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The End of Life Plannerby Valoren

General information · not a substitute for the advice of an attorney.

Free · general informationNorth Dakota

Probate in North Dakota

What North Dakota’s own law and courts say about probate, from how an estate comes before the court to when creditors must claim. Nothing on this page decides whether a particular estate needs probate. That question belongs to the court, or to an attorney in North Dakota.

  • Every fact dated, in the official words
  • Each state’s own law

Every quotation checked October 24, 2026

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Every quotation on this page is the official body’s own words, as they stood on the day we read them. The date is beside each one.

When the clerk may sign without a court order in an uncontested informal probate

However, without a written order of the court, the clerk may sign all appropriate documents in uncontested informal probate matters if the requirements of sections 30.1-12-08 and 30.1-13-01 have been satisfied, at least one hundred twenty hours have elapsed since the decedent's death

North Dakota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · NDCC 30.1-02-06

Opening an informal probate: how soon, the court’s application forms, and the filing fee

Any time after five days of decedent's death, file with district court:

Application for Informal Probate of Will and Appointment of a Personal Representative (Form 2).

Application for Informal Appointment of Personal Representative in Intestacy (Form 17).

Filing fee of $160.

North Dakota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · North Dakota Courts, Informal Administration guidebook (Rev Aug 2025)

Whether a lawyer is needed, in the court guidebook’s own words

Although the assistance of a lawyer isn't required for informal proceedings, the personal representative should consult with a lawyer if they’re uncertain how to proceed.

North Dakota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · North Dakota Courts, Informal Administration guidebook (Rev Aug 2025)

What a will needs before it can prove a transfer or name an executor

to be effective to prove the transfer of any property or to nominate an executor, a will must be declared to be valid by an order of informal probate or an adjudication of probate by the court.

North Dakota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · NDCC 30.1-12-02

How long after a death probate can still be opened

No informal probate or appointment proceeding or formal testacy or appointment proceeding, other than a proceeding to probate a will previously probated at the testator's domicile and appointment proceedings relating to an estate in which there has been a prior appointment, may be commenced more than three years after the decedent's death, except:

North Dakota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · NDCC 30.1-12-08

The notice to creditors a personal representative may publish, and the claim deadline it sets

a personal representative upon appointment may publish a notice to creditors whose identities are not reasonably ascertainable. The notice must be published once a week for three successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county.

notify creditors of the estate to present their claims within three months after the date of the first publication or mailing of the notice or be forever barred.

North Dakota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · NDCC 30.1-19-01

What the person holding the will must do, and the liability for not doing it

After the death of a testator and on request of an interested person, a person having custody of a will of the testator shall deliver it with reasonable promptness to a person able to secure its probate, and if none is known, to an appropriate court.

A person who willfully fails to deliver a will is liable to any person aggrieved for any damages that may be sustained by the failure.

North Dakota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · NDCC 30.1-11-02

A will deposited with a recorder for safekeeping, and what happens at the death

A will may be deposited by the testator or the testator's agent with a recorder for safekeeping. The will must be sealed and kept confidential.

Upon being informed of the testator's death, the recorder shall notify any person designated to receive the will and deliver it to that person on request or the recorder may deliver the will to the appropriate court.

North Dakota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · NDCC 30.1-11-01

Opening a safe deposit box to look for a will, and what may be taken out

Upon being furnished with satisfactory proof of death of a sole lessee or the last surviving co-lessee of a safe deposit box, the safe deposit company may open the box for an individual who appears in person and furnishes an affidavit stating the following:

No contents of a box other than a will and a document required to facilitate the lessee's wishes regarding body, funeral, or burial arrangements may be removed pursuant to this section.

North Dakota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · NDCC 30.1-23-05

The same page for other states

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FAQ

Common questions

to be effective to prove the transfer of any property or to nominate an executor, a will must be declared to be valid by an order of informal probate or an adjudication of probate by the court.

North Dakota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · NDCC 30.1-12-02

Any time after five days of decedent's death, file with district court:

Application for Informal Probate of Will and Appointment of a Personal Representative (Form 2).

Application for Informal Appointment of Personal Representative in Intestacy (Form 17).

Filing fee of $160.

North Dakota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · North Dakota Courts, Informal Administration guidebook (Rev Aug 2025)

However, without a written order of the court, the clerk may sign all appropriate documents in uncontested informal probate matters if the requirements of sections 30.1-12-08 and 30.1-13-01 have been satisfied, at least one hundred twenty hours have elapsed since the decedent's death

North Dakota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · NDCC 30.1-02-06

Any time after five days of decedent's death, file with district court:

Application for Informal Probate of Will and Appointment of a Personal Representative (Form 2).

Application for Informal Appointment of Personal Representative in Intestacy (Form 17).

Filing fee of $160.

North Dakota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · North Dakota Courts, Informal Administration guidebook (Rev Aug 2025)

Although the assistance of a lawyer isn't required for informal proceedings, the personal representative should consult with a lawyer if they’re uncertain how to proceed.

North Dakota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · North Dakota Courts, Informal Administration guidebook (Rev Aug 2025)

No informal probate or appointment proceeding or formal testacy or appointment proceeding, other than a proceeding to probate a will previously probated at the testator's domicile and appointment proceedings relating to an estate in which there has been a prior appointment, may be commenced more than three years after the decedent's death, except:

North Dakota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · NDCC 30.1-12-08

a personal representative upon appointment may publish a notice to creditors whose identities are not reasonably ascertainable. The notice must be published once a week for three successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county.

notify creditors of the estate to present their claims within three months after the date of the first publication or mailing of the notice or be forever barred.

Within three years after the decedent's death, if notice to creditors has not been published and mailed.

North Dakota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · NDCC 30.1-19-03(1)(b)

For anyone who would rather their family found it all in one place than went looking.

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