Asset Protection Attorneys in South Dakota

16 asset protection firms in South Dakota, by county and firm type.

Firm listings are for informational purposes only. SimplyTrust does not endorse or recommend any specific firm or attorney. Contact firms directly to discuss your situation and verify their current practice areas and availability.

16 firms

Solo PracticeRapid City, SD

Aspen Legacy Planning

Serves Rapid City and western South Dakota from Sheridan Lake Road. Handles estate administration and probate for executors, trust administration for trustees, conservatorships and guardianships, and estate and fiduciary litigation such as will interpretation, undue influence, trustee-beneficiary disputes, and fiduciary removal. Consultations are offered in person, by phone, or by video.

PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 10 more

Office: 770 Sheridan Lake RoadRapid City, SD 57702
Phone: (605) 610-4016

Virtual consultations

FirmSioux Falls, SD

Christopherson, Anderson, Paulson & Fideler, LLP

Since 1894

Serves Sioux Falls and clients throughout South Dakota from its office on East 8th Street. Guides executors and trustees through probate and trust administration, from settling debts and estate taxes to transferring assets, and handles wills, trusts, and guardianships. Founded in 1894 and kept small by design, so clients work directly with their attorney; initial consultations are free.

PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateConservatorshipand 4 more

Office: 426 East 8th StreetSioux Falls, SD 57103
Phone: (605) 679-6745

Free consultation

FirmRapid City, SD

Costello, Porter, Hill, Heisterkamp, Bushnell & Carpenter, LLP

Since 1889

Practices from offices in Rapid City and Spearfish. Handles simple and complex probates, trust administration, and contested trust and estate litigation for trustees, personal representatives, and beneficiaries, along with guardianships and conservatorships. Drafts wills and trusts under South Dakota trust law, including living, asset protection, generation-skipping, and dynasty trusts.

PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 6 more

Office: 704 Saint Joseph Street, PO Box 290Rapid City, SD 57701
Phone: (605) 343-2410

FirmSioux Falls, SD

Cutler Law Firm, LLP

Practices from Sioux Falls. Takes probate from appointment of the personal representative to closing the estate, assists trustees with trust administration and trustee removal or appointment, and handles guardianships, conservatorships, trust and estate litigation and will contests. Its attorneys are licensed in six states, from South Dakota to Kansas.

PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 7 more

Office: 140 N. Phillips Ave, 4th FloorSioux Falls, SD 57104
Phone: (605) 335-4950

FirmSioux Falls, SD

Estate Planning Solutions Law Firm, Prof. LLC

Serves families from its office on S Bur Oak Place in Sioux Falls. Handles probate and trust administration, representing fiduciaries and beneficiaries, drafting family settlement agreements, modifying or terminating trusts, and preparing estate tax returns and audits. Also plans farm and business successions and high-net-worth estate tax strategies.

PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateTax Planningand 4 more

Office: 5027 S Bur Oak PlaceSioux Falls, SD 57108
Phone: (605) 906-8118

Solo PracticeAberdeen, SD

Fischbach Law Office

Serves 1 county

Serves Aberdeen and Brown County from its office on 2nd Avenue SE. Takes executors through probate from opening the estate to final distribution, assists trustees in funding and administering revocable and irrevocable trusts, counsels beneficiaries on their interests in estates, and handles trust and estate litigation. Attorney Victor Fischbach established his private practice in 2000.

PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 5 more

Office: 14 2nd Ave SE, PO Box 1456Aberdeen, SD 57402
Phone: (605) 225-1000

FirmRapid City, SD

Gunderson, Palmer, Nelson & Ashmore, LLP

Serves Rapid City and western South Dakota, with a second office in Pierre. Assists personal representatives and trustees through probate and estate administration, advocates for heirs and beneficiaries, and handles contested estate and trust litigation, irrevocable trust decanting, reformation and modification, and Medicaid and long-term care planning.

PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 5 more

Office: 506 6th StreetRapid City, SD 57701
Phone: (605) 342-1078

Solo PracticeBurke, SD

Gunvordahl Gunvordahl & Norberg Prof. L.L.C.

