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SDCL 29A-3-805 pays South Dakota estate debts in five classes, with no last-illness medical class. Here is the full order and who ranks ahead of it.
South Dakota's digital assets act, SDCL chapter 55-19, puts an online tool above a will and gives a custodian 60 days to answer.
South Dakota estate planning uses four papers: a two-witness will, a notarized power of attorney, a health care directive and a trust.
South Dakota executor duties in statute order: notify heirs and DSS within 14 days, inventory, write to known creditors, and close after four months.
A South Dakota surviving spouse may keep living in the homestead and claim exempt property ahead of creditors under SDCL 29A-2-402.
South Dakota gives a spouse and supported children a family allowance. The $18,000 in SDCL 29A-2-403 limits the executor, not the court.
South Dakota has no estate, inheritance or income tax. Only the federal estate tax can reach an estate, above $15 million in 2026.
South Dakota guardianship needs clear and convincing proof, the person may demand a jury, and the $72 filing fee covers the whole case.
Who inherits in South Dakota without a will: the spouse takes all, or the first $100,000 plus half. Then children, parents, siblings and grandparents.
South Dakota law makes a trust for the care of a named animal valid under SDCL 55-1-21, enforced by a person you name. Here is how it works.
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