Probate in Minnehaha County

Probate Court Record

Minnehaha County Circuit Court

Minnehaha County · 2nd Judicial Circuit

Hours

Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-5:00 PM

Office

425 North Dakota Avenue, Sioux Falls, SD 57104

Filing in person

Walk-ins accepted

Self-represented filing

Allowed

How to file probate in Minnehaha County →

Verified October 16, 2026 · Source

Do I need a lawyer for probate in Minnehaha County? →Settling an estate in Minnehaha County →

Special Needs Planning Firms Serving Minnehaha County

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.

Estate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateTax PlanningSpecial Needs Planning+3

Serves South Dakota clients from a Sioux Falls office, and clients elsewhere virtually. Guides personal representatives and beneficiaries through probate, estate and trust administration, and handles wills, trusts, Medicaid and special-needs planning, asset protection, and business succession. Attorney Lindsay M. Harris works with a probate and trust administration coordinator.

Solo PracticeVirtual consultationsEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder LawTax Planning+5

Serves South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, and North Dakota from Sioux Falls. Its probate attorney works only on probate, estate and trust administration for personal representatives and successor trustees, alongside Medicaid, special-needs and asset-protection planning. Has South Dakota's first Board Certified Elder Law Attorney certified by the National Elder Law Foundation.

Free consultationVirtual consultationsEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder LawTax Planning+5

Serves Sioux Falls and clients throughout South Dakota and Minnesota from an office on S. Grand Arbor Court. Handles probate and estate administration, guardianship and conservatorship petitions, and disputes over wills, trusts, and estate administration, including fiduciary misconduct claims. Offers a free consultation for estate administration and probate matters.

Solo PracticeFree consultationEstate PlanningProbateProbate LitigationTrust LitigationElder Law+3

Serves Sioux Falls from a solo office on South Crossing Place. Takes families through probate and trust administration and guardianship and conservatorship petitions, and drafts wills, trusts, special needs trusts and Medicaid long-term care plans. Attorney Rebecca Wilson founded it after 18 years in estate planning and elder law and belongs to the National Association of Elder Law Attorneys.

Solo PracticeEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder LawConservatorship+4

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.

Since 2003Serves the whole stateEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder LawSpecial Needs Planning+7

All 8 South Dakota special needs planning firms serving Minnehaha 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.

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Revocable Living Trust

Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.

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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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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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