Estate planning attorneys in North Dakota average $319Clio Compare Lawyer Rates, North Dakota: Wills and Estates rate (2025 data)Verified Oct 15, 2026View source an hour for wills and estates work. A flat-fee package runs $957Estimate: 3 hours at $319, Clio's North Dakota Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $1,914Estimate: 6 hours at $319, Clio's North Dakota Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source for a simple individual will and $3,540Estimate: 10 hours at $354, Clio's North Dakota Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $5,310Estimate: 15 hours at $354, Clio's North Dakota Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source for a basic revocable trust. An online service prices the same documents in the tens to low hundreds of dollars; the North Dakota will cost calculator sets the two side by side.
In North Dakota, estates valued at $100,000N.D.C.C. § 30.1-23-01Verified Sep 8, 2026View source or less skip probate with the Small Estate AffidavitN.D.C.C. § 30.1-23-01Verified Sep 8, 2026View source, 30 daysN.D.C.C. § 30.1-23-01Verified Sep 8, 2026View source 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 North Dakota probate calculator estimates the cost by estate value.
In North 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.
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 North 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.
Free North Dakota forms for planning an estate or settling one: a will, trust, powers of attorney, TOD deed, and the probate forms an executor files.
In North Dakota, a will is signed before 2N.D.C.C. § 30.1-08-02Verified Oct 19, 2026View source witnesses, and a self-proving affidavit signed with it lets the court admit it without witness testimonyN.D.C.C. § 30.1-08-02Verified Oct 19, 2026View source.
North Dakota allows a choice for a healthcare power of attorney: 2N.D.C.C. § 23-06.5-17Verified Oct 15, 2026View source witnesses or a notary.
North Dakota requires explicit durability language for a power of attorney to survive incapacityN.D.C.C. § 30.1-30-01Verified Sep 18, 2026View source, and it is signed with no witness or notary requirementN.D.C.C. § 30.1-30-01Verified Sep 18, 2026View source.
Free calculators and checklists for planning or settling an estate in North Dakota: will and trust costs, probate, executor pay, and inheritance taxes.
In North Dakota, four years at a public university cost about $75,956NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 330.20, public 4-year in-state tuition, fees, room and board, academic year 2022-23Verified Oct 17, 2026View source and the cost of living is 11% below the U.S. averageBEA Regional Price Parities, all items, by state, 2024Verified Oct 17, 2026View source; no state estate or inheritance tax appliesNo state estate or inheritance tax payable. The estate tax (N.D.C.C. ch. 57-37.1) remains codified but is a pick-up tax: § 57-37.1-04(1) sets it equal to the federal credit for state death taxes, which has been $0 since EGTRRA, so no estate tax is paid on deaths after 1/1/2005. Inheritance tax repealed 1927 (N.D. Office of State Tax Commissioner)Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
An attorney-prepared revocable trust in North Dakota runs $3,540Estimate: 10 hours at $354, Clio's North Dakota Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $5,310Estimate: 15 hours at $354, Clio's North Dakota Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source and a simple will $957Estimate: 3 hours at $319, Clio's North Dakota Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $1,914Estimate: 6 hours at $319, Clio's North Dakota Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.
Without a will in North Dakota, a surviving spouse takes the entire estateN.D.C.C. § 30.1-04-02Verified Sep 10, 2026View source when every child of either spouse is a child of both, and descendants divide what passes to them per stirpesN.D.C.C. § 30.1-04-03; defined by § 30.1-09.1-09(3)Verified Sep 10, 2026View source.
14 guardianship firms in North 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.
