North Dakota Probate Accounting and Closing

A North Dakota personal representative owes two written reports. The first is the inventory, due within 6 months after appointment or 9 months after the death, whichever is later, under NDCC 30.1-18-06. The second is a full account in writing of the administration, which the personal representative must have furnished to the affected distributees before signing the verified closing statement under NDCC 30.1-21-03.

North Dakota does not have a stand-alone section that orders a sworn final accounting filed with the court in every estate, the way Montana does. The account still has to exist, because the closing statement cannot truthfully say it was delivered otherwise. Read this page with the personal representative's duties and the North Dakota probate timeline. Every citation here comes from the North Dakota Century Code as the Legislative Council published it after the 2025 session, read on September 28, 2026. This page explains how the statutes work rather than advising on one estate, so check your own dates with the clerk of district court holding the file or a licensed North Dakota attorney.

The Inventory Clock Takes the Later of Two Dates

NDCC 30.1-18-06(1) sets the deadline at 6 months after appointment or 9 months after the death, whichever is later. The two dates run from different events. If you were appointed 2 months after the death, the 6-month date from appointment lands 8 months after the death, so the 9-month date from death is later and controls. If the appointment came 5 months after the death, the 6-month date from appointment lands 11 months after the death and controls.

The duty falls on every personal representative except a special administrator and a successor who takes over after a predecessor already did it. The inventory covers property owned by the decedent at the time of death. For each item, 30.1-18-06(1) asks for three things:

1. A listing in reasonable detail.
2. The fair market value as of the date of death.
3. The type and amount of any encumbrance, such as a mortgage or a lien.

Property that passes outside probate, such as land under a recorded North Dakota transfer on death deed, a joint account with survivorship, or a policy with a named beneficiary, does not become estate property to be administered. Keep a separate note of it anyway, because heirs will ask about it and the elective-share math reaches some of it.

Skip the Court, and Every Heir Gets a Copy

NDCC 30.1-18-06(2) gives two routes, and they are not mirror images:

• File route. File the original inventory with the court, and send a copy only to interested persons who ask for one.
• Mail route. Do not file it. Instead, mail a copy to each heir in an intestate estate, or to each devisee if a will has been probated, and to any other interested person who asks.

The mail route keeps the inventory out of the court file, but it is not a quiet route. Every heir or devisee gets a copy whether or not they ask. Many other states let a personal representative send copies only to those who request one. North Dakota does not, so plan the mailing list before you choose. Keep proof of mailing for each copy in the estate file.

Appraisers and Where Their Names Go

You set most values yourself. Bank and brokerage balances come from date-of-death statements, and a vehicle can often be valued from a published guide. For any asset whose value may be subject to reasonable doubt, NDCC 30.1-18-07 lets you employ a qualified and disinterested appraiser, and you may use different appraisers for different kinds of property, such as one for farmland and another for machinery or grain.

The same section requires the name and address of each appraiser to be shown on the inventory with the item or items that person appraised. An inventory listing a quarter section at an appraised figure, with no appraiser named, does not meet the statute.

The Homestead Report Is Annexed to the Inventory

North Dakota still runs a homestead estate under chapter 30-16, and it adds a step to the inventory. Under NDCC 30-16-05, the personal representative must get a description of the real property subject to the homestead estate from the persons it descended to, and must appraise it at its value at the time of the death. If needed, you have the boundaries surveyed and marked by a competent surveyor.

If the homestead as selected exceeds any value limit set by law, 30-16-05 has you set it off so the excess is excluded, unless the property cannot be divided without material injury. The section then requires a full report of all your findings on the homestead, annexed to the inventory. See the rights of a surviving spouse for who holds the homestead estate and for how long.

When Something Turns Up Later

A forgotten account surfaces, a refund check arrives, or an appraisal rests on the wrong acreage. NDCC 30.1-18-08 requires a supplementary inventory or appraisement in two cases: property that was not on the original inventory comes to your knowledge, or you learn that a value or description on it is erroneous or misleading.

The supplement shows the market value as of the date of death for the new item, or the revised value or description, and the appraisers or other data relied on. Where it goes follows your first choice. If you filed the original inventory, file the supplement with the court. If you did not, furnish copies or the information to the persons interested in it.

