Williston firm serving Williams County and the Bakken. Handles ancillary probate where the decedent lived elsewhere but owned North Dakota property, and opens probate so mineral and royalty rights pass from parents or grandparents once an oil company makes contact. Walks families through inventorying the estate, testing it against the $50,000 threshold, and noticing heirs.
Probate in McKenzie County
Probate Court Record
McKenzie County District Court
McKenzie County · Northwest Judicial District
Phone
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-4:30 PM
Office
201 5th Street Northwest, Watford City, ND 58854
Website
E-filing
Filing in person
Walk-ins accepted
Self-represented filing
Allowed
Self-help forms
How to file probate in McKenzie County →
Verified October 16, 2026 · Source
Do I need a lawyer for probate in McKenzie County? →Settling an estate in McKenzie County →
Probate Firms Serving McKenzie County
MacMaster, Geltel & Siewert, Ltd.
Williston general practice serving Williams County and northwestern North Dakota, with two attorneys both admitted in North Dakota in 2011 and a retired founding partner. Handles estate planning and probate alongside real estate and family law. The firm has no website; contact is by phone or email.
The longest-standing firm in Williston, serving Williams County and the Bakken. Curative probate is a named specialty: resolving the land and mineral title problems that surface on inherited property, with work alongside the oil companies operating the wells folded into the probate as standard. Also serves heirs living far from North Dakota, and handles farm succession.
Williston firm licensed in North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota, which suits an estate spread across state lines. Handles probates and heirship matters, determines mineral ownership, and gets royalty funds released from suspense. Founder Malcolm Pippin has been a CPA since 1986. Consultation fees are paid upfront.
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.
Bismarck firm serving Bismarck, Mandan, and the rest of North Dakota. Handles formal and informal probate, guardianship and conservatorship, will contests, and trust administration, within an elder law practice spanning Medicaid, nursing home planning, and veterans’ medical care. Two attorneys are members of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.
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.
Get Started
Free
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.
Get Started
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.
Calculate Costs
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.
See the Steps
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.
Calculate the Fee
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.
Get the Answer
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.
Check the Rules
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.
Get the Answer
