Estate of Irma Ross, 51 IBIA 21 (2009)

INTERIOR BOARD OF INDIAN APPEALS Estate of Irma Ross 51 IBIA 21 (12/16/2009)

United States Department of the Interior

OFFICE OF HEARINGS AND APPEALS INTERIOR BOARD OF INDIAN APPEALS 801 NORTH QUINCY STREET SUITE 300 ARLINGTON, VA 22203

ESTATE OF IRMA ROSS

Order Docketing and Dismissing Appeal Docket No. IBIA 10-016 December 16, 2009

On November 10, 2009, the Board of Indian Appeals (Board) received a notice of appeal from Jerry Ross (Appellant), seeking review of an October 8, 2009, Modification Order entered by Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Richard D. Hines, in the estate of Appellant’s mother, Irma Ross (Decedent), deceased San Carlos Apache, Probate No. WS6160010. The ALJ’s order reopened Decedent’s estate to modify the inventory and remove Kiowa Tracts M-952 and S-952 (Kiowa Tracts) from the estate, thus conforming the inventory for Decedent’s estate to an order issued in 2007 in the estate of Decedent’s father, Kline (Cline) Hosay (Hosay).1 Decedent had inherited an interest in the Kiowa Tracts from Hosay’s estate, under a probate order issued in 2000. But Hosay’s estate was reopened in 2007 to approve Hosay’s will and distribute his estate accordingly, and under Hosay’s will, Decedent received nothing from Hosay’s estate.2 We docket this appeal, but dismiss it because the substance of Appellant’s complaint concerns the adjudication in 2007 to reopen Hosay’s estate; approve Hosay’s will; and remove Decedent as a beneficiary of Hosay’s estate, which removed any basis to include the Kiowa Tracts in Decedent’s estate. The issue of Decedent’s entitlement (or nonentitlement) as an heir to Hosay’s estate was not reopened by the Modification Order issued for Decedent’s estate, and thus that issue is not within the scope of this appeal. See 43 C.F.R. § 4.318 (Scope of review).

In the Department of the Interior’s probate tracking system, ProTrac, Decedent’s probate is identified as WS6160010, and Hosay’s probate is identified as WS 616 0010, the only difference being the spacing. Neither of these probates has been assigned a number under the current ProTrac numbering protocol, P[9 digits]IP. Under Hosay’s will, executed July 10, 1974, the sole beneficiary of his trust estate was another daughter, Roselind Patterson. 51 IBIA 21

Appellant argues in his appeal that because the original probate decision in Decedent’s estate, issued on August 22, 2003, became final 60 days thereafter, see 43 C.F.R. § 4.240(c) (2003), the doctrine of finality should...