The Standard the Account Measures You Against

NDCC 30.1-18-03(1) makes a personal representative a fiduciary who must observe the standards of care that apply to trustees, and directs you to settle and distribute the estate as expeditiously and efficiently as the best interests of the estate allow. The account is the document the heirs read to test whether you did.

The notice you sent within 30 days of appointment already told them they could ask. NDCC 30.1-18-05 requires it to state that the estate is being administered without court supervision, but that recipients are entitled to information about the administration from you and may petition the court on any matter relating to the estate, including distribution of assets and expenses of administration.

What a Full Written Account Should Show

No North Dakota statute prescribes the form of the account an informal personal representative furnishes. The closing statement calls for "a full account in writing" of your administration, and the show-cause section below names what a court treats as detailed: all disbursements, with specific information on every fee paid. A clear account usually runs in this order:

1. Starting point. The inventory value, plus any supplementary inventory.
2. Receipts. Money that came in after death, such as interest, dividends, rent, crop or lease payments, refunds and sale proceeds.
3. Disbursements. Funeral costs, claims paid, taxes, court and publication fees, appraisal costs, attorney fees and your own compensation.
4. Claims. Each claim presented, its amount, the claimant's name and whether it was allowed, disallowed, paid or compromised. See North Dakota creditor claims for how claims are presented and allowed.
5. Gains and losses. The difference between inventory value and sale price for anything you sold.
6. What remains. Property on hand and how it is to be distributed.

The figures should reconcile. Starting value plus receipts and gains, less disbursements and losses, should equal what is left to distribute. A separate estate checking account makes every line provable from one statement.

Closing by Verified Statement

Most North Dakota estates close without a hearing. Under NDCC 30.1-21-03(1), unless the court prohibits it or the estate is in supervised administration, you close by filing a verified statement with the court saying that you, or a prior personal representative you succeeded, have done two things:

1. Fully administered the estate. You paid, settled or otherwise disposed of all claims presented, expenses of administration, and estate, inheritance and other death taxes, except as specified, and distributed the assets to the persons entitled. If any claim remains undischarged, the statement says whether you distributed subject to possible liability with the distributees' agreement, or spells out the other arrangements made for the outstanding liabilities.
2. Sent the statement and the account. You sent a copy of the statement to all distributees and to every creditor or other claimant you know of whose claim is neither paid nor barred, and furnished a full account in writing of your administration to the distributees whose interests are affected.

The timing rule depends on a North Dakota choice. Publishing notice to creditors is optional under NDCC 30.1-19-01. If you published and mailed notice, 30.1-21-03(1) bars the closing statement until 3 months after the date of the first publication and mailing. If you did not, there is no such wait, but pre-death claims stay open for 3 years after the death under 30.1-19-03, which is a reason to settle claims that must be settled first before you sign.

Under 30.1-21-03(2), if no proceeding involving you is pending in the court 1 year after the closing statement is filed, your appointment terminates.

Closing by Court Order Instead

A personal representative who wants a judge to approve the account, or who expects an objection, can use a formal proceeding. NDCC 30.1-21-01(1) lets you petition for an order of complete settlement at any time, and lets any other interested person petition after 1 year from the appointment of the original personal representative. No petition can be heard until the time for presenting claims that arose before death has expired.

The petition can ask the court to consider the final account or to compel or approve an accounting and distribution. After notice to all interested persons and a hearing, the court may approve settlement, direct or approve distribution after satisfactory evidence that any estate tax due was paid, and discharge you from further claim or demand of any interested person. Where a will was informally probated, 30.1-21-02 offers a narrower version that settles the estate without adjudicating testacy. A supervised administration ends by court order under the same rules, as 30.1-16-05 provides.

The Three-Year Show-Cause Rule

North Dakota's own addition to the model code is NDCC 30.1-21-03.1. If no verified closing statement has been filed, and the estate has not closed in supervised administration, within 3 years from the date of death, any devisee, heir, distributee or claimant may petition the court, formally or by an informal request, or the court may act on its own, to order you and your attorney to show cause why the estate is still open.

