Wills & Probate

In Hodel v. Irving, the U.S. Supreme Court addressed whether a federal law that eliminated the right to pass certain property by will (testamentary rights) violated the Fifth Amendment's Takings Clause. The case revolved around land owned by Native Americans under the General Allotment Act, which had been subdivided over generations into many small, fractional interests.

In 1983, Congress passed the Indian Land Consolidation Act, which included a provision that said any tiny fraction of land (less than 2% interest and generating under $100 per year) would escheat to the tribe upon the owner's death — meaning it couldn't be passed to heirs. Several Sioux individuals challenged this, arguing it violated their constitutional rights.

Did the escheat provision of the Indian Land Consolidation Act constitute an unconstitutional taking of property without just compensation under the Fifth Amendment?

• The right to devise property (make a will) is a key "stick" in the bundle of property rights.
• Government cannot eliminate this right entirely, even for seemingly small interests, without just compensation.
• This case affirmed the importance of inheritance rights in U.S. constitutional law and limited the government’s power in probate matters.

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of Irving (the landowners), declaring the law unconstitutional because it effectively took away a fundamental property right — the ability to pass on property — without just compensation.