Conservatorship Attorneys in South Dakota

21 conservatorship 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.

21 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

FirmAberdeen, SD

Bantz, Gosch & Cremer, L.L.C.

Since 1963

Eleven-attorney firm serving clients in South Dakota and North Dakota from its Aberdeen office in Brown County. Handles probate of estates, guardianships and conservatorships, and wills and trusts, alongside banking, business, family, personal injury, and criminal defense work.

PracticesEstate PlanningProbateElder LawConservatorshipand 3 more

Office: 305 Sixth Avenue S.E.Aberdeen, SD 57401
Phone: (605) 225-2232

FirmBelle Fourche, SD

Bennett, Main, Gubbrud & Willert, P.C.

Serves 1 county

Serves Belle Fourche and the Northern Black Hills from State Street in Butte County. Handles probate, wills, and powers of attorney, and guardianship and conservatorship proceedings, alongside elder law, real estate, agricultural, and oil, gas, and mining work. A law office has operated in the firm's State Street building since 1908.

PracticesEstate PlanningProbateElder LawConservatorshipand 3 more

Office: 618 State StreetBelle Fourche, SD 57717
Phone: (605) 892-2011

FirmSioux Falls, SD

Boyce Law Firm, L.L.P.

Since 1878 · Serves the whole state

Serves Sioux Falls and southeast South Dakota from its downtown Sioux Falls office. Handles probate and estate administration, trust administration, guardianships and conservatorships, contested estate matters, and special-needs and charitable planning. Founded in Sioux Falls by Frank L. Boyce in 1878.

PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 5 more

Office: 300 S. Main AvenueSioux Falls, SD 57104
Phone: (605) 336-2424

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

FirmWatertown, SD

Foley and Foley Law Office, P.C.

Since 1910

Serves clients from offices in Watertown, Milbank, and Arlington. Handles probate and simpler alternatives to it, successor-trustee trust administration, ancillary probates of out-of-state estates, and guardianships and conservatorships, alongside wills, powers of attorney, and trusts. Bills estate work by the time spent on the file, not a percentage of assets.

PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateConservatorshipand 4 more

Office: 22 East Kemp AvenueWatertown, SD 57201
Phone: (605) 886-7281

FirmHuron, SD

Fosheim, Haberstick & Hutchinson

Serves the Huron area from its office on Illinois Avenue SW in Huron. Handles testate and intestate probates, from appointing a personal representative through creditor claims and distribution to heirs, plus guardianships, conservatorships, and protecting vulnerable adults from financial exploitation. Also drafts trusts, wills, and powers of attorney, including farm estate planning.

PracticesEstate PlanningProbateConservatorshipGuardianshipWills

Office: 303 Illinois Avenue SWHuron, SD 57350
Phone: (605) 352-0702

FirmCanton, SD

Frieberg, Nelson & Ask, L.L.P.

Since 1895 · Serves 2 counties

Serves Lincoln and Union counties from offices in Canton and Beresford. Handles probate administration, will contests and probate litigation, determination of heirs, title transfers and creditor representation, plus guardianships, conservatorships, and federal estate and gift tax returns. The Beresford practice traces to a law office opened in 1895.

PracticesEstate PlanningProbateProbate LitigationElder Lawand 6 more

Office: 206 East 5th Street, PO Box 38Canton, SD 57013
Phone: (605) 987-2686

FirmAberdeen, SD

Gellhaus & Gellhaus, P.C.

Serves Aberdeen and northeastern South Dakota from one office. Handles probate, wills, living wills and health directives, durable powers of attorney, revocable, irrevocable and special-needs trusts, and guardianships and conservatorships. Plans for farm and ranch families whose land values have changed.

PracticesEstate PlanningProbateConservatorshipGuardianshipand 4 more

Office: 120 South Lincoln StreetAberdeen, SD 57401
Phone: (605) 225-6522

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

FirmBrookings, SD

Helsper, McCarty & Rasmussen, P.C.

Serves eastern South Dakota from offices in Brookings and Watertown. Handles uncontested probate of a will, intestate administration, trust administration for successor trustees of revocable living trusts, business interests in probate, and estate administration for personal representatives who live outside South Dakota. The Brookings practice traces back more than 100 years.

PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateConservatorshipand 4 more

Office: 1441 6th Street, Suite 200Brookings, SD 57006
Phone: (605) 692-7775

Solo PracticeMitchell, SD

James D. Taylor, P.C.

Since 1987

Solo general practice in Mitchell. Administers probate and trust estates, handles guardianships and conservatorships, and drafts wills, revocable and irrevocable living trusts, and durable and health care powers of attorney, alongside business, municipal, zoning, and real estate work. James D. Taylor started the firm in 1987.

PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateConservatorshipand 4 more

Office: 520 North Lawler, Suite 100Mitchell, SD 57301
Phone: (605) 996-3882

FirmYankton, SD

Kennedy Pier Loftus Reynolds & Brandt, LLP

Since 1977

Six attorneys practicing from Yankton and Hartington, Nebraska. Handles probate of estates from a few thousand dollars to several million, trust administration for family-member trustees, and estate and trust litigation for trustees, executors, and beneficiaries, plus guardianships and conservatorships. Its attorneys are licensed in South Dakota and Nebraska.

PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 4 more

Office: 322 Walnut StreetYankton, SD 57078
Phone: (605) 665-3000

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

FirmMitchell, SD

MorganTheeler LLP

Since 1893 · Serves 1 county

Serves Davison County and the surrounding area from its office in Mitchell. Handles probate and trust administration, wills and trusts, and guardianships and conservatorships, including transition planning for farm families and family-owned businesses. Founded in 1893; consultations are free.

PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateConservatorshipand 4 more

Office: 1718 N. Sanborn, PO Box 1025Mitchell, SD 57301
Phone: (605) 996-5588

Free consultation

FirmSpearfish, SD

Nies, Karras & Skjoldal, P.C.

Since 1972

Serves Spearfish and the surrounding area, as it has since 1972. Handles probate and the administration of wills and trusts, guardianships and conservatorships, and succession planning that integrates business and estate planning. Its attorneys are licensed in South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana.

PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateConservatorshipand 4 more

Office: 109 N Main Street, PO Box 759Spearfish, SD 57783
Phone: (605) 642-2757

Solo PracticeSioux Falls, SD

Prosperity Law Firm, PLLC

Serves Sioux Falls and clients throughout South Dakota and Minnesota from an office on S. Grand Arbor Court. Handles probate and estate administration, guardianship and conservatorship petitions, and disputes over wills, trusts, and estate administration, including fiduciary misconduct claims. Offers a free consultation for estate administration and probate matters.

PracticesEstate PlanningProbateProbate LitigationTrust Litigationand 4 more

Office: 7520 S. Grand Arbor Court, Suite 140Sioux Falls, SD 57108
Phone: (605) 401-6257

Free consultation

Solo PracticeSpearfish, SD

Wilde Law Offices, Prof. LLC

Serves the whole state

Serves Lawrence, Meade, Butte and Pennington counties and the rest of South Dakota from Spearfish, and takes probate matters in North Dakota and Wyoming. Handles testate and intestate probate, estate and trust administration, contested wills and trust disputes, and guardianship and conservatorship petitions, including for out-of-state families. Attorney Dylan Wilde is also a licensed CPA.

PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 7 more

Office: 210 West Grant StreetSpearfish, SD 57783
Phone: (605) 717-2020

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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.

Conservatorship 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 and Settling an Estate in South Dakota

Free South Dakota forms for planning an estate or settling one: a will, trust, powers of attorney, TOD deed, and the probate forms an executor files.

Free

Healthcare Power of Attorney

South Dakota allows a choice for a healthcare power of attorney: 2 witnesses or a notary.

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Free

Financial Power of Attorney

South Dakota requires explicit durability language for a power of attorney to survive incapacity, and it is signed before a notary.

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$12/month

Revocable Living Trust

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

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All South Dakota forms

Tools for Planning and Settling an Estate in South Dakota

Free calculators and checklists for planning or settling an estate in South Dakota: will and trust costs, probate, executor pay, and inheritance taxes.

What Does Estate Planning Actually Cost?

An attorney-prepared revocable trust in South Dakota runs $3,580 to $5,370 and a simple will $933 to $1,866, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.

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How Do I Settle an Estate?

Settling an estate in South Dakota: the personal representative files the estate inventory within 180 days of appointment; creditors have 4 months to present claims; a simple estate closes in 4 months to 6 months.

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All South Dakota tools