The steps are fixed:

1. The court orders a show-cause hearing scheduled within 90 days and serves notice on all heirs, devisees, claimants, distributees and beneficiaries of their right to take part.
2. Within 20 days of receiving the order, you or your attorney give the court a report with a time frame for closing, a detailed explanation of the delay, and a detailed accounting of all disbursements, including specific information on every fee and other payment to you and to any attorney, auditor, investment adviser or other agent.
3. After the hearing, the court sets a timetable for closing. It may award attorney's fees and costs to a petitioner if you and your attorney fail to show cause, and it may file a complaint against the attorney with the disciplinary board.

The clock runs from the death, not from appointment. An estate opened late has less time than it looks, and a running ledger turns the 20-day report into a printout rather than a rebuild.

Your Fees Appear in the Account, and a Court Can Review Them

NDCC 30.1-18-19 entitles a personal representative to reasonable compensation, and North Dakota sets no percentage schedule. Under 30.1-18-21, the court can review the propriety of hiring any attorney, auditor, investment adviser or other agent, the reasonableness of what each was paid, and the reasonableness of what you set for your own services. Anyone who received excessive compensation may be ordered to refund it.

The same section adds a North Dakota rule. If an attorney's fee is based on the value of the estate, the fee agreement must be in writing and mailed to the heirs under the will, or, in an intestate estate, notice must go to all heirs under chapter 30.1-03. Put the agreement in the account file.

Medicaid Gets Its Own Statement

If the decedent received medical assistance, NDCC 50-24.1-07(3) adds two duties. When letters are granted, every personal representative must send the Department of Health and Human Services a copy of the petition or application commencing probate, with a list of the legatees, devisees, surviving joint tenants and heirs. And unless a properly filed claim of the department is paid in full, the personal representative must give the department a statement of assets and disbursements in the estate. Build the account so that statement is a copy, not a separate project.

Six Months After Closing, Most Claims Against You End

NDCC 30.1-21-05 bars claims by successors, and by creditors whose claims were not otherwise barred, against the personal representative for breach of fiduciary duty unless a proceeding starts within 6 months after the closing statement is filed. Claims already decided and matters the closing statement provides for fall outside that rule.

The bar does not cover fraud, misrepresentation or inadequate disclosure related to settling the estate. A thin account leaves the inadequate-disclosure door open, and a full one lets the 6 months run. Distributees face their own limit: under 30.1-21-06, a claim to recover from a distributee is barred at the later of 3 years after the death or 1 year after the distribution, except for fraud.

If property is discovered after the estate is settled and you are discharged, or more than 1 year after a closing statement was filed, NDCC 30.1-21-08 lets the court, on petition of an interested person, appoint the same or a successor personal representative to administer it. The petitioner pays the clerk a filing fee under 27-05.2-03, and no claim barred earlier can be raised in that later administration.

Records That Hold Up

Keep these from the first week:

• A separate estate checking account, so every receipt and payment appears on one statement.
• Date-of-death statements for every account and a copy of each appraisal, with the appraiser's name and address.
• The homestead report annexed to the inventory, and any survey.
• Receipts or invoices for every payment, including funeral and publication costs.
• Each creditor claim, your allowance or disallowance, and proof of payment.
• Proof of mailing for the appointment notice, the inventory and the closing statement.
• Any written fee agreement and a time log of your own work, if you plan to take compensation.

When to Call a North Dakota Attorney

Many North Dakota estates close by verified statement with no hearing, and 30.1-14-01.1 says an attorney is not required for informal probate or appointment. An attorney earns the fee when an heir has objected to the account, when the 3-year show-cause date is near, when a spouse is weighing the elective share, when the estate holds farmland or a business, or when the estate cannot pay every claim in full. Your local clerk of district court can tell you what the court file needs, but cannot advise you on a dispute. The North Dakota probate guide walks through the whole process from the start.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the inventory due in a North Dakota probate?

Within 6 months after appointment or 9 months after the death, whichever is later, under NDCC 30.1-18-06(1). The inventory lists the property the decedent owned at death in reasonable detail, with each item's fair market value as of the date of death and the type and amount of any encumbrance. A special administrator does not owe it, and neither does a successor whose predecessor already did it.

