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The End of Life Plannerby Valoren

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

Free · general informationSouth Dakota

Probate in South Dakota

What South 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 South 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.

Informal applications to the clerk, and formal petitions to the court

Persons interested in decedents' estates may apply to the clerk of court for determinations in the informal proceedings provided in this article, and may petition the court for orders in formal proceedings within the court's jurisdiction

South Dakota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · SDCL 29A-3-105

The waiting period before the clerk can appoint in an informal case

if at least one hundred twenty hours have elapsed since the decedent's death, the clerk, after making the findings required by § 29A-3-308, shall appoint the applicant subject to qualification and acceptance

South Dakota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · SDCL 29A-3-307(a)

The time limit for opening probate after a death, subject to exceptions

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:

South Dakota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · SDCL 29A-3-108

The notice to creditors a personal representative may publish, and how long it gives them

(a) A personal representative upon appointment may publish a notice to creditors once a week for three successive weeks in a legal newspaper in the county in which the proceeding is pending giving the personal representative's name and address and notifying creditors of the decedent to present their claims within four months after the date of the first publication of the notice or the claim may be barred.

South Dakota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · SDCL 29A-3-801(a)

Written notice to creditors the representative knows of, and their deadline

a personal representative shall give written notice by mail or other delivery to a creditor of the decedent, who is either known to or reasonably ascertainable by the personal representative, informing the creditor to present the claim within four months after the date of the personal representative's appointment, or within sixty days after the mailing or other delivery of the written notice, whichever is later, or be forever barred.

South Dakota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · SDCL 29A-3-801(b)

The clerk of courts’ fee for the probate of an estate

The clerk of courts shall charge and collect the following fees:

(1) For the probate of an estate, seventy-five dollars;

South Dakota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · SDCL 16-2-29(1)

What the person holding the will must do when asked, 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 an appropriate court or to a person able to secure its probate. 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.

South Dakota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · SDCL 29A-2-516

Depositing a will with a court for safekeeping, and what happens at the death

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

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

South Dakota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · SDCL 29A-2-515

The same page for other states

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FAQ

Common questions

means the circuit court.

South Dakota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · SDCL 29A-1-201(8)

Persons interested in decedents' estates may apply to the clerk of court for determinations in the informal proceedings provided in this article, and may petition the court for orders in formal proceedings within the court's jurisdiction

South Dakota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · SDCL 29A-3-105

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:

South Dakota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · SDCL 29A-3-108

(a) A personal representative upon appointment may publish a notice to creditors once a week for three successive weeks in a legal newspaper in the county in which the proceeding is pending giving the personal representative's name and address and notifying creditors of the decedent to present their claims within four months after the date of the first publication of the notice or the claim may be barred.

a personal representative shall give written notice by mail or other delivery to a creditor of the decedent, who is either known to or reasonably ascertainable by the personal representative, informing the creditor to present the claim within four months after the date of the personal representative's appointment, or within sixty days after the mailing or other delivery of the written notice, whichever is later, or be forever barred.

South Dakota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · SDCL 29A-3-801(b)

The clerk of courts shall charge and collect the following fees:

(1) For the probate of an estate, seventy-five dollars;

South Dakota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · SDCL 16-2-29(1)

if at least one hundred twenty hours have elapsed since the decedent's death, the clerk, after making the findings required by § 29A-3-308, shall appoint the applicant subject to qualification and acceptance

South Dakota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · SDCL 29A-3-307(a)

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

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

South Dakota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · SDCL 29A-2-515

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

A couple. A parent. An adult child and a parent, doing it together. One sitting starts it; keep it current, and tell someone where it is.

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