South Dakota Probate Accounting

South Dakota gives a personal representative the later of six months after appointment or nine months after the death to prepare an estate inventory, and no duty to file it with the court. SDCL 29A-3-706 sets that clock, asks for a date-of-death fair market value on every item, and requires a copy for any interested person who asks. The full accounting comes at the end, with the closing statement, and the heirs may waive it in writing.

That is South Dakota probate accounting in three sentences. The rest of this page walks through each duty in the order the South Dakota Probate Code sets it, with the statute text quoted where the wording matters. South Dakota calls the executor a personal representative, and every probate is heard in the circuit court. Read this beside the rest of the personal representative's job, and see when the estate can close for how the dates line up.

Every rule below was read on September 27, 2026 in the South Dakota Codified Laws published by the South Dakota Legislature. This is general information about South Dakota law, written for a personal representative handling an estate without court supervision.

The Inventory Is Due on the Later of Two Dates

SDCL 29A-3-706 gives a longer runway than the Uniform Probate Code's three months. The inventory is due "within six months after appointment, or nine months after the decedent's death, whichever is later." Measure both dates and use the one that falls last. Someone appointed two months after a death has until six months after appointment. Someone appointed eight months after a death has until nine months after the death, which is one month away.

The same sentence sets what goes on it. You "shall prepare an inventory of property owned by the decedent at the time of death, listing it with reasonable detail, and indicating as to each listed item, its fair market value as of the date of the decedent's death, and the type and amount of any encumbrance that may exist with reference to any item."

Three things follow from that wording:

• The valuation date is the date of death. An account balance on the day you open the file, or a sale price a year later, answers a different question.
• Encumbrances go on the list. A house carrying a mortgage shows the lender and the balance beside the value.
• Two people are exempt. A special administrator does not owe the inventory, and neither does "a successor to another representative who has previously discharged this duty."

The inventory covers property the decedent owned at death. A house held in joint tenancy, a payable-on-death account or a policy with a living beneficiary passes outside the probate estate. You may list those items in a separate note so the heirs see the whole picture, but the statute asks only for the decedent's own property.

Filing the Inventory With the Court Is Optional

The second paragraph of 29A-3-706 splits delivery from filing. "The personal representative shall promptly make a copy of the inventory available, by mail or delivery, to any interested person who requests it. The personal representative may also file the original of the inventory with the court."

So the duty runs to people, and the court filing is a choice. Who counts as interested is broad. SDCL 29A-1-201(23) says an interested person "includes heirs, devisees, children, spouses, creditors, beneficiaries, and any others having a property right in or claim against" the estate, and adds that the meaning "must be determined according to the particular purposes of, and matter involved in, any proceeding."

Here is why the filing choice matters. It decides where every later supplement goes, as the section below explains. A filed inventory also becomes part of the court file. An unfiled one stays between you and the people you send it to.

The appointment notice already tells the family they can ask. Under 29A-3-705(b), the notice you send the heirs and devisees within 14 days of appointment must say that recipients "are entitled to information regarding the administration from the personal representative" and may petition the court on any matter relating to the estate. Expect requests, and keep a log of each one and the date you answered it.

Appraisers, and Where Their Names Go

Some values are easy: a bank letter states a balance. Others are not. SDCL 29A-3-707 lets you "employ a qualified and disinterested appraiser to assist in ascertaining the fair market value as of the date of the decedent's death of any asset the value of which may not be readily ascertainable." You may use different appraisers for different kinds of assets.

The statute adds one rule that is easy to miss. "The names and addresses of any appraiser shall be indicated on the inventory with the item or items appraised." A reader of the inventory should be able to see who valued the farm ground, who valued the machinery and who valued the coins.

Appraisers are paid from the estate. SDCL 29A-3-719(a) lists appraisers among the agents "entitled to reasonable compensation for services," and 29A-3-721 lets the court, on petition of an interested person, review whether hiring them was proper and whether their pay was reasonable.

When Something Turns Up Later

Estates rarely hold still. A forgotten brokerage account arrives by mail, or an appraisal comes back far from the number you estimated. SDCL 29A-3-708 covers both.

If property missing from the original inventory comes to your attention, or you learn that a value or description "is erroneous or misleading," you "shall make a supplementary inventory or appraisement showing the market value as of the date of the decedent's death of the new item or the revised market value or descriptions, and the appraisers or other data relied upon, if any."

Where it goes depends on the original:

• Original filed with the court: file the supplement with the court too.
• Every case: mail or deliver a copy "to the persons sent a copy of the original inventory and to other interested persons who request it."

Property that surfaces after the job is done follows a different path. SDCL 29A-3-1008 applies when other property "is discovered after an estate has been settled and the personal representative discharged or after one year after a closing statement has been filed." On petition of any interested person, the court may appoint the same or a successor personal representative to administer it, and no claim previously barred may be asserted in that subsequent administration.