Since 1906 · Serves 1 county

Serves Burke and Gregory County from its office on Main Street. Assists families in probating an estate and handles guardianships and conservatorships from the petition through annual accountings, alongside wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and business succession plans. Founded in 1906, the office also provides real estate closing services in South Dakota and Nebraska.

PracticesEstate PlanningProbateTax PlanningConservatorshipand 7 more

Office: 742 Main Street, P.O. Box 352Burke, SD 57523
Phone: (605) 775-2531

Solo PracticeSioux Falls, SD

Harris Law & Co.

Serves South Dakota clients from a Sioux Falls office, and clients elsewhere virtually. Guides personal representatives and beneficiaries through probate, estate and trust administration, and handles wills, trusts, Medicaid and special-needs planning, asset protection, and business succession. Attorney Lindsay M. Harris works with a probate and trust administration coordinator.

PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder Lawand 6 more

Office: 601 E Tan Tara CircleSioux Falls, SD 57108
Phone: (605) 777-1772

Virtual consultations

FirmSioux Falls, SD

Legacy Law Firm, P.C.

Serves South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, and North Dakota from Sioux Falls. Its probate attorney works only on probate, estate and trust administration for personal representatives and successor trustees, alongside Medicaid, special-needs and asset-protection planning. Has South Dakota's first Board Certified Elder Law Attorney certified by the National Elder Law Foundation.

PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder Lawand 6 more

Office: 7404 S. Bitterroot PlaceSioux Falls, SD 57108
Phone: (605) 275-5665

Free consultationVirtual consultations

FirmSioux Falls, SD

Lynn, Jackson, Shultz & Lebrun, P.C.

Since 1946 · Serves the whole state

Serves clients throughout South Dakota from offices in Sioux Falls, Rapid City, and Belle Fourche. Handles probate administration, guardianships and conservatorships, and wills and trusts, working with clients' financial advisors on wealth transfer, asset protection, and business succession.

PracticesEstate PlanningProbateConservatorshipGuardianshipand 3 more

Office: 110 N. Minnesota Avenue, Suite 400Sioux Falls, SD 57104
Phone: (605) 332-5999

FirmSioux Falls, SD

Plan Wise Legal

Serves clients across South Dakota from Sioux Falls, with partners also licensed in Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Colorado. Handles probate, small-estate and trust administration, guardianships, and Medicaid planning, along with wills, trusts, and farm succession planning. Offers a free 20 to 30 minute initial consultation and meets clients by video call.

PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder Lawand 7 more

Office: 2571 S. Westlake Drive, Suite 210Sioux Falls, SD 57106
Phone: (605) 291-1448

Free consultationVirtual consultations

FirmSioux Falls, SD

Redstone Law Firm LLP

Serves clients throughout South Dakota from its main office on 57th Street in Sioux Falls, with a second location in Pierre. Handles probate and trust administration, and represents clients in will and trust contests, fiduciary-duty claims against trustees or executors, and beneficiary disputes. Formerly Murphy, Goldammer & Prendergast, LLP until December 2015.

PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 3 more

Office: 1300 W 57th Street, Suite 101Sioux Falls, SD 57108
Phone: (605) 331-2975

FirmSioux Falls, SD

Thompson Law, PLLC

Since 2003 · Serves the whole state

Serves families, farmers and ranchers throughout South Dakota from Sioux Falls, with a second office in Grand Forks, North Dakota since a July 2026 merger. Takes executors and trustees through probate and trust administration, from notices to heirs and creditors to tax returns and retitling deeds. Also drafts living trusts, wills and Medicaid plans, licensed in five states.

PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder Lawand 8 more

Office: 5027 S. Western AvenueSioux Falls, SD 57108
Phone: (605) 362-9100

Solo PracticeSioux Falls, SD

Wilson Legal Planning

Serves Sioux Falls from a solo office on South Crossing Place. Takes families through probate and trust administration and guardianship and conservatorship petitions, and drafts wills, trusts, special needs trusts and Medicaid long-term care plans. Attorney Rebecca Wilson founded it after 18 years in estate planning and elder law and belongs to the National Association of Elder Law Attorneys.

PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder Lawand 5 more

Office: 5117 S Crossing Place, Suite 3Sioux Falls, SD 57108
Phone: (605) 215-1467

FirmSioux Falls, SD

Woods Fuller Shultz & Smith P.C.

