South Dakota Probate Timeline

A South Dakota informal probate usually runs 6 to 12 months from the application to the closing statement, and a formal or supervised case runs 9 to 18. Those ranges are planning estimates. The fixed part is the floor: SDCL 29A-3-1003(a) will not let a personal representative file the sworn closing statement until four months after the original appointment.

South Dakota also changed the uniform text in a way that matters for timing. Since 2000, the closing statement no longer has to wait for a creditor period to run out. The personal representative can instead swear to a diligent search for creditors and confirm that every known creditor has been paid. So the published notice to creditors is optional in two senses: 29A-3-801(a) says the personal representative may publish, and the closing statement can be signed without it. What publication buys is protection for the heirs, covered below. For the steps rather than the durations, read how South Dakota probate works. This page is general information about South Dakota law, so confirm your own dates with the clerk of courts holding the file or a licensed South Dakota attorney.

Five Routes, Five Durations

South Dakota adopted the Uniform Probate Code as Title 29A, so the route sets the length before any family fact does. Every court route runs through the circuit court, and under 29A-3-201(a) the first case belongs in the county where the decedent was domiciled at death, or for a nonresident, any county where the decedent owned property. Finding your circuit court clerk is a question of county, not of court type.

The first two are shortcuts. The third is the default, and the last two are what happens when someone disagrees or asks the court to watch. South Dakota never enacted the uniform act's summary administration for small estates, so there is no middle route between the affidavits and a full probate.

The Two Affidavits

Personal property. SDCL 29A-3-1201(a) lets a successor collect personal property 30 days after the death by presenting an affidavit stating that the value of the entire estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $100,000; that no application or petition for a personal representative is pending or has been granted anywhere; that the decedent incurred no debt to the Department of Social Services for medical assistance for nursing home or other institutional medical care; and that the successor is entitled to the property. The measure counts land at full value even though this affidavit moves only personal property. The figure has been $100,000 since SL 2022, ch 88 raised it from $50,000.

Real property. SDCL 29A-3-1203 is South Dakota's own route for land. Sixty days after the death, the successors file an affidavit with the register of deeds in every county where the land lies, along with a certified death certificate. The decedent's interest in all South Dakota real property must be worth $50,000 or less, measured on the assessment rolls for non-agricultural land or at fair market value for agricultural land. Every claiming successor signs, and the same Department of Social Services debt that closes the first affidavit closes this one. The South Dakota small estate affidavit covers who signs and what a holder may ask for.

The First Two Weeks

South Dakota sets one short wait at the front of a case. SDCL 29A-3-302 lets the clerk issue a written statement of informal probate only once at least 120 hours have passed since the death, and 29A-3-307(a) makes the informal appointment of a personal representative wait the same 120 hours. Where the decedent lived in another state, the clerk holds the appointment until 30 days after the death, unless the personal representative from the home state is the applicant or the will directs that South Dakota law govern.

Priority for appointment runs through the will, the spouse, other devisees and the heirs under 29A-3-203(a). A person with no priority at all can be appointed only once 45 days have passed since the death.

Once the clerk appoints a personal representative, the first clock is short. SDCL 29A-3-705(a) requires information about the appointment to go to the heirs and devisees within 14 days, by delivery or ordinary mail. The notice names the personal representative, says whether bond was filed, describes the court holding the papers, and includes a copy of any probated will.

The same 14 days cover a notice found only in South Dakota. Under 29A-3-705(c), the personal representative sends written information about the appointment to the Department of Social Services in Pierre, including the decedent's Social Security number and, where it can be found, the name and Social Security number of a spouse who died earlier. That notice is not filed with the court, but the personal representative certifies to the court that it was sent. Missing either notice is a breach of duty that does not undo the appointment. The personal representative's 14-day notice sits with the rest of the role.

The Four-Month Creditor Window

Here is why four months keeps coming up. SDCL 29A-3-801(a) lets the personal representative publish a notice to creditors once a week for three successive weeks in a legal newspaper in the county where the case is pending. Creditors then have four months after the date of the first publication to present claims.

Written notice is mandatory, and its clock starts somewhere else. Under 29A-3-801(b), the personal representative shall mail or deliver notice to every creditor who is known or reasonably ascertainable. That creditor has until the later of four months after the personal representative's appointment or 60 days after the notice was mailed or delivered. No written notice is owed to a creditor who has already presented a claim, has been paid in full, or could not reasonably have been found within four months after the appointment.