The Standard South Dakota Holds You To

The accounting is where your conduct gets measured, so the standard matters. SDCL 29A-3-703(a) makes the personal representative "a fiduciary who, except as otherwise provided in the will, shall observe the standards of care in dealing with the estate assets that would be observed by a prudent person dealing with the property of another." The same subsection requires you to settle and distribute the estate "as expeditiously and efficiently as is consistent with the best interests of the estate."

SDCL 29A-3-709 puts the property in your hands and makes you answer for it. You take "possession or control of the decedent's property," though real property and tangible personal property may stay with the person presumptively entitled to it until you need it for administration. You "shall pay taxes on, and take all steps reasonably necessary for the management, protection, and preservation of, the estate" in your possession.

If something goes wrong, SDCL 29A-3-712 states the result. When your exercise of power is improper, you are "liable to interested persons for damage or loss resulting from breach of fiduciary duty." A clean account is the easiest proof that nothing was improper.

The Full Accounting Comes at Closing

Most South Dakota estates close informally, without a court order. SDCL 29A-3-1003(a) lets a personal representative close "by filing with the court no earlier than four months after the date of original appointment of a general personal representative for the estate, a verified statement." That route is unavailable if a court order prohibits it or the estate is in supervised administration.

The verified statement says you, or a previous personal representative, have done four things:

1. Determined that the time for presenting creditors' claims has expired, or made a diligent search for creditors and affirm to the best of your knowledge that all known creditors are paid in full and any others could not be found with reasonable diligence
2. Determined that all inheritance taxes and state estate taxes due from the estate are determined and paid
3. Fully administered the estate by paying, settling or otherwise disposing of all properly presented claims, administration expenses and other charges, and distributed the assets to the persons entitled. If claims remain undischarged, the statement says whether you distributed subject to possible liability with the distributees' agreement, or spells out the other arrangements made
4. "Sent a copy of the statement and a full accounting to all heirs and devisees who are entitled to distribution of and from the remaining assets of the estate and to all known creditors and other claimants whose claims are neither paid nor barred"

Item 4 is the accounting duty. It reaches two groups: the heirs and devisees still entitled to something from the remaining assets, and any known creditor or claimant whose claim is neither paid nor barred. A devisee whose specific gift was already handed over is outside the first group.

Item 2 is a leftover. The Legislature repealed the inheritance tax and estate tax chapters by SL 2014, ch 59, but 29A-3-1003 was last amended in 2000 and still carries the line. It remains part of the sworn statement's wording. Federal estate and income tax returns are a separate job, covered on the executor duties page.

What goes in a full accounting

Part 10 of chapter 29A-3 does not define "full accounting" or prescribe a form. A layout that readers can follow starts from the inventory and moves forward:

• Starting property: the inventory and any supplements, at date-of-death values
• Receipts: income, interest, dividends, refunds and sale proceeds, each dated
• Disbursements: funeral costs, claims paid, taxes, fees and administration expenses, each dated with the payee
• Gains and losses: the difference between inventory value and sale price for anything sold
• Distributions: what each heir or devisee received, and when
• Remaining property: what is left for final distribution

The order you paid claims belongs in the disbursements, because the code sets that order. See paying claims before distribution for the classes and how they rank.

For comparison, South Dakota does spell out an accounting's contents for conservators. SDCL 29A-5-408 requires a conservator to file an accounting within 60 days after the first anniversary of appointment and at least annually after that, listing "the receipts, disbursements, and distributions" and the estate. No matching annual-filing rule appears in chapter 29A-3 for a personal representative administering a decedent's estate without supervision, but the conservator list is a fair model of what a reader expects to see.

The heirs may waive it in writing

South Dakota added a clause many Uniform Probate Code states lack. Under 29A-3-1003(c), "Any accounting required under this section may be waived if the persons entitled to a copy consent in writing." SDCL 29A-3-1001(d) repeats the same words for a formal closing.

Two limits sit inside that sentence. The consent comes from "the persons entitled to a copy," which can include an unpaid, unbarred creditor as well as the heirs and devisees. And the consent must be written. A phone call or a nod at the kitchen table does not waive anything. A waiver also leaves the six-month bar in 29A-3-1005 in place, and that bar never covers "inadequate disclosure," so heirs who waive the paper still rely on what you told them.

When the appointment ends

Under 29A-3-1003(b), "If no proceedings involving the personal representative are pending in the court one year after the closing statement is filed, the appointment of the personal representative terminates." After that, SDCL 29A-3-1007 lets you, or a surety on your bond, file a verified application showing that no action concerning the estate is pending and receive a certificate from the clerk that you appear to have fully administered the estate. The certificate discharges any lien given in place of bond, but it "does not preclude action against the personal representative or the surety."

