Estate Settlement Cost
Menu

South Dakota estate administration

South Dakota probate: rules, process, costs, executor fees and deadlines

Small-estate limit: $100,000

This guide explains probate in South Dakota: South Dakota is a Uniform Probate Code state. Personal property of a decedent whose estate (net of liens and encumbrances) does not exceed $100,000 can be collected by affidavit under SDCL § 29A-3-1201, thirty days after death, with no court filing; a decedent's real property worth $50,000 or less can be transferred by an affidavit filed with the register of deeds under SDCL § 29A-3-1203 sixty days after death. Probate proceedings are filed in the Circuit Court, where the statewide probate filing fee is $75 under SDCL § 16-2-29. Personal representatives receive reasonable compensation under § 29A-3-719 — South Dakota sets no statutory percentage commission schedule.

Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch September 15, 2026.

Answer first

South Dakota simplified probate route

South Dakota allows collection of a decedent's personal property by affidavit under SDCL § 29A-3-1201 when "the value of the entire estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $100,000", thirty days have elapsed since death, no application or petition for appointment of a personal representative is pending or has been granted, and the decedent has not incurred any indebtedness to the Department of Social Services for medical assistance for nursing-home or other medical institutional care. A separate route, SDCL § 29A-3-1203, lets a successor perfect title to the decedent's real property by an affidavit filed with the register of deeds sixty days after death, where the decedent's interest in all South Dakota real property does not exceed $50,000.

Collection of personal property by affidavit (SDCL § 29A-3-1201)
1. Where and when
Private by design: entries stay in this browser.
2. What they left

Ownership determines whether an asset usually enters probate. Choose “Not sure” when title or beneficiary status has not been confirmed.

Asset 1

Asset 2

Your working estimate

South Dakota estate snapshot

Route check

More information is needed

Counted probate estate: not yet counted

A valid date of death is required before any waiting period can be tested.

Gross probate propertyNot yet counted
Court chargeSet locallySDCL § 16-2-29(1) directs that the clerk of courts "shall charge and collect the following fees: (1) For the probate of an estate, seventy-five dollars". This is a clean statewide statutory probate filing fee of $75. The § 29A-3-1201 affidavit route requires no court filing.
Scheduled executor compensationMore information needed2 asset entries have no value entered.SDCL § 29A-3-719 entitles personal representatives (and their attorneys, accountants, appraisers, and agents) to "reasonable compensation for services", determined on statutory factors including the time and labor involved, the novelty and difficulty of the questions, the fee customarily charged locally, and the nature and value of the estate's assets. There is no percentage schedule.

This route check is general information, not legal advice. It does not test every eligibility condition, creditor issue, will provision, local fee, or asset-title fact.

What the reviewed rules establish

Simplified route

$100,000

South Dakota allows collection of a decedent's personal property by affidavit under SDCL § 29A-3-1201 when "the value of the entire estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $100,000", thirty days have elapsed since death, no application or petition for appointment of a personal representative is pending or has been granted, and the decedent has not incurred any indebtedness to the Department of Social Services for medical assistance for nursing-home or other medical institutional care. A separate route, SDCL § 29A-3-1203, lets a successor perfect title to the decedent's real property by an affidavit filed with the register of deeds sixty days after death, where the decedent's interest in all South Dakota real property does not exceed $50,000.

Eligibility and caveats

Court cost

$75

SDCL § 16-2-29(1) directs that the clerk of courts "shall charge and collect the following fees: (1) For the probate of an estate, seventy-five dollars". This is a clean statewide statutory probate filing fee of $75. The § 29A-3-1201 affidavit route requires no court filing.

Filing-cost detail

Executor compensation

Court-reviewed

SDCL § 29A-3-719 entitles personal representatives (and their attorneys, accountants, appraisers, and agents) to "reasonable compensation for services", determined on statutory factors including the time and labor involved, the novelty and difficulty of the questions, the fee customarily charged locally, and the nature and value of the estate's assets. There is no percentage schedule.

Compensation detail

Creditor deadline

Multiple triggers

South Dakota runs multiple independently-triggered claim deadlines that cannot honestly collapse into one number: a four-month bar from first publication of the notice to creditors (§ 29A-3-801(a)); an actual-notice period of four months from appointment or 60 days from mailing of written notice, whichever is later (§ 29A-3-801(b)); and an outer bar of three years after death (§ 29A-3-803(a)(3)). Publishing a single figure would mislead.

S.D. Codified Laws § 29A-3-803(a)(3) (South Dakota Legislature (LRC Statutes API); reviewed August 9, 2026)

Timeline and creditor details

South Dakota provisions this site could not read

Not every state serves its own code. Where South Dakota did not, the attempt is recorded here instead of being covered over with a figure copied from a secondary summary. Each row names the authority that would settle the question and the page that failed to return it.

