Grief in a passing of a loved one is a reality NNAI’s office interacts with on an all to regular basis.  When a shareholder passes NNAI will often publish an obituary in the seasonal newsletter celebrating the life and times of your loved one.   We also understand that upon occasion this is a sensitive subject.  Many families like to write their own eulogy, while others prefer to leave their loved one’s name out of the post.  If you would like to submit a personal obituary to our newsletter you may do so at shareholders@nnai.net or if you would like NNAI to refrain from publishing your loved one’s obituary please also contact us at shareholders@nnai.net

NNAI begins the Shareholder Stock Estate process when notification of a passing is received in our office.  Often this is done through our office’s knowledge of local news, family members calling, and or the submission of an obituary to our email.

The Estate Process Guide is a reference provided to family and beneficiaries of a shareholder’s estate.  If you are associated with a NNAI Shareholder estate, please review this guide.

The location of a Will is the first step for NNAI in the estate process.  It is very important for all NNAI shareholders to have a NNAI Stock Will on file either in our office or in a place where a potential executor has access.  If a General Will is created by a shareholder specifically referencing NNAI Shares and how they wish them to be distributed it is just as valuable.  In the unfortunate circumstance that no Stock or General Will exists NNAI must follow the Alaska Statutes regarding Intestate Succession and Native Corporate Shares.

In 2014 The NNAI Board of Directors passed a resolution establishing a policy that NNAI would no longer fractionalize shares.  The policy provides that if a prior shareholder did not leave a valid will, or if following the transfer instructions in a will would result in dividing a share fraction or singe share, the share fraction or single share shall instead be allocated based on the results of a random drawing conducted by NNAI from the names of eligible recipients.

NNAI requests a couple things from the executor of said estate or an immediate family member;  A certified copy of a Death Certificate (if you only have one and would like to send it to us we will return it after verification); NNAI sends out our Relatives of the Deceased Form and if it is filled out as completely as possible the estate can progress quickly and smoothly.

When the office receives a Death Certificate and a thorough Relatives of the Deceased Form (PDF), contacting the beneficiaries becomes the main priority.  Upon determination of who a late shareholder’s beneficiaries are, NNAI will make every effort to contact each one.  Beneficiaries who are NOT currently NNAI shareholders must provide NNAI with:

• A copy of their State/Government Issued ID
• A copy of their Birth Certificate
• A copy of their Certificate of Indian Blood (this can be requested through the BIA or the tribe with which you are currently enrolled).
• A NNAI Social Security Certificate (PDF) Form
• A New Shareholder Information Sheet

In order to be considered for Class A voting shares a CIB must be provided. If beneficiaries are non-native, they are issued Class B Non-Voting shares.

Estates often are long processes, and our office welcomes any and all help in locating potential heirs. When all paperwork has been received from ALL beneficiaries, NNAI submits the findings and proposed settlement to legal counsel. When approval and authentication of all documents has been received, a 30 probationary period is started.  After this probationary period is completed, and if no objections have been made in that time,  NNAI then distributes the shares appropriately and issues new stock certificates.

In the event that dividends have been declared since the passing of a shareholder – NNAI holds those funds and distributes them to the beneficiary’s according to the shares they receive within 14 days of issuing the stock certificates.

If you have any questions and/or are a current shareholder and would like a NNAI Stock Will Form sent to you with a postage paid envelope, please contact shareholder relations at shareholders@nnai.net or phone 907-567-3866.