When the Court Approves the Account

Some estates want a court order instead of a sworn statement. SDCL 29A-3-1001 provides one: a petition for an order of complete settlement. The petition asks the court "to approve the account or to compel and approve an accounting," to determine testacy and heirs where needed, and "to adjudicate the final settlement and distribution of the estate."

Who can file, and when:

• The personal representative may petition "after four months from the appointment of the original personal representative," and that petition "shall be granted as a matter of course."
• Any other interested person may petition "after one year from the appointment of the original personal representative," and those petitions are granted "only if there is good cause." This is how an heir who never received an account can ask the court to compel one.

After notice to all interested persons, a hearing, and "the filing of proof that a copy of the accounting was mailed" to the same two groups named in 29A-3-1003, the court may terminate your appointment and discharge you from further claims or demands. Under 29A-3-1001(e), the order "shall be conclusive as to the matters determined on all persons given notice," subject only to appeal.

A supervised estate ends the same way. SDCL 29A-3-505 says supervised administration "is terminated by order in accordance with time restrictions, notices, and contents of orders prescribed for proceedings under § 29A-3-1001," unless the court orders otherwise.

Commissions Are Figured on What You Account For

South Dakota ties your pay to the accounting. When the will is silent on compensation, or there is no will, SDCL 29A-3-719(c) says the personal representative "may be allowed commissions upon the amount of personal property accounted for": 5 percent on the first 1,000 dollars, 4 percent on sums over 1,000 dollars up to 5,000 dollars, and 2.5 percent on everything over 5,000 dollars.

Real property you account for earns "a just and reasonable compensation for the services performed to be fixed by the court," and "All real estate sold by the personal representative as part of the proceedings in probate shall be considered as personal property." So a clear line between property sold and property distributed in kind affects the commission as well as the account.

Any interested person can challenge the figure. Under 29A-3-721 the court may review "the reasonableness of the compensation of the personal representative" and the pay of any attorney, accountant or other agent you hired, and it may order anyone paid too much "to make appropriate refunds." Dated time records are the usual answer to that petition.

Six Months After Closing, the Window Shuts

SDCL 29A-3-1005 is the reason to close by statement and send the account. Unless already barred by adjudication and except as provided in the closing statement, "the rights of successors and of creditors whose claims have not otherwise been barred against the personal representative for breach of fiduciary duty are barred unless a proceeding to assert the same is commenced within six months after the filing of the closing statement."

The exception is written into the same section. The rights barred "do not include rights to recover from a personal representative for fraud, misrepresentation, or inadequate disclosure related to the settlement of the decedent's estate." So the six-month shield covers what you disclosed, and gives no cover for what you left out.

Distributees carry their own clock. SDCL 29A-3-1006 bars a creditor's claim against a distributee three years after the death, and bars any other claimant, heir or devisee trying to recover property improperly distributed at the later of three years after the death or one year after the distribution. Matters "previously adjudicated ... in a proceeding settling the accounts of a personal representative" are outside that window, which is one more reason some estates ask for a 29A-3-1001 order.

Records That Hold Up

Open one estate bank account right after appointment and run every receipt and payment through it. Estate money never touches a personal account.

Value everything as of the date of death and write down where each number came from: a bank letter, a broker statement, an appraisal, a county assessment. Under 29A-3-707, each appraiser's name and address go on the inventory beside the items that person valued.

Keep a dated log of every request and mailing. Who asked for the inventory, when you sent it, when the closing statement and account went out, and who signed a written waiver. South Dakota's duties run from events, and your file is where you prove which day each one happened.

Keep the inventory current. A supplementary inventory under 29A-3-708 takes an afternoon. Explaining an asset that appears for the first time in the final account takes much longer.

Hold the file past the deadlines. Keep everything at least through the one-year termination under 29A-3-1003(b) and the six-month bar under 29A-3-1005, and remember that neither one covers fraud or inadequate disclosure.

For everything a personal representative does before and after these steps, return to South Dakota executor duties, and check the South Dakota probate timeline against your own appointment date.

Common Questions

When is the estate inventory due in South Dakota?

Within six months after appointment, or nine months after the decedent's death, whichever is later, under SDCL 29A-3-706. The personal representative 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 the inventory, and neither does a successor whose predecessor already prepared one.

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

No. SDCL 29A-3-706 says the personal representative shall promptly make a copy available, by mail or delivery, to any interested person who requests it, and may also file the original with the court. Sending on request is the duty and filing is the option. The choice follows you: under 29A-3-708 a supplementary inventory is filed with the court only if the original was filed.

What happens if more property turns up after the South Dakota inventory is done?