Authority soughtWhat is therefore not publishedTried on
S.D. Codified Laws tit. 29A (Uniform Probate Code)South Dakota’s compensation rule is not quoted here — representative pay2026-09-17
S.D. Codified Laws tit. 29A (small estates)Why no South Dakota affidavit ceiling appears on this page — small estate route2026-09-17

South Dakota decision map

The four facts that change the South Dakota route

Use this map before opening a form or entering a number. It keeps the South Dakota amount test, time gate, court cost, and creditor record separate so one easy figure does not stand in for the whole administration.

QuestionRecorded South Dakota answerCarry into the case
What route is being screened?Collection of personal property by affidavit (SDCL § 29A-3-1201)Confirm that the will, prior appointment, family facts, and asset titles fit this route.
What property and basis count?personal probate property only; net of enforceable liens and encumbrances.Keep real property, liens, beneficiary transfers, and survivorship transfers classified separately.
What is the amount screen?$100,000Use the counted property, not a bank-balance shortcut.
What is the time or deadline record?30 days after death; South Dakota runs multiple independently-triggered claim deadlines that cannot honestly collapse into one number: a four-month bar from first publication of the notice to creditors (§ 29A-3-801(a)); an actual-notice period of four months from appointment or 60 days from mailing of written notice, whichever is later (§ 29A-3-801(b)); and an outer bar of three years after death (§ 29A-3-803(a)(3)). Publishing a single figure would mislead.Keep the event that starts each clock with the date; do not combine separate periods into one number.
What does the cost record establish?$75 is the recorded statewide amount.Ask the Circuit Court about local surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings.
What does compensation use?SDCL § 29A-3-719 entitles personal representatives (and their attorneys, accountants, appraisers, and agents) to "reasonable compensation for services", determined on statutory factors including the time and labor involved, the novelty and difficulty of the questions, the fee customarily charged locally, and the nature and value of the estate's assets. There is no percentage schedule. The relevant base is the estate accounting.Keep the will, task log, receipts, and accounting base together; extraordinary work is separate.

Arithmetic illustration

See the South Dakota amount screen without mistaking it for a result

The recorded South Dakota ceiling is $100,000, and it is tested against personal probate property only, on a basis this site records as net of enforceable liens and encumbrances. Counted that way, $75,000 sits below the South Dakota figure and $125,000 sits above it. Both are comparisons to a published number rather than legal outcomes: two estates holding the same total can land on opposite sides of this line, because what South Dakota counts and how it values it are decided before the comparison is made.

Illustrative counted amountComparison to the South Dakota ceilingWhat it does not decide
$75,000Below $100,000Title, liens, waiting period, appointment, or creditor duties
$125,000Above $100,000Whether another statutory route or court process applies

Next evidence to collect

Start with the row that is still unknown, then take that question to the named court or source.

  1. Record the date of death, the county, and the exact proceeding or affidavit being considered.
  2. Classify each asset by title, beneficiary, trust, real-property status, and the value basis shown above.
  3. Open the official court material below and keep its form or schedule with the estate record.
  4. Do not distribute property until the route, creditor position, and required approvals are resolved.

Official material

Probate in South Dakota is handled by the Circuit Court. The Unified Judicial System publishes statewide self-help resources and a form/file search. The $75 probate filing fee is fixed statewide by SDCL § 16-2-29(1) (current through SL 2026, ch 92); the § 29A-3-1201 personal-property affidavit and the § 29A-3-1203 real-property affidavit are private/register-of-deeds instruments, not court probate filings.

Source trail

Records used by this South Dakota map

Limits and unresolved costs

  • Attorney fees, bond premiums, publication, certified copies, tax work, and asset-sale costs are not included unless expressly shown.
  • Asset title, beneficiary designations, creditor claims, and will terms can change the route.
Use this as a starting point.

This is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Probate law varies by state and county and changes over time. Verify the current rule with the court or a licensed attorney in the relevant state.

Continue

What South Dakota courts publish

The statutes on this page state the rule. These are the documents the court itself publishes. Every link is probed before release, and any link that stops resolving fails the build rather than staying on the page.

Limits on court material

  • Probate in South Dakota is handled by the Circuit Court. The Unified Judicial System publishes statewide self-help resources and a form/file search. The $75 probate filing fee is fixed statewide by SDCL § 16-2-29(1) (current through SL 2026, ch 92); the § 29A-3-1201 personal-property affidavit and the § 29A-3-1203 real-property affidavit are private/register-of-deeds instruments, not court probate filings.

Primary sources

Each legal input links to the government source reviewed for this page. Source text can change; confirm the current rule before acting.