§ 954. — Powers and duties of guardians.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 25USC954]
TITLE 25--INDIANS
CHAPTER 14--MISCELLANEOUS
SUBCHAPTER XLIV--AGUA CALIENTE (PALM SPRINGS) RESERVATION OF CALIFORNIA:
EQUALIZATION OF ALLOTMENTS
Sec. 954. Powers and duties of guardians
(a) Appointment and continuance in office; notice to Secretary of State
court proceedings; appearance
No guardian or other fiduciary shall be appointed under State law
for the estate of any member of the band, or continued in office, except
with approval of the Secretary: Provided, That no conservator for any
member of the band shall be appointed under State law or continued in
office after the effective date of this Act, unless the individual
Indian concerned, with the approval of the Secretary, personally
petitions for the appointment or continuation of such appointment. The
Secretary shall be given notice of all proceedings in the State court
with respect to the estate of any member of the band which is being
administered, and he may at any time appear as a party in such
proceedings, and may exercise all rights accorded to a party under State
law.
(b) Management and disposition of trust property and property subject to
restrictions against alienation by guardians, conservators, or
fiduciaries; approved activities; approval of activities
No guardian, conservator or other fiduciary appointed under State
law shall, in his official capacity, participate in the management or
disposition of any property or interest therein which is held in trust
by the United States for a member of the band or is subject to
restrictions against alienation imposed by the laws of the United
States, execute or approve any use, expenditure, investment, deposit, or
disposition of such property or interest therein, or proceeds therefrom,
or receive any fee or other compensation for services hereafter
performed with respect to such property or interest therein. The
provisions of this subsection shall not preclude any such person, in his
private capacity, from participating in the management or disposition of
such property or interest therein with the specific approval of the
Secretary of the Interior. Actions with respect to the use, expenditure,
investment, deposit, or disposition of such property or interests
therein, or proceeds therefrom, shall be valid and efficacious in all
respects without participation of affirmation by any guardian,
conservator, or other fiduciary appointed under State law.
(c) Reports by guardians; failure or refusal to report; fraudulent,
capricious, arbitrary or grossly erroneous reports; prosecution;
appropriate relief
The Secretary, at any time, may require any guardian, conservator,
or other fiduciary appointed under State law for a member of the band to
submit a full and complete report concerning his handling of the estate
during the preceding six years. If any person or entity required to do
so by the Secretary fails or refuses to so report, or, if having
reported, the Secretary concludes that any action connected therewith is
fraudulent, or capricious or arbitrary or so grossly erroneous as
necessarily to imply bad faith, he may request the Attorney General to
cause an action to be brought in the name of the United States in the
United States District Court for the Central District of California or
in any such district court having jurisdiction over the person, or
persons, and subject matter, for such relief as may be appropriate, and
said courts are hereby granted jurisdiction to hear and determine such
action.
(d) Delivery to Secretary of money or property at termination of
fiduciary relationship
The Secretary may require any money or property in the possession of
a fiduciary at the time the fiduciary relationship is terminated, or
which is recovered pursuant to this subchapter, to be delivered to him
to be held in trust for the individual Indian concerned.
(e) Use and disposition of money or property held in trust by the United
States by the Secretary; consent by competent Indian;
determination of competency; applicability of administrative
procedure under title 5; time and place of hearing; judicial
review
Under such regulations as he shall provide, and with the consent of
the individual Indian concerned, unless the Secretary determines such
Indian to be incompetent by reason of minority or otherwise, in which
case such consent shall not be required, the Secretary may use, advance,
expend, exchange, deposit, dispose of, invest and reinvest, in any
manner and for any purpose, any money or other property held by the
United States in trust for such Indian. The Secretary shall make no
determination that an adult Indian is incompetent except after according
him an opportunity to be heard upon reasonable notice, in accordance
with the provisions of subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5. Unless the
Indian otherwise agrees, the hearing shall be held in the State of
California within sixty days of the date of notice. A person aggrieved
by a determination of incompetency made by the Secretary shall be
entitled to judicial review of such determination in accordance with
sections 701 to 706 of title 5.
(f) Authority of the Secretary under other provisions unaffected
Nothing herein shall be deemed to limit any authority possessed by
the Secretary under any other provisions of law.
(Pub. L. 86-339, Sec. 4, Sept. 21, 1959, 73 Stat. 604; Pub. L. 90-597,
Oct. 17, 1968, 82 Stat. 1164.)
References in Text
The effective date of this Act, referred to in subsec. (a), probably
means the date of enactment of Pub. L. 86-339, which was approved Sept.
21, 1959.
Codification
In subsec. (e), ``subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5''
substituted for ``the Administrative Procedure Act'' on authority of
Pub. L. 89-554, Sec. 7(b), Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 631, the first
section of which enacted Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.
Amendments
1968--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 90-597 substituted provisions requiring
Secretary to approve any guardian or other fiduciary appointed under
State law for estate of any member of band or continued in office as
guardian of estate, and provisions requiring Secretary to be given
notice of State court proceedings involving estate of any member of band
and power to appear in such proceedings, for provisions requiring
Secretary to request appointment of a guardian of estate of minor
allottees and adult allottees needing assistance.
Subsecs. (b) to (f). Pub. L. 90-597 added subsecs. (b) to (f).
