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Explaining Your Trust Account Statement

Account statements are generally mailed to Indian trust beneficiaries on a quarterly basis. These statements include account activity for the past quarter. If you receive income from an oil or gas asset, you will also receive an explanation of payment that includes the payor’s name and lease number, sales information, unit values, royalty information, and adjustments.

Note: If you have an account with a very low balance, and it has had no activity for the last eighteen months, you will receive a statement once a year.

Explaining your account number

Your personal IIM account number is made up of three sections, and will look something like “123 A 1234567.” The first three digits represent a tribal code, land area code or Alaska Regional Corporation code. The one-letter character is an “alpha” or “class” code, which identifies the type of account you have.

For example:

A = Account holder is the original allottee of the land.

U = An Indian account holder who is not the original allottee but owns land interests or receives a per capita payment.

N = An Indian who is not enrolled in a federally-recognized tribe (lineal descendant).

L = Life estate, dower or courtesy, or homestead interest for an Indian.

B = Life estate, dower or courtesy, or homestead interest for a non-Indian.

J = Judgment per capita payment, generally used for minors and adults in need of assistance or under legal disability.

P = Tribal per capita payment generally used for minors or adults in need of assistance or under legal disability.

X = Non-Indian fee interest owner.

The group of numbers following the alpha code is your personal account number. In some cases this is your tribal enrollment number. Although you may have more than one type of account, your personal account number will always remain the same. Only the “alpha” code should be different.

New Indian Trust Account Holder Statements of Account

Indian trust account holders with trust assets in agency locations that have been converted to new technology and trust systems are receiving comprehensive account statements. The improved statements include detailed information on land ownership including location, encumbrances, and income. By the end of calendar year 2007, all account holders with valid addresses will be receiving the improved statements. In the past, statements were sent to Indian trust beneficiaries with information on receipts and disbursements, but without land asset information.

The new account statements include:

• The start and end dates for the TRANSACTION ACTIVITY that is included in your statement.
• The DATE of each account transaction during the statement period.
• The funds that were received into your account (from sources such as leases or interest payments) and funds that were disbursed to you.
• THE TRANSACTIONS, such as cash receipts and disbursements (funds coming into and out of your account) including the names of payers and types of leases (sources of payments).

Your New Real Property Asset Statement provides information about your “Real Property Assets,” or the land in which you have an Indian trust asset interest. By the end of 2007, this expanded information will be included in all trust account statements provided to beneficiaries by the Department of the Interior, and will reflect Indian trust interests held in all Bureau of Indian Affairs regions across the nation.

The new Real Property Asset Statements include:

• The UNDIVIDED INTEREST, or percentage of the tract of land listed, in other words your “interest” in that tract.
• The TRACT ID AND TRACT DESCRIPTION. The Tract ID is a unique BIA number assigned to a tract of land. The Tract Description is the official name, if any, of a tract of land.
• The DOCUMENT ID, a unique BIA number assigned to identify the legal instrument (for example, the lease) that authorizes the use of the property.
• The ENCUMBRANCE TYPE, or the lease, right-of-way, permit or other legal instrument that authorizes the use of the property.
• The number of ACRES in a tract of land.
• The OWNERSHIP CLASSIFICATION or the type of interest you have in the property. “Title” means that you own the title to the interest, but do not receive the income from the use of the interest. “Beneficial” means that you do not own the title, but receive the financial benefits of the interest. You could have both a title and beneficial interest in property.
• The EFFECTIVE DATE, in other words, when the terms of the lease begin.
• The ENCUMBRANCE HOLDER, or the person or entity paying for the use of the property.
• The geographical LOCATION of a tract, including the county and state where the land is located.
• The EXPIRATION DATE, when the terms of the lease come to an end.

 If you have any questions, call the toll-free Trust Beneficiary Call Center, 1-888-678-6836.