Does a North Dakota personal representative have to file the inventory with the court?

No, but skipping the court changes who gets a copy. Under NDCC 30.1-18-06(2), a personal representative who files the original with the court sends copies only to interested persons who ask. One who does not file it must mail a copy to every heir in an intestate estate, or to every devisee where a will was probated, and to any other interested person who asks.

Is a final accounting required to close a North Dakota estate?

North Dakota has no separate section requiring a court-filed final accounting in an informal estate. To close by verified statement under NDCC 30.1-21-03, though, the personal representative must state that a full account in writing of the administration went to the distributees whose interests are affected. A formal petition under 30.1-21-01 can ask the court to consider the final account or compel or approve an accounting.

How soon can a North Dakota estate be closed?

If the personal representative published and mailed notice to creditors under NDCC 30.1-19-01, the verified closing statement cannot be filed until 3 months after the first publication and mailing, under 30.1-21-03(1). If no proceeding involving the personal representative is pending 1 year after the statement is filed, the appointment ends under 30.1-21-03(2).

What happens if a North Dakota estate is still open three years after the death?

Under NDCC 30.1-21-03.1, any devisee, heir, distributee or claimant can ask the court to order the personal representative and the personal representative's attorney to show cause why the estate has not been closed, and the court can do so on its own motion. The hearing is set within 90 days, and within 20 days of receiving the order they must give the court a report with a closing time frame and a detailed accounting of all disbursements, including every fee paid to the personal representative and the attorney.

Does the North Dakota Medicaid program get an accounting?

It can. NDCC 50-24.1-07(3) requires every personal representative, when letters are granted, to send the Department of Health and Human Services a copy of the petition or application and a list of the legatees, devisees, surviving joint tenants and heirs. Unless the department's properly filed claim is paid in full, the personal representative must also give the department a statement of assets and disbursements in the estate.

How long can a beneficiary sue a North Dakota personal representative after closing?

Six months after the closing statement is filed, under NDCC 30.1-21-05, unless the claim was already decided or the closing statement provides otherwise. The bar does not reach claims for fraud, misrepresentation or inadequate disclosure related to settling the estate, so a full written account is what lets the 6 months run.

Related Guides

• North Dakota Executor Duties
• North Dakota Probate Timeline
• North Dakota Creditor Claims
• North Dakota Probate Guide
• North Dakota Surviving Spouse Rights
• North Dakota Small Estate Affidavit
• North Dakota Probate Courts by County

Sources:

