Elder Law Attorneys in South Dakota

15 elder law 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.

15 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

Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith, LLP

Since 1939

Serves Sioux Falls and clients in South Dakota, Iowa, and Minnesota from its West 14th Street office. Handles probate and trust administration, from filing trustees' annual reports to modifying, reforming, and decanting trusts under South Dakota law, along with wills, powers of attorney, and elder law. Attorneys licensed in Iowa handle Iowa probate, billed by time rather than estate value.

PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateTrust Litigationand 3 more

Office: 206 West 14th StreetSioux Falls, SD 57104
Phone: (605) 336-2880

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

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 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

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

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

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

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

FirmBrookings, SD

Ribstein & Hogan Law Firm

Serves Brookings and the surrounding area from its Sixth Street office. Assists personal representatives, executors, and beneficiaries with probate and estate administration from the initial review through final distribution, including creditor claims and disputes over unclear instructions. Also handles elder law planning and business and farm succession planning.

PracticesEstate PlanningProbateElder LawBusiness Succession

Office: 621 Sixth StreetBrookings, SD 57006
Phone: (605) 692-1818

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

Elder law attorneys in South Dakota work the legal issues facing aging adults and their families: Medicaid planning for long-term care, drafting and updating durable powers of attorney and healthcare directives, guardianship and conservatorship proceedings, special needs trusts, and asset protection. Many also handle probate and estate planning; elder law is the subset focused on care planning and benefits eligibility. The South Dakota healthcare proxy and financial power of attorney forms cover the two instruments.

Federal law, as South Dakota applies it, sets a 5-year lookback period for Medicaid long-term care eligibility. An uncompensated transfer in the five years before the application (a gift, a transfer to a family member, a transfer to a trust that does not qualify) can trigger a penalty period during which Medicaid does not pay for nursing home care. It is why Medicaid planning starts years before the care is needed, and why elder law exists as its own practice area.

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.

Elder Law Attorneys in South Dakota

Elder law attorneys in South Dakota charge $261 per hour, focused on Medicaid planning, long-term care funding, guardianship, and asset protection for aging families. The work is often time-sensitive: Medicaid eligibility has a 5-year lookback period, so planning typically needs to start well before nursing home care is needed.

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.

$12/month

Revocable Living Trust

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

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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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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 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.

Compare Costs

How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?

In South Dakota, four years at a public university cost about $69,440 and the cost of living is 11% below the U.S. average; no state estate or inheritance tax applies.

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What Are the Estate Laws in My State?

Probate on a $500,000 estate in South Dakota costs an estimated $23,735 and takes 4 months to 6 months for a simple estate, with attorney fees of typically 1.8% to 2.8% of the estate. Estates under $100,000 can use a small-estate procedure instead.

Check Your State

Do I Need a Revocable Trust?

Probate in South Dakota takes 4 months to 6 months for a simple estate and charges attorney fees of typically 1.8% to 2.8% of the estate; assets held in a revocable trust skip both.

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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