Verification of Eligible Beneficiaries

(a)Owned Land Acquired by the United States:

(1)To be eligible based on ownership of land that was acquired by the United States government between 1898 and 1968, an applicant must provide either:

(A)documentary evidence of ownership in substantially the same form as that required by the Guam Ancestral Lands Commission for ancestral land claims; or

(B)a declaration or affidavit, signed under penalty of perjury, attesting that the person owned, or is the descendant of someone who owned land that was acquired by the United States. To the extent known or reasonably ascertainable by the applicant, this declaration or affidavit CH. 75A CHAMORRO LAND TRUST COMMISSION EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2021 shall include the location, by parcel number, address, legal description, or other legallyrecognized identifier, of the land that was claimed to have been owned and the date of acquisition by the United States.

(2)The applicant shall be required to use his or her best efforts to obtain the information described above and to provide documentation demonstrating that he or she is the descendent of the person who owned the land. Based upon review of the documentation, declarations or affidavits, and any additional research the Commission conducts, including, but not limited to, the “Bohn files” and any other readily-available condemnation and land records, the Commission shall determine whether the applicant is an eligible beneficiary.

(b)Occupied, Farmed, or Ranched Land Acquired by the United States:

(1)Persons shall be considered eligible beneficiaries if the United States acquired land on which they did not hold title or ownership, but that they nevertheless had either occupied, farmed, or ranched land for residential or agricultural purposes for at least one

(1)year immediately prior to that land being acquired by the United States government between 1898 and 1968 or descendants of such person; except that if a person occupied, farmed, or ranched the land on or after December 8, 1941, and the land was acquired at any time after that date and up to 1950, the one

(1)year tenure need not have occurred immediately prior to acquisition by the United States government. To be eligible under this provision, an applicant must sign a declaration or affidavit setting forth, in sufficient detail and under penalty of perjury, the following facts to the extent known or reasonably ascertainable by the applicant:

(A)the location, by parcel number, address, legal description, or other legally-recognized identifier, of the land that was claimed to have been occupied, farmed, or ranched;

(B)the name of the person or persons who occupied, farmed, or ranched the land;

(C)the length of time the person(s) continuously occupied, farmed, or ranched the land;

(D)the legal owner of the land and the relationship between the owner and the person who occupied, farmed, or ranched the land, including whether any compensation or rent was paid to the owner;

(E)a description of the nature of the person’s activity on the land, including whether the land was used for residential or agricultural purposes;

(F)if the land was farmed or ranched, the type of activity being conducted on the land (such as the types of crops harvested or animals raised); and

(G)whether the person improved the land in any way and the nature of such improvements.

(2)The applicant shall be required to use his or her best efforts to obtain the information described above and to provide documentation demonstrating that he or she is the descendent of the person or persons who occupied, ranched, or farmed the land. Based upon review of the documentation, declarations, or affidavits, and any additional research the Commission conducts, the Commission shall determine whether the person is an eligible beneficiary. For purposes of this provision, a person shall be deemed to have “occupied” land if he or she maintained his or her primary residence on the land.