What Is A Headright?
At the time of the passage of the Osage Allotment Act on June 28, 1906, the Osage Indians were occupying, as a tribe, their reservation in Oklahoma. Their reservation contained approximately a million and a half acres of land purchased from the Cherokees. Prior to the Act, ownership of all the reservation lands remained in the Osage Tribe. By the Act, the lands were divided and distributed among the 2,229 members of the Osage Tribe with certain restrictions.
Osage Nation Headquarters
Pawhuska, Oklahoma
Osage Headright
Why Probate?
The BIA only determines if the Will is lawful. The Oklahoma State court must monitor and administer the transition of the decedent’s assets. Without the court’s oversight, distribution of the decedent’s assets would likely be unfair and confusing.
WHAT IS A “LIFE ESTATE”
A “life estate” can result in the following instances:
- If an Osage Indian provides for a life estate in his/her Will,
- If an Osage Indian leaves a Will that purports to give outright ownership of a headright interest to a non-Osage, or
- If an Osage Indian does not leave a valid Will and is survived by a non-Osage spouse.
Who inherits and what part he/she inherits depends on some of the following
- Whether the headright owner was married.
- Whether the surviving spouse is of Osage Indian blood.
- Whether the headright owner had surviving or deceased children.
- Whether the headright owner had surviving parents.
- Whether the headright owner had any siblings.
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