Tribal Wills Project
When Congress amended the American Indian Probate Reform Act (AIPRA) in 2008, it drastically curtailed the way that tribal members’ trust lands are distributed to their families after death. Under the act, if a tribal member dies without a will, nearly all his or her trust land passes only to the one oldest child, (oldest grandchild or oldest great-grand-child) – leaving no trust land to the surviving spouse or to the other children. Thus, it is vitally important for tribal members to have wills. Yet there are very few lawyers available on the reservations, and very few lawyers who understand the complexities of AIPRA. The Tribal Wills Project at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law was created to help tribal members write much needed wills, medical powers of attorney, living wills, and memorial instructions.
The Tribal Wills Project is the largest such program in the country. Our mission is to provide free wills and related documents to tribal members living on various reservations – always at the invitation of the tribe or Nation involved.
Three times each year public-spirited law students give up a week of vacation time to participate in this project. To date, we have worked with tribal members in Arizona, California, Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Utah – learning a great deal from the people with whom we work. Students are supervised by volunteer attorneys, who provide excellent experiential education and mentoring, as we all learn to appreciate and respect the variety of cultural and historical experiences among indigenous people of this country. Donations make it possible for us to pay expenses for all students who participate, so that no student is excluded from this remarkable educational experience because of finances.
Per Dean Bruce Smith, “The Tribal Wills Project is a testament to the public-spiritedness of our students; the generosity of our alumni and others; the excellence of our experiential learning enterprise; and our institutional commitment to equity, social justice, and the public good.”
Where There's a Way, There's a Will
Learn more about how donor support makes work of the Tribal Wills Project possible.
Get Involved
The Tribal Wills Project is open to all law students, from second- and third-year students who interview, draft and oversee the execution of legal documents, to first-year students who serve as project directors.
In addition, the project always welcomes volunteer supervising attorneys who guide the students as they work alongside clients.
Contact the Tribal Wills Project
In the News
The Tribal Wills Project is gaining a significant reputation in the legal community and beyond.
Your Legal Last Will and Testament is a Gift to Your Family
Ojibwe Inaajimowin announces Tribal Wills Project's May 2024 partnership with Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe.
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A Decade of Service: Tribal Wills Project Turns Ten
Through ten years and 22 trips, the Tribal Wills Project has produced hundreds of wills to help thousands of individual tribal members.
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Press Release: Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren Welcomes Volunteer Law Students
“You’re doing this out of the goodness of your heart and sense of duty, a sense of, ‘How can we help Navajo people with some of the things that is very difficult to do on their own?’” President Nygren said.
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DU’s Tribal Wills Project Helps Students and Clients Navigate Complexities of Federal Indian Law and Estates
The Tribal Wills Project at the University of Denver approaches its 10th anniversary assisting regional tribal members.
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Tribal Wills Project Partners with Dependable Cleaners-Coats for Colorado Providing Winter Coats to Native American Tribal Members
The current donation of coats is in addition to a previous supply of coats for children, many of whom had never owned a winter coat.
DU Professor Lucy Marsh Leads the Tribal Wills Project Team
It always begins with a group meal, a celebration of the mission that we are undertaking, and a gracious thank you from our hostess for joining her on this journey. Professor Lucy Marsh has been organizing and overseeing two to three trips like this each year for the past four years.
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Program Helps Native Americans Develop Wills
With the help of a Navajo language interpreter, Rosie A. Chavez asked questions about the process to draft a will. She traveled from Nageezi to the Upper Fruitland Chapter house on Wednesday to participate in the Tribal Wills Project, an effort by the University of Denver Sturm College of Law that provides free wills to Native Americans.
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American Indians Grapple with Land Divided by History
The Tribal Wills Project helps Crow Indians to write wills and make sense of a complex property puzzle.
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Tribal Wills Project Completes First Trip
Eleven law students spent their 2013 spring break preparing over 60 wills for two Native American tribes as part of DU’s first Tribal Wills Project visit with tribal members.
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Launch of Tribal Wills Project at DU
In November 2012, John Roach, Fiduciary Trust Officer for the Southwest Region, Department of Interior, reached out to the Student Law Office to see if students wanted to draft wills.