SDCL 29A-3-803(a) then fixes the actual bar. A claim that arose before the death is barred unless presented within the time set in the published notice, within the time set in the written notice, or in any event within three years after the death. That three-year bar reaches claims of the state too.

Claim handling brings two 60-day rules under 29A-3-806(a). A claimant whose claim is disallowed has 60 days after the notice of disallowance is mailed to petition the court or sue, provided the notice warns of the bar. Running the other way, a personal representative who sends no notice of action for 60 days after the presentation period ends is treated as having allowed the claim. Allowed claims then bear interest at the category B rate of 54-3-16, starting 60 days after the presentation period expires, unless a contract sets its own rate.

Here is an ordinary informal estate where the notice is published in the week the appointment issues.

Every later row hangs off a choice made in the first week. The four-month creditor window covers how a claim is presented and what happens to a late one.

Why Skipping Publication Rarely Saves Time

Before 2000, the closing statement had to say that notice to creditors was properly given and that the claim period had expired. SL 2000, ch 138 rewrote 29A-3-1003(a)(1) to add a second path: a sworn statement that the personal representative made a diligent search, that every known creditor has been paid in full, and that any other creditor is unknown and could not be found with reasonable diligence. So an estate can close at four months with no newspaper notice at all.

The catch lands on the family. Without publication, an unknown creditor's claim survives until three years after the death. After distribution, 29A-3-1004 lets an unbarred claim be pursued against the distributees, and 29A-3-1006 keeps a creditor's claim against a distributee alive until three years after the death. Publishing costs a few weeks of newspaper notice and cuts that exposure to four months from the first run.

Months Two Through Nine

The inventory deadline is longer in South Dakota than the closing floor. SDCL 29A-3-706 gives the personal representative until six months after appointment or nine months after the death, whichever is later, to list the decedent's property with its fair market value at the date of death and any encumbrance. A special administrator is excused, and so is a successor whose predecessor already did it. The personal representative sends a copy to any interested person who asks and may file the original with the court, so an empty docket does not mean nothing happened. An estate that closes at four months has finished this work early.

The family allowance runs during this stretch. Under 29A-2-403(b), the personal representative may pay the surviving spouse and dependent children a lump sum of up to $18,000, or up to $1,500 a month for one year, without asking the court. That allowance outranks every claim except the homestead and exempt property allowances. The South Dakota family allowance covers who qualifies.

How a South Dakota Estate Ends

An informal administration ends with a filing rather than a hearing. SDCL 29A-3-1003(a) lets the personal representative close by filing a verified statement, no earlier than four months after the original appointment, saying four things: that the claim period has expired or the diligent-search statement above is true; that all inheritance taxes and state estate taxes due have been determined and paid; that the estate is fully administered and the assets distributed; and that a copy of the statement and a full accounting went to the heirs and devisees entitled to distribution and to every known creditor whose claim is neither paid nor barred. Those entitled to the accounting can waive it in writing under 29A-3-1003(c). A court order can prohibit this route, and supervised estates cannot use it.

The tax line is a leftover. South Dakota repealed its inheritance tax, estate tax and their administration chapter in SL 2014, ch 59, and the Department of Revenue states that the state has no inheritance tax and no estate tax. The statement still has to say the taxes are paid, which for a current death means there were none to pay.

Two clocks run behind the statement. SDCL 29A-3-1005 bars claims against the personal representative for breach of fiduciary duty six months after the closing statement is filed, leaving fraud, misrepresentation and inadequate disclosure outside the bar. SDCL 29A-3-1003(b) ends the appointment one year after the filing if no proceeding involving the personal representative is pending. Closing the estate covers what the accounting has to show.

The formal ending is 29A-3-1001. The personal representative may petition for an order of complete settlement four months after the original appointment, and the court grants that petition as a matter of course. Any other interested person must wait one year from the original appointment and show good cause. Supervised administration under 29A-3-501 stays under the court's continuing authority, and 29A-3-505 ends it on the 29A-3-1001 timetable.

