South Dakota personal representative compensation
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.
Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Sources rechecked October 3, 2026. This page last revised .
When no will sets the pay, SDCL § 29A-3-719(c) says the court "may" allow commissions on the personal property accounted for (5% of the first $1,000, 4% from $1,000 to $5,000, 2.5% above that), so the scale is a measure the court can apply, not a fee this page computes. The Circuit Court decides what is reasonable for the work actually done; the governing text is quoted in the source below.
SDCL § 29A-3-719(a) entitles personal representatives, and the attorneys, accountants, appraisers and other agents they hire, to “reasonable compensation for services,” and lists the factors that decide it: the time and labour involved; the novelty and difficulty of the questions and the skill needed; whether taking the work precludes other employment; the fee customarily charged locally; the nature and value of the estate’s assets, the income it earned and the responsibilities and liabilities assumed; the time limits the circumstances impose; and the experience, reputation, diligence and ability of the person doing the work.
Subsection (c) adds a scale the uniform text does not carry. “When compensation is not provided by will, or in an intestate proceeding,” the representative “may be allowed commissions upon the amount of personal property accounted for”: five percent of the first $1,000, four percent of the amount from $1,000 to $5,000, and two and one-half percent of everything above $5,000. On $105,000 of personal property that is $50 + $160 + $2,500 = $2,710. Real estate the representative sells counts as personal property for this purpose; real property that is accounted for but not sold earns “a just and reasonable compensation” fixed by the court instead.
Because subsection (c) says the commissions “may be allowed,” the scale is a measure the Circuit Court can apply rather than an automatic entitlement, and this site does not run it as a calculator. Subsection (b) covers wills: where a will provides for compensation and there is no contract with the decedent about it, the representative may renounce that provision before qualifying and take reasonable compensation instead, and may renounce all or part of the fee by a renunciation filed with the court.
Source: SDCL § 29A-3-719, read from the enacting state’s own official publication on 2026-10-13. Quoted wording is the statute’s; the surrounding explanation is this site’s reading of it and is not legal advice.
SDCL § 29A-3-719 — Compensation of personal representative
29A-3-719 . Compensation of personal representative. (a) Personal representatives, attorneys, accountants, appraisers, and other agents of the personal representative are entitled to reasonable compensation for services.
Sources rechecked October 3, 2026: South Dakota source list · how sources are checked · report a correction