IIM accounts and trust land: what your heirs need to know
An Individual Indian Money (IIM) account is an interest-bearing account the Bureau of Trust Funds Administration (BTFA) manages for people whose money is held in trust, often income from leases, rights-of-way, grazing, timber or land sales. When the account holder dies, the estate account keeps receiving income and earning interest until probate is complete. Then the BTFA distributes the money and the BIA updates who owns the land.
What is an IIM account?
It is an interest-bearing account the Department of the Interior manages for individuals whose money or assets the federal government holds in trust. Money comes in from sources like grazing and range permits, timber sales, rights-of-way, land sales, leases, and court or settlement awards (Interior). Account holders receive a quarterly statement, and some also receive an Oil & Gas Royalty Statement (Interior).
What happens to an IIM account when the owner dies?
The family should contact the BIA agency as soon as possible so future payments go to an estate account (Interior). Estate accounts stay open, keep receiving income and keep earning interest until probate is complete (Interior). The probate file records the account balance and the sources of the money on the date of death, plus what came in or went out after (25 CFR 15.202).
Can the IIM account pay for the funeral?
It can, in some cases. The person arranging the funeral can ask for up to $5,000 from the account before the case goes to the Office of Hearings and Appeals when the Tribe has not provided enough to cover the full cost and there is an immediate need to pay before burial. The request needs an original itemized estimate from the funeral provider (25 CFR 15.301).
How do heirs find out what land the person owned?
The BIA’s Land Titles and Records Offices keep the ownership records for trust and restricted land. A Title Status Report shows the current owners of a tract, its legal description and acreage, and an Individual Tribal Interest Report shows everything a person owns (BIA). For probate, the BIA prepares a certified inventory of the person’s trust land, including interests smaller than 5% of a parcel (25 CFR 15.202).
It helps when the family already has the tract numbers and the latest statements in one place, so they can confirm the inventory quickly.
What should heirs have on hand?
- The account holder’s name as it appears on the account, and the latest quarterly statement.
- Any Oil & Gas Royalty Statements and lease papers.
- Allotment and tract numbers, or a recent land title report.
- The BIA agency and Fiduciary Trust Officer who serve the family.
- Each heir’s current mailing address and enrollment number, since the probate file needs both (25 CFR 15.202).
- Where the will is, if there is one.
The complete list is in Indian trust probate: what your family will need.
When do heirs receive the money and the land?
After the judge’s decision, there are 30 days to ask for a rehearing or appeal. If no one does, the BIA waits at least 15 more days. Then the Land Titles and Records Office updates the land titles and the BTFA pays approved claims and distributes the IIM money according to the final order (BIA, BIA). A spouse or will beneficiary who is not Indian under the law may receive trust money directly instead of in a trust account (25 U.S.C. 2206).
How do you keep your account information current?
Notices and payments go by mail, so a current address matters. You can update it by calling the Trust Beneficiary Call Center at (888) 678-6836 or through your Fiduciary Trust Officer, or by sending form OMB 1035-0004 to your Fiduciary Trust Officer (Interior). The same call center line lets you check your balance and last payment.
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Frequently asked questions
What happens to an IIM account when someone dies?
It becomes an estate account that stays open, keeps receiving income and keeps earning interest until probate is complete. The family should contact the BIA agency as soon as possible.
Can heirs withdraw money from a deceased person’s IIM account?
Not until the probate decision, with one exception: the person arranging the funeral can request up to $5,000 for funeral costs before the case goes to OHA, if the conditions in 25 CFR 15.301 are met.
How do I find out what trust land my relative owned?
Contact the BIA Land Titles and Records Office for a Title Status Report or an Individual Tribal Interest Report, or ask the BIA agency handling the probate for the estate inventory.
What is the phone number for IIM accounts?
The Trust Beneficiary Call Center is (888) 678-6836.
When will heirs get the IIM money?
After the judge’s decision becomes final: 30 days for a rehearing or appeal, at least 15 more days, and then the Bureau of Trust Funds Administration distributes according to the order.
Sources
- Interior: Frequently asked questions for IIM accounts
www.doi.gov/ost/iim-faqs - Interior: IIM welcome guide
www.doi.gov/ost/iim-welcome-guide - Interior trust beneficiaries: Planning for the future
www.doi.gov/ost/planning-future - BIA: Begin trust asset probate
www.bia.gov/service/begin-trust-asset-probate - BIA Division of Probate Services: Your land, your decision (what is probate?)
www.bia.gov/bia/ots/dop/your-land - 25 CFR 15.202: what the probate file contains
www.ecfr.gov/current/title-25/section-15.202 - 25 CFR 15.301: funeral expenses from an IIM account
www.ecfr.gov/current/title-25/section-15.301 - 43 CFR 30.200: summary probate proceedings
www.ecfr.gov/current/title-43/section-30.200 - BIA: Land title services (Land Titles and Records Offices)
www.bia.gov/service/land-title-services - 25 U.S.C. 2206: descent and distribution (AIPRA)
www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/25/2206
Updated November 2026. Every figure on this page was checked against the sources above.
General information, not legal or financial advice. Rules and amounts change; check the official sources above or talk to a licensed professional about your situation.
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