What Pushes a South Dakota Estate Past a Year

1. A spouse's elective share. SDCL 29A-2-211(a) allows the petition within nine months after the death or four months after the will is admitted to probate, whichever is later, and a petition to extend that time can be filed within the nine months. Distribution does not cut the spouse off: under 29A-2-211(d) the court can fix liability on anyone holding property from the augmented estate, even after the personal representative has handed it out.
2. A will contest. SDCL 29A-3-108(3) allows a proceeding to contest an informally probated will within the later of 12 months from the informal probate or three years from the death. Under 29A-3-401(d) a personal representative who receives notice of a formal testacy proceeding must stop making distributions while it is pending. South Dakota will contests covers the grounds.
3. A Medicaid recovery claim. Under 28-6-23, medical assistance paid while the recipient was an inpatient in a nursing facility or other inpatient medical care, and several listed services for a recipient aged 55 or older, is a debt to the Department of Social Services. The department may also file a claim against the estate of the recipient's surviving spouse. The 14-day notice under 29A-3-705(c) is how the department learns of the case.
4. Real property that has to be sold. The market sets that pace, and land worth more than $50,000 cannot pass by the 29A-3-1203 affidavit.
5. Supervised administration. Every distribution waits for the court.
6. A federal estate tax return where one is required. There is no South Dakota death-tax return to wait on.

The Outer Limits

SDCL 29A-3-108 bars an informal or formal probate or appointment proceeding started more than three years after the death, other than one to probate a will already probated at the domicile or one tied to a prior appointment. Exceptions cover a case dismissed because the death was in doubt, the estate of an absentee with a conservator, and a contest of an informally probated will. A later appointment is still possible where nothing happened in the three years, but that personal representative may only confirm title in the rightful successors, and no claims other than administration expenses may be presented. The limit does not reach proceedings to construe a probated will or to determine the heirs of an intestate.

Recipients stay exposed longer than the estate does. SDCL 29A-3-1006 bars a claim to recover property from a distributee three years after the death for a creditor of the decedent, and at the later of three years after the death or one year after the distribution for any other claimant. An action to recover property obtained by fraud sits outside that bar.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does probate take in South Dakota?

Six to twelve months for an ordinary informal probate, and nine to eighteen months where the case is formal or supervised. Those ranges are planning estimates rather than court statistics. The fixed part is the floor: SDCL 29A-3-1003(a) blocks the sworn closing statement until four months after the original appointment of the personal representative, and a published notice to creditors gives claimants four months from the first publication under 29A-3-801(a).

When can a South Dakota personal representative close the estate?

No earlier than four months after the date of the original appointment of a general personal representative, under SDCL 29A-3-1003(a). The verified closing statement must also say the estate is fully administered and that a copy of the statement and a full accounting went to the heirs and devisees entitled to distribution and to unpaid known creditors. The appointment ends one year after the statement is filed if nothing involving the personal representative is pending, under 29A-3-1003(b).

Does a South Dakota personal representative have to publish notice to creditors?

No. SDCL 29A-3-801(a) says the personal representative may publish, once a week for three successive weeks in a legal newspaper of the county. Written notice is different: under 29A-3-801(b) the personal representative shall mail or deliver notice to each known or reasonably ascertainable creditor, who then has the later of four months after the appointment or 60 days after the notice. Without publication, unknown creditors are barred only three years after the death under 29A-3-803(a)(3).

How soon after a death can a South Dakota probate case be filed?

The clerk issues a written statement of informal probate only once at least 120 hours have passed since the death, under SDCL 29A-3-302, and the same 120-hour wait applies to an informal appointment under 29A-3-307(a). Where the decedent lived in another state, the clerk delays the appointment until 30 days after the death unless the personal representative from the home state applies or the will directs that South Dakota law govern.

What is the fastest way to settle a small South Dakota estate?

The affidavit under SDCL 29A-3-1201, which opens no court case. Thirty days after the death, a successor presents an affidavit stating that the entire estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $100,000, that no personal representative application is pending or granted anywhere, and that the decedent owed the Department of Social Services nothing for nursing home or other institutional medical care. It collects personal property only. Land worth $50,000 or less can pass by a separate affidavit under 29A-3-1203 after 60 days.

Is there a deadline to open probate in South Dakota?

Three years after the death, under SDCL 29A-3-108, for informal and formal probate and appointment proceedings. Exceptions cover a case dismissed over doubt about the death, an absentee with a conservator, a contest of an informally probated will, and a late appointment that may only confirm title in the rightful successors. The limit does not apply to proceedings to construe a probated will or to determine the heirs of an intestate.