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14 firms
Solo PracticeFargo, ND
Solo practice in Fargo serving Cass County and the surrounding Red River Valley. Jason Astrup has practiced in North Dakota since 2005 and appears as counsel for the personal representative in Cass County probate matters. Also handles estate planning, trust administration, and guardianship and conservatorship.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateGuardianshipBusiness Law
Solo PracticeFargo, ND
Solo practice in Fargo serving North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota. Handles probate from the petition and appointment of the personal representative through creditor notices, inventory, payment of debts and taxes, sale of estate real estate, and distribution, representing either the representative or an heir disputing a will. Free 30-minute consultations.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateGuardianshipWills
FirmJamestown, ND
Jamestown firm established in 1975, with a branch office in Carrington and work across North Dakota. Handles probate of a will or an intestate estate, guardianships and conservatorships, and preparation of wills and trusts, powers of attorney, and health care directives. Real estate work includes title opinions and quiet title actions, which matter for farm estates.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateGuardianship
FirmDickinson, ND
Dickinson firm licensed in North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Minnesota. Personal planning covers probate and probate alternatives, guardianships and conservatorships, health care directives, and elder law including long-term care and Medicaid planning. Attorney Marissa Cerkoney is a Certified Farm Succession Coordinator, working with farm and ranch families on transition planning.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder LawGuardianship
FirmFargo, ND
Fargo firm serving North Dakota and Minnesota, both Uniform Probate Code states. Advises which probate track applies — informal, unsupervised formal, or supervised formal — then carries personal representatives through inventorying assets, noticing heirs and creditors, paying debts in priority order, filing tax returns, and distribution.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateConservatorshipGuardianship
FirmDickinson, ND
Serves Stark County and western North Dakota from north Dickinson, continuing a practice founded in the mid-1980s by Diane Melbye, the city’s first permanent female attorney. Handles probate and estate planning, and represents individuals seeking guardianship over a minor or an incapacitated adult. Also offers mediation and guardian ad litem services.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateGuardianship
FirmBismarck, ND
Downtown Bismarck firm representing clients in the Bismarck-Mandan community and throughout North Dakota. Handles probate, wills, and estate planning for families settling a relative’s affairs, and petitions for guardianship and conservatorship where a vulnerable family member needs one appointed.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateGuardianshipBusiness Law
Solo PracticeJamestown, ND
Solo practice in Jamestown serving Stutsman County and south-central North Dakota. Joseph Larson II was admitted in North Dakota in 1975 and handles estate planning, wills, probate, powers of attorney, real estate, and adult guardianship. The firm has no website; contact is by phone or email.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateGuardianshipReal Estate LawWills
Solo PracticeMinot, ND
Minot practice serving Ward County and out-of-state residents who own North Dakota property or minerals. Handles probate and estate administration and trust administration, mineral trusts for generational transfer, oil and gas pipeline and surface damage agreements, and farm and ranch business succession. Also sets up guardianships and conservatorships for special-needs children reaching 18.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateGuardianshipand 2 more
FirmDevils Lake, ND
Serves north-central and northeastern North Dakota from Devils Lake and Park River, for nearly 20 years. Guides personal representatives through compiling the inventory, notifying and paying creditors, and distributing assets. Attorney Tracy Laaveg has extensive experience establishing guardianships and conservatorships; the firm also does title opinions, title insurance, and farm leases.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateGuardianshipReal Estate Law
FirmBismarck, ND
Bismarck firm serving Burleigh and Morton counties, with three attorneys admitted in North Dakota. Assists families after a death through formal and informal probate proceedings, prosecutes and defends will contests, and represents beneficiaries and fiduciaries in probate litigation. Also handles guardianships and conservatorships, special needs trusts, and Medicaid planning.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 2 more
FirmBismarck, ND
Bismarck firm with a staffed branch office in Harvey, serving central and western North Dakota since 2014. Probate administration is a named practice, alongside estate litigation and will and trust disputes. Also handles guardianship and conservatorship, including emergency appointments, and the agricultural and energy-lease matters that bear on North Dakota estates.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateGuardianshipBusiness Succession
FirmFargo, ND
Fargo firm founded in 1888, representing professionals, business owners, and families. Probate and trust administration sits alongside trust and estate disputes and litigation, guardianships and conservatorships, preparation of estate and fiduciary tax returns, and farm and family business succession planning. Five attorneys carry the estate practice, led by Michael C. Studer.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateGuardianshipWills
Solo PracticeLangdon, ND
Solo practice in Langdon, one of two law offices in the Cavalier County seat. Angelo Mondragon has been admitted in North Dakota since 2020 and took over R. Scott Stewart’s practice at the same address; the firm is registered as R. Scott Stewart P.C. d/b/a Mondragon Law Office. He also serves as Cavalier County State’s Attorney. No website; contact by phone.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateGuardianshipReal Estate Law