SDCL 29A-3-708 requires a supplementary inventory or appraisement showing the date-of-death market value of the new item, or the corrected value or description, and the appraisers or other data relied on. You file it with the court if you filed the original, and you mail or deliver a copy to everyone who received the original and to other interested persons who ask. Property found after the estate is settled, or more than one year after a closing statement is filed, goes through a subsequent administration under 29A-3-1008.

Can South Dakota heirs waive the final accounting?

Yes. SDCL 29A-3-1003(c) says any accounting required under that section may be waived if the persons entitled to a copy consent in writing, and 29A-3-1001(d) says the same for a formal petition for complete settlement. The waiver has to come from the people entitled to the copy, which can include known creditors whose claims are neither paid nor barred, and it has to be in writing.

How soon can a South Dakota estate be closed?

No earlier than four months after the date of original appointment of a general personal representative, under SDCL 29A-3-1003(a), unless a court order prohibits it or the estate is in supervised administration. The verified closing statement covers creditors, taxes, full administration and distribution, and the mailing of the statement and a full accounting. If no proceeding involving you is pending one year after it is filed, your appointment terminates.

Why does the South Dakota closing statement mention inheritance tax?

SDCL 29A-3-1003(a)(2) still asks the personal representative to state that all inheritance taxes and state estate taxes due from the estate have been determined and paid. The Legislature repealed the inheritance tax and estate tax chapters by SL 2014, ch 59, so the line is a leftover in a statute last amended in 2000. It remains part of the sworn statement's wording.

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

Six months. SDCL 29A-3-1005 bars claims of successors, and of creditors whose claims are not otherwise barred, against the personal representative for breach of fiduciary duty unless a proceeding starts within six months after the closing statement is filed. Rights to recover for fraud, misrepresentation, or inadequate disclosure related to settling the estate are not barred by that section.

Sources:

• Title: SDCL 29A-1-201, General definitions. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed (last amended by SL 2007, ch 247; accessed 2026-09-27). URL: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-1-201
• Title: SDCL 29A-3-505, Supervised administration, Interim orders, Distribution and closing orders. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed (accessed 2026-09-27). URL: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-3-505
• Title: SDCL 29A-3-703, General duties, Relation and liability to persons interested in estate, Standing to sue. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed (accessed 2026-09-27). URL: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-3-703
• Title: SDCL 29A-3-705, Duty of personal representative, Information to heirs and devisees. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed (last amended by SL 2006, ch 153; accessed 2026-09-27). URL: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-3-705
• Title: SDCL 29A-3-706, Duty of personal representative, Inventory and appraisement. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed (accessed 2026-09-27). URL: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-3-706
• Title: SDCL 29A-3-707, Employment of appraisers. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed (accessed 2026-09-27). URL: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-3-707
• Title: SDCL 29A-3-708, Duty of personal representative, Supplementary inventory. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed (accessed 2026-09-27). URL: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-3-708
• Title: SDCL 29A-3-709, Duty of personal representative, Possession of estate. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed (accessed 2026-09-27). URL: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-3-709
• Title: SDCL 29A-3-712, Improper exercise of power, Breach of fiduciary duty. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed (accessed 2026-09-27). URL: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-3-712
• Title: SDCL 29A-3-719, Compensation of personal representative. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed (last amended by SL 1996, ch 187; accessed 2026-09-27). URL: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-3-719
• Title: SDCL 29A-3-721, Proceedings for review of employment of agents and compensation of personal representatives and employees of estate. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed (accessed 2026-09-27). URL: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-3-721
• Title: SDCL 29A-3-1001, Formal proceedings terminating administration, Testate or intestate, Order of general protection. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed (accessed 2026-09-27). URL: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-3-1001
• Title: SDCL 29A-3-1003, Closing estates, By sworn statement of personal representative. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed (last amended by SL 2000, ch 138; accessed 2026-09-27). URL: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-3-1003
• Title: SDCL 29A-3-1005, Limitations on proceedings against personal representatives. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed (accessed 2026-09-27). URL: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-3-1005
• Title: SDCL 29A-3-1006, Limitations on actions and proceedings against distributees. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed (accessed 2026-09-27). URL: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-3-1006
• Title: SDCL 29A-3-1007, Certificate discharging liens securing fiduciary performance. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed (accessed 2026-09-27). URL: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-3-1007
• Title: SDCL 29A-3-1008, Subsequent administration. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed (last amended by SL 2008, ch 144; accessed 2026-09-27). URL: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-3-1008
• Title: SDCL 29A-5-408, Annual accounting, Conservator, When filed. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed (last amended by SL 2023, ch 95; accessed 2026-09-27). URL: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-5-408
• Title: SL 2014, ch 59 (HB 1057), An Act to repeal certain provisions imposing the inheritance tax and the estate tax. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: 2014-02-12 (signed). URL: https://mylrc.sdlegislature.gov/api/Documents/SessionLaw/32211.html

It is not legal advice.