Probate Attorneys in South Dakota

47 probate 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.

47 firms

FirmRapid City, SD

Anker Law Group, P.C.

Since 1984

Serves Rapid City, Box Elder, and Pennington County from West Omaha Street. Handles probate and estate administration end to end — opening the estate, valuing property and business interests, transferring assets to heirs, paying debts, and filing final tax returns — plus will contests and trust litigation. The first consultation is free.

PracticesEstate PlanningProbateProbate LitigationTrustsWills

Office: 1301 West Omaha Street, Suite 207Rapid City, SD 57701
Phone: (605) 718-7050

Free consultation

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

FirmRapid City, SD

Bangs McCullen Law Firm

Offices in Rapid City and Sioux Falls. Handles formal and informal probate of estates and will contests. On the planning side the firm drafts wills, powers of attorney and South Dakota perpetuity trusts, including generation-skipping transfer tax planning, private trust company formation and trust change-of-situs work.

PracticesEstate PlanningProbateProbate LitigationTax Planningand 2 more

Office: 333 West Boulevard, Suite 400Rapid City, SD 57701
Phone: (605) 343-1040

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

FirmRapid City, SD

Beardsley, Jensen & Lee

Since 1997

Serves Rapid City and Pennington County from Beach Drive. Works with personal representatives and beneficiaries through probate of an estate and litigates estate disputes, alongside wills, revocable and irrevocable trusts, powers of attorney, and business, farm, and ranch succession plans. Consultations are complimentary and offered in person or by phone.

PracticesEstate PlanningProbateProbate LitigationBusiness Successionand 2 more

Office: 4200 Beach Drive, Suite 3Rapid City, SD 57702
Phone: (605) 777-7466

Free consultationVirtual consultations

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

Brende & Meadors, LLP

Since 1995

Serves the Sioux Falls area from its office on S Phillips Avenue. Handles probate and estate administration and will disputes, alongside wills, trusts, asset titling, and powers of attorney. Founded in Sioux Falls in 1995.

PracticesEstate PlanningProbateProbate LitigationTrustsWills

Office: 2900 S Phillips Avenue, Suite 100Sioux Falls, SD 57105
Phone: (605) 333-0070

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

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

FirmWebster, SD

Delaney, Nielsen & Sannes, P.C.

Since 1908 · Serves 2 counties

Serves Day and Roberts counties from offices in Webster and Sisseton. Guides personal representatives through probate administration and drafts wills, trusts, and estate plans. Founded in Webster in 1908, with attorneys licensed in the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribal Court as well as state and federal courts.

PracticesEstate PlanningProbateTrustsWills

Office: 21 West 6th AvenueWebster, SD 57274
Phone: (605) 345-3321

FirmRapid City, SD

DeMersseman Jensen Tellinghuisen & Huffman, LLP

Since 1955

Serves Rapid City and western South Dakota from its 5th Street office in Rapid City. Handles estate planning and probate, with partner Curtis S. Jensen practicing in wills and estate planning alongside the firm's business, banking, and real estate work. In the Rapid City legal community since 1955.

PracticesEstate PlanningProbateBankingWills

Office: 516 5th StreetRapid City, SD 57701
Phone: (605) 342-2814

FirmSioux Falls, SD

Estate Planning Solutions Law Firm, Prof. LLC

Serves families from its office on S Bur Oak Place in Sioux Falls. Handles probate and trust administration, representing fiduciaries and beneficiaries, drafting family settlement agreements, modifying or terminating trusts, and preparing estate tax returns and audits. Also plans farm and business successions and high-net-worth estate tax strategies.

PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateTax Planningand 4 more

Office: 5027 S Bur Oak PlaceSioux Falls, SD 57108
Phone: (605) 906-8118

Solo PracticeAberdeen, SD

Fischbach Law Office

Serves 1 county

Serves Aberdeen and Brown County from its office on 2nd Avenue SE. Takes executors through probate from opening the estate to final distribution, assists trustees in funding and administering revocable and irrevocable trusts, counsels beneficiaries on their interests in estates, and handles trust and estate litigation. Attorney Victor Fischbach established his private practice in 2000.

PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 5 more

Office: 14 2nd Ave SE, PO Box 1456Aberdeen, SD 57402
Phone: (605) 225-1000

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

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Probate in South Dakota runs about $23,735 on a $500,000 estate: attorney fees of typically 1.8% to 2.8% of the estate, plus the court filing fee, executor compensation, publication and any surety bond. The South Dakota probate calculator estimates the cost by estate value.

South Dakota allows independent administration (unsupervised or informal probate), under which the executor handles most decisions without ongoing court approval. The executor still files the will, inventories the assets and reports to the court, but needs no hearing for a routine step such as paying a bill or selling an asset. It typically saves both time and attorney fees against supervised probate.

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.

Probate Attorneys in South Dakota

Probate in South Dakota takes 4 months to 6 months for a straightforward estate, and charges attorney fees of typically 1.8% to 2.8% of the estate. South Dakota allows independent administration, which lets an executor run the estate without ongoing court supervision.

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

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.

How Much Does Probate Cost?

Probate on a $500,000 estate in South Dakota costs an estimated $23,735. Attorney fees run 1.8% to 2.8% of the estate under a reasonable-compensation standard.

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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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How Much Can an Executor Charge?

South Dakota sets executor compensation by statute — about $12,585 on a $500,000 estate, roughly 2.5%.

Use Calculator

Do I Need Probate?

In South Dakota, estates valued at $100,000 or less skip probate with the Small Estate Affidavit, 30 days after death.

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What Are the Creditor Claim Deadlines?

In South Dakota, creditors have 4 months from first publication of the creditor notice to present claims; late claims are barred.

Check Deadlines

Can I Self-File Probate?

South Dakota has no statewide fill-in probate petition, so the opening petition is drafted as a legal pleading, and informal probate is available.

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All South Dakota tools