Bismarck solo practice serving families throughout North Dakota. Handles probate and estate settlement, guardianships and conservatorships, and succession planning, along with wills, durable powers of attorney covering asset transfers, trust amendments, tax dealings and gifts, and health care directives. Probate and estate planning consultations are free.
Probate in Morton County
Probate Court Record
Morton County District Court
Morton County · South Central Judicial District
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-5:00 PM
Office
210 2nd Avenue Northwest, Mandan, ND 58554
Website
E-filing
Filing in person
Walk-ins accepted
Self-represented filing
Allowed
Self-help forms
How to file probate in Morton County →
Verified October 16, 2026 · Source
Do I need a lawyer for probate in Morton County? →Settling an estate in Morton County →
Trust Administration Firms Serving Morton County
Bismarck practice serving Bismarck and its surrounding communities. Attorney Theresa Kellington draws on more than 33 years in estate planning and probate, and is direct with families weighing self-filing: probate can be done alone, but has many steps and is easy to misstep through when unfamiliar. Also handles wills naming guardians for minor children.
Bismarck firm serving families across North Dakota. Represents a relative seeking appointment as personal representative, a representative administering an estate, or an heir needing guidance, through valuing assets, paying debts and taxes, and distributing under a will or North Dakota’s intestate laws. Separate estate litigation and claims-against-fiduciaries practices.
Bismarck firm serving Burleigh and Morton counties, with three attorneys admitted in North Dakota. Assists families after a death through formal and informal probate proceedings, prosecutes and defends will contests, and represents beneficiaries and fiduciaries in probate litigation. Also handles guardianships and conservatorships, special needs trusts, and Medicaid planning.
Bismarck firm with a staffed branch office in Harvey, serving central and western North Dakota since 2014. Probate administration is a named practice, alongside estate litigation and will and trust disputes. Also handles guardianship and conservatorship, including emergency appointments, and the agricultural and energy-lease matters that bear on North Dakota estates.
Bismarck firm that has advised clients across the region for nearly 100 years. Represents families in matters from simple probates through full probate litigation, and in estate planning ranging from simple wills to complex trusts. Its three estate attorneys each pair trusts and estates with oil, gas, and mineral property work, which matters for North Dakota estates holding mineral interests.
All 12 North Dakota trust administration firms serving Morton County →
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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Pour-Over Will
In North Dakota, a pour-over will is signed before 2N.D.C.C. § 30.1-08-02Verified Oct 19, 2026View source witnesses and moves anything left outside the trust into it through probate.
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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 Do I Settle a Trust?
Settling a trust in North Dakota happens outside court: the trustee acts under the state's Uniform Trust CodeN.D.C.C. § 59-09-01 et seq.Verified Oct 17, 2026View source, notifies the beneficiaries within 60 daysN.D.C.C. § 59-16-13Verified Sep 15, 2026View source, then pays the debts and distributes under the trust's terms.
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What's Fair Trustee Compensation?
In North Dakota, trustee compensation follows "reasonable compensation" (UTC § 708 or equivalent)N.D. Cent. Code §§ 59-15-08, 59-15-09Verified Sep 18, 2026View source unless the trