "In probate matters under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior, no person shall be recognized as an heir of a deceased Indian by virtue of an…”
State Ex Rel. Adoption of Firecrow v. Dist. Ct., 536 P.2d 190 (Mont. 1975). “The United States Congress has implicitly recognized that state courts have *193 concurrent jurisdiction over adoptions involving Indians in 25 U.S.C. § 372a. The district court having always had jurisdiction over adoptions involving Indians, 25 U.”
— 25 U.S.C. § 372a(l)(a) — 1 case
Evans v. United States, 107 Fed. Cl. 442 (Fed. Cl. 2012). “The statute at 25 U.S.C. § 372a concerns children adopted by an Indian, not children like the plaintiff, who claims he was born to an Indian and then adopted by another family.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.