Related Guides

• South Dakota Probate Guide
• South Dakota Creditor Claims
• South Dakota Executor Duties
• South Dakota Probate Accounting
• South Dakota Small Estate Affidavit
• South Dakota Probate Courts by County

Sources:

• Title: SDCL 29A-3-201, Venue for first and subsequent estate proceedings--Location of property. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed (as enacted SL 1994, ch 232), accessed 2026-09-27. URL: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-3-201
• Title: SDCL 29A-3-302, Informal probate--Duty of clerk--Effect of informal probate. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed (last amended SL 1995, ch 167), accessed 2026-09-27. URL: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-3-302
• Title: SDCL 29A-3-307, Informal appointment proceedings--Delay in order--Duty of Clerk--Effect of appointment. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed (last amended SL 1995, ch 167), accessed 2026-09-27. URL: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-3-307
• Title: SDCL 29A-3-203, Priority among persons seeking appointment as personal representative. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed (last amended SL 1995, ch 167), accessed 2026-09-27. URL: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-3-203
• Title: SDCL 29A-3-705, Duty of personal representative--Information to heirs and devisees. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed (last amended 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 (as enacted SL 1994, ch 232), accessed 2026-09-27. URL: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-3-706
• Title: SDCL 29A-3-801, Notice to creditors. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed (last amended SL 1995, ch 167), accessed 2026-09-27. URL: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-3-801
• Title: SDCL 29A-3-803, Limitations on presentation of claims. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed (last amended SL 1995, ch 167), accessed 2026-09-27. URL: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-3-803
• Title: SDCL 29A-3-806, Allowance of claims. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed (last amended SL 1995, ch 167), accessed 2026-09-27. URL: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-3-806
• Title: SDCL 29A-3-1003, Closing estates--By sworn statement of personal representative. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed (last amended SL 2000, ch 138), accessed 2026-09-27. URL: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-3-1003
• Title: SL 2000, ch 138 (SB 149), An Act to revise the Uniform Probate Code pertaining to the duties of the personal representative in closing the estate. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: 2000, accessed 2026-09-27. URL: https://mylrc.sdlegislature.gov/api/Documents/SessionLaw/87454.html
• Title: SDCL 29A-3-1001, Formal proceedings terminating administration--Testate or intestate--Order of general protection. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed (last amended SL 1995, ch 167), accessed 2026-09-27. URL: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-3-1001
• Title: SDCL 29A-3-1004, Liability of distributees to claimants. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed (as enacted SL 1994, ch 232), accessed 2026-09-27. URL: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-3-1004
• Title: SDCL 29A-3-1005, Limitations on proceedings against personal representatives. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed (as enacted SL 1994, ch 232), 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 (as enacted SL 1994, ch 232), accessed 2026-09-27. URL: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-3-1006
• Title: SDCL 29A-3-108, Probate, testacy, and appointment proceedings--Ultimate time limit. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed (as enacted SL 1994, ch 232), accessed 2026-09-27. URL: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-3-108
• Title: SDCL 29A-3-401, Formal testacy proceedings--Nature--When commenced. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed (last amended SL 1995, ch 167), accessed 2026-09-27. URL: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-3-401
• Title: SDCL 29A-3-501, Supervised administration--Nature of proceeding. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed (as enacted SL 1994, ch 232), accessed 2026-09-27. URL: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-3-501
• Title: SDCL 29A-3-505, Supervised administration--Interim orders--Distribution and closing orders. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed (last amended SL 1995, ch 167), accessed 2026-09-27. URL: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-3-505
• Title: SDCL 29A-3-1201, Collection of personal property by affidavit. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed (last amended SL 2022, ch 88), accessed 2026-09-27. URL: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-3-1201
• Title: SDCL 29A-3-1203, Succession to real property by affidavit. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed (added SL 2022, ch 89), accessed 2026-09-27. URL: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-3-1203
• Title: SDCL 29A-2-211, Proceeding for elective share--Time limit. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed (as enacted SL 1995, ch 167), accessed 2026-09-27. URL: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-2-211
• Title: SDCL 29A-2-403, Family allowance. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed (as enacted SL 1995, ch 167), accessed 2026-09-27. URL: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-2-403
• Title: SDCL 28-6-23, Medical assistance as debt to department--Recovery of debt. Publisher: South Dakota Legislature. Publication Date: Not listed (last amended SL 2013, ch 125), accessed 2026-09-27. URL: https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/28-6-23
• 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: Signed February 12, 2014, accessed 2026-09-27. URL: https://mylrc.sdlegislature.gov/api/Documents/SessionLaw/32211.html
• Title: Taxes (individuals). Publisher: South Dakota Department of Revenue. Publication Date: Not listed, accessed 2026-09-27. URL: https://dor.sd.gov/individuals/taxes/

It is not legal advice.