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.
Probate in Bowman County
Probate Court Record
Bowman County District Court
Bowman County · Southwest Judicial District
Phone
Hours
Monday-Thursday 7:30 AM-noon and 12:30 PM-4:30 PM MT; Friday 7:30 AM-noon MT
Office
104 1st Street Northwest, Bowman, ND 58623
Website
E-filing
Filing in person
Walk-ins accepted
Self-represented filing
Allowed
Self-help forms
How to file probate in Bowman County →
Verified October 16, 2026 · Source
Do I need a lawyer for probate in Bowman County? →Settling an estate in Bowman County →
Probate Firms Serving Bowman County
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.
Dickinson firm serving southwestern North Dakota, Montana, and South Dakota. Probate work covers appointing the personal representative, transferring real and personal property, filing court documents, liquidating assets, and paying taxes and debts. Mineral probates are a named service within its oil, gas and mineral practice, alongside farm leases.
Serves southwestern North Dakota, eastern Montana, and northwestern South Dakota, with the Hettinger office staffed by Aaron Roseland and a second office in Belle Fourche. Handles probate and estate planning, real estate, and dormant mineral actions, alongside civil litigation and family law. Both partners are admitted in North Dakota.
Solo practice in Dickinson serving Stark County and southwestern North Dakota. Handles estate and probate administrations, simple and complex wills, revocable, irrevocable and charitable trusts, powers of attorney, and family partnership structures, which suit ranch families passing an operation on. Free half-hour initial consultations.
Bismarck office of a regional firm, the largest of its North Dakota offices, with a second office in Williston. Guides personal representatives and trustees through asset management, estate and gift tax returns, fiduciary accountings, elective share and allowances, and beneficiary and creditor claims, and carries trust and estate disputes through appeal.
Forms for Planning and Settling an Estate in North Dakota
Free North Dakota forms to plan or settle an estate: a will, trust, powers of attorney, TOD deed and the probate forms. Prepare each form for North Dakota.
$12/month
Revocable Living Trust
Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.
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Last Will and Testament
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.
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Tools for Planning and Settling an Estate in North Dakota
Free calculators and checklists to plan or settle an estate in North Dakota: will and trust costs, probate, executor pay and taxes. Run each tool.
How Much Does Probate Cost?
Probate on a $500,000 estate in North Dakota costs an estimated $24,994N.D.C.C. § 30.1-18-21 (court reviews the reasonableness of attorney compensation; no statutory percentage schedule); § 30.1-18-20 (estate pays reasonable attorney's fees)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source. Attorney fees run 1.8%Modeled estimate under N.D.C.C. § 30.1-18-21 (court reviews the reasonableness of attorney compensation; no statutory percentage schedule); § 30.1-18-20 (estate pays reasonable attorney's fees): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source to 2.9%Modeled estimate under N.D.C.C. § 30.1-18-21 (court reviews the reasonableness of attorney compensation; no statutory percentage schedule); § 30.1-18-20 (estate pays reasonable attorney's fees): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate under a reasonable-compensation standard.
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How Do I Settle an Estate?
Settling an estate in North Dakota: the personal representative files the estate inventory within 180 daysN.D.C.C. §§ 30.1-18-06, 30.1-18-07, 30.1-18-08Verified Sep 15, 2026View source of appointment; creditors have 3 monthsN.D.C.C. §§ 30.1-19-01, 30.1-19-03, 30.1-19-05, 30.1-19-06Verified Oct 19, 2026View source to present claims; a simple estate closes in 4 months to 6 months.
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How Much Can an Executor Charge?
North Dakota pays executors reasonable compensationN.D.C.C. § 30.1-18-19 (reasonable compensation; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source, typically 2.2%Estimated from the 16 state statutes that set an executor fee schedule (median and interquartile range at this estate value)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source to 3.8%Estimated from the 16 state statutes that set an executor fee schedule (median and interquartile range at this estate value)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate.
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Do I Need Probate?
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.
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What Are the Creditor Claim Deadlines?
In North Dakota, creditors have 3 monthsN.D.C.C. § 30.1-19-03(1)(a)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source from first publication of the creditor notice to present claims; late claims are barred.
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Can I Self-File Probate?
In North Dakota, informal probate is availableN.D.C.C. § 30.1-14-01Verified Sep 8, 2026View source, and a self-represented executor can usually handle it for a simple, uncontested estate.
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