Since 1887

Serves clients from Sioux Falls and Brookings, with two more offices in Sheldon and Sioux Center, Iowa. Handles probate and trust administration and modifies existing trusts under South Dakota law, alongside wills, trusts, business succession, charitable giving and asset protection planning. In Sioux Falls since 1887, with attorneys who also practice in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and North Dakota.

PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateTax Planningand 3 more

Office: 300 S Phillips Avenue, Suite 300Sioux Falls, SD 57104
Phone: (605) 336-3890

Estate planning attorneys in South Dakota average $311 an hour for wills and estates work. A flat-fee package runs $933 to $1,866 for a simple individual will and $3,580 to $5,370 for a basic revocable trust. An online service prices the same documents in the tens to low hundreds of dollars; the South Dakota will cost calculator sets the two side by side.

In South Dakota, estates valued at $100,000 or less skip probate with the Small Estate Affidavit, 30 days after death. That route is a form rather than a court case, and most families handle it without an attorney. Above the line, formal probate generally benefits from counsel for the procedural work, even when nothing is contested. The South Dakota probate calculator estimates the cost by estate value.

In South Dakota, the situations where counsel is typically worth the cost are: a blended family with children from a prior relationship; a business, rental property or significant investment assets; a dependent with special needs, who needs a special-needs trust to keep benefits; substantial property in more than one state. Where none of these apply, an online or self-help document is often enough.

South Dakota splits the two: probate attorney fees of typically 1.8% to 2.8% of the estate, but the executor's compensation follows a statutory schedule, about $12,585 on a $500,000 estate. That makes the executor's share predictable, which helps when a family member serves and is unsure what to charge.

Filter the directory by county and by the practice area you need, and look for experience with your situation; a board certification in estate planning, trust or probate law is a strong signal. Most South Dakota estate planning attorneys offer an initial consultation, some free and some for a flat fee. Ask up front whether the firm bills by the hour or by package, and what your situation is expected to cost.

Asset Protection Attorneys in South Dakota

South Dakota attorneys average $311 an hour for wills and estates work. A basic will from an attorney runs $933–$1,866; online services cost $30–$300.

South Dakota sets executor compensation by statute — about $12,585 on a $500,000 estate, roughly 2.5%, even though the attorney's fee isn't fixed. That's the predictable cost component on probate here.

Worth knowing: estates under $100,000 can use South Dakota's simplified affidavit instead of formal probate. If your situation is straightforward and the estate fits, you may not need an attorney at all.

SimplyTrust Editorial·Updated October 15, 2026

Legal Sources

Data sourced from South Dakota statutes and official state code. How we research.

Forms for Planning Your Estate in South Dakota

Free forms for planning your estate in South Dakota: a will, living trust, pour-over will, both powers of attorney, living will, and TOD deed.

$12/month

Revocable Living Trust

Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.

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Free

Pour-Over Will

In South Dakota, a pour-over will is signed before 2 witnesses and moves anything left outside the trust into it through probate.

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Free

Transfer on Death Deed

In South Dakota, a transfer on death deed is signed before a notary, then recorded with the county before the owner's death.

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Free

Last Will and Testament

In South Dakota, a will is signed before 2 witnesses, and a self-proving affidavit signed with it lets the court admit it without witness testimony.

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All South Dakota forms

Tools for Planning Your Estate in South Dakota

Free tools for planning your estate in South Dakota: what a will or trust costs, whether you need a trust or TOD deed, and how documents are signed.

Trust or Will: Which Costs Less?

In South Dakota, a will-based plan pays probate attorney fees of typically 1.8% to 2.8% of the estate; a funded revocable trust keeps those assets out of probate and off that fee.

Compare Options

How Much Does a Revocable Living Trust Cost?

An attorney-prepared revocable living trust in South Dakota runs $3,580 to $5,370 for an individual, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.

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Do I Need a TOD Deed?

South Dakota authorizes transfer on death deeds: a recorded, revocable deed that passes real property at death outside probate.

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Are My Beneficiary Designations Protected?

South Dakota automatically revokes an ex-spouse as beneficiary at divorce; employer plans under ERISA follow federal rules either way, so a 401(k) beneficiary changes only by a new designation.

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All South Dakota tools