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.
Probate in Brown County
Probate Court Record
Brown County Circuit Court
Brown County · 5th Judicial Circuit
Phone
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-5:00 PM
Office
101 Southeast 1st Avenue, Aberdeen, SD 57402-1087
Website
E-filing
Filing in person
Walk-ins accepted
Self-represented filing
Allowed
How to file probate in Brown County →
Verified October 16, 2026 · Source
Do I need a lawyer for probate in Brown County? →Settling an estate in Brown County →
Special Needs Planning Firms Serving Brown County
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.
All 3 South Dakota special needs planning firms serving Brown County →
Forms for Planning Your Estate in South Dakota
Free forms for planning your estate in South Dakota: will, living trust, pour-over will, powers of attorney and TOD deed. Prepare each form for South Dakota.
$12/month
Revocable Living Trust
Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.
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Free
Financial Power of Attorney
South Dakota requires explicit durability language for a power of attorney to survive incapacitySDCL § 59-12-3, § 59-12-4, § 59-12-5, § 59-12-6, § 59-12-8, § 59-12-23, § 59-12-41Verified Oct 21, 2026View source, and it is signed before a notarySDCL § 59-12-3, § 59-12-4, § 59-12-5, § 59-12-6, § 59-12-8, § 59-12-23, § 59-12-41Verified Sep 20, 2026View source.
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Free
Last Will and Testament
In South Dakota, a will is signed before 2SDCL 29A-2-502Verified Oct 19, 2026View source witnesses, and a self-proving affidavit signed with it lets the court admit it without witness testimonySDCL 29A-2-502Verified Oct 19, 2026View source.
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Tools for Planning Your Estate in South Dakota
Free tools for planning your estate in South Dakota: will and trust costs, trust or TOD deed, and the signing rules. Run each tool for South Dakota.
How Much Does a Revocable Living Trust Cost?
An attorney-prepared revocable living trust in South Dakota runs $3,580Estimate: 10 hours at $358, Clio's South Dakota Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $5,370Estimate: 15 hours at $358, Clio's South Dakota Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source for an individual, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.
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How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?
In South Dakota, four years at a public university cost about $69,440NCES 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. Inheritance tax constitutionally prohibited (S.D. Const. Art. XI, § 15, initiated measure approved Nov. 7, 2000, eff. July 1, 2001: "No tax may be levied on any inheritance, and the Legislature may not enact any law imposing such a tax."). Both the inheritance tax (SDCL ch. 10-40, ch. 10-41) and the estate tax (SDCL ch. 10-40A) were repealed outright by 2014 SL ch. 59 (HB 1057), signed February 12, 2014 — a true repeal, leaving no dormant levy. SD DOR: "South Dakota does not have an inheritance tax... There is also no estate tax."Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
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What Does Estate Planning Actually Cost?
An attorney-prepared revocable trust in South Dakota runs $3,580Estimate: 10 hours at $358, Clio's South Dakota Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $5,370Estimate: 15 hours at $358, Clio's South Dakota Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source and a simple will $933Estimate: 3 hours at $311, Clio's South Dakota Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $1,866Estimate: 6 hours at $311, Clio's South 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.
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Are My Beneficiary Designations Protected?
South Dakota automatically revokes an ex-spouse as beneficiary at divorceSDCL § 29A-2-804; § 29A-1-201Verified Sep 15, 2026View source; employer plans under ERISA follow federal rules either way, so a 401(k) beneficiary changes only by a new designation.
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