• Title: NDCC 30.1-18-03, (3-703) General duties, relation and liability to persons interested in estate, standing to sue. Publisher: North Dakota Legislative Council, North Dakota Century Code. Publication Date: Not listed (current through the 2025 session), accessed 2026-09-28. URL: https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t30-1c18.pdf#nameddest=30p1-18-03
• Title: NDCC 30.1-18-05, (3-705) Duty of personal representative, information to heirs and devisees. Publisher: North Dakota Legislative Council, North Dakota Century Code. Publication Date: Not listed (current through the 2025 session), accessed 2026-09-28. URL: https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t30-1c18.pdf#nameddest=30p1-18-05
• Title: NDCC 30.1-18-06, (3-706) Duty of personal representative, inventory and appraisement. Publisher: North Dakota Legislative Council, North Dakota Century Code. Publication Date: Not listed (current through the 2025 session), accessed 2026-09-28. URL: https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t30-1c18.pdf#nameddest=30p1-18-06
• Title: NDCC 30.1-18-07, (3-707) Employment of appraisers. Publisher: North Dakota Legislative Council, North Dakota Century Code. Publication Date: Not listed (current through the 2025 session), accessed 2026-09-28. URL: https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t30-1c18.pdf#nameddest=30p1-18-07
• Title: NDCC 30.1-18-08, (3-708) Duty of personal representative, supplementary inventory. Publisher: North Dakota Legislative Council, North Dakota Century Code. Publication Date: Not listed (current through the 2025 session), accessed 2026-09-28. URL: https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t30-1c18.pdf#nameddest=30p1-18-08
• Title: NDCC 30.1-18-19, (3-719) Compensation of personal representative. Publisher: North Dakota Legislative Council, North Dakota Century Code. Publication Date: Not listed (current through the 2025 session), accessed 2026-09-28. URL: https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t30-1c18.pdf#nameddest=30p1-18-19
• Title: NDCC 30.1-18-21, (3-721) Proceedings for review of employment of agents and compensation of personal representatives and employees of estate. Publisher: North Dakota Legislative Council, North Dakota Century Code. Publication Date: Not listed (current through the 2025 session), accessed 2026-09-28. URL: https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t30-1c18.pdf#nameddest=30p1-18-21
• Title: NDCC 30.1-19-01, (3-801) Notice to creditors. Publisher: North Dakota Legislative Council, North Dakota Century Code. Publication Date: Not listed (current through the 2025 session), accessed 2026-09-28. URL: https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t30-1c19.pdf#nameddest=30p1-19-01
• Title: NDCC 30.1-16-05, (3-505) Supervised administration, interim orders, distribution and closing orders. Publisher: North Dakota Legislative Council, North Dakota Century Code. Publication Date: Not listed (current through the 2025 session), accessed 2026-09-28. URL: https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t30-1c16.pdf#nameddest=30p1-16-05
• Title: NDCC 30.1-21-01, (3-1001) Formal proceedings terminating administration, testate or intestate, order of general protection. Publisher: North Dakota Legislative Council, North Dakota Century Code. Publication Date: Not listed (current through the 2025 session), accessed 2026-09-28. URL: https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t30-1c21.pdf#nameddest=30p1-21-01
• Title: NDCC 30.1-21-02, (3-1002) Formal proceedings terminating testate administration, order construing will without adjudicating testacy. Publisher: North Dakota Legislative Council, North Dakota Century Code. Publication Date: Not listed (current through the 2025 session), accessed 2026-09-28. URL: https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t30-1c21.pdf#nameddest=30p1-21-02
• Title: NDCC 30.1-21-03, (3-1003) Closing estates, by sworn statement of personal representative. Publisher: North Dakota Legislative Council, North Dakota Century Code. Publication Date: Not listed (current through the 2025 session), accessed 2026-09-28. URL: https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t30-1c21.pdf#nameddest=30p1-21-03
• Title: NDCC 30.1-21-03.1, Estate closing, procedures. Publisher: North Dakota Legislative Council, North Dakota Century Code. Publication Date: Not listed (current through the 2025 session), accessed 2026-09-28. URL: https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t30-1c21.pdf#nameddest=30p1-21-03p1
• Title: NDCC 30.1-21-05, (3-1005) Limitations on proceedings against personal representative. Publisher: North Dakota Legislative Council, North Dakota Century Code. Publication Date: Not listed (current through the 2025 session), accessed 2026-09-28. URL: https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t30-1c21.pdf#nameddest=30p1-21-05
• Title: NDCC 30.1-21-06, (3-1006) Limitations on actions and proceedings against distributees. Publisher: North Dakota Legislative Council, North Dakota Century Code. Publication Date: Not listed (current through the 2025 session), accessed 2026-09-28. URL: https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t30-1c21.pdf#nameddest=30p1-21-06
• Title: NDCC 30.1-21-08, (3-1008) Subsequent administration, fee. Publisher: North Dakota Legislative Council, North Dakota Century Code. Publication Date: Not listed (current through the 2025 session), accessed 2026-09-28. URL: https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t30-1c21.pdf#nameddest=30p1-21-08
• Title: NDCC 30-16-05, Personal representative to value homestead. Publisher: North Dakota Legislative Council, North Dakota Century Code. Publication Date: Not listed (current through the 2025 session), accessed 2026-09-28. URL: https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t30c16.pdf#nameddest=30-16-05
• Title: NDCC 50-24.1-07, Recovery from estate of medical assistance recipient. Publisher: North Dakota Legislative Council, North Dakota Century Code. Publication Date: Not listed (current through the 2025 session; last amended by 2025 SB 2029), accessed 2026-09-28. URL: https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t50c24-1.pdf#nameddest=50-24p1-07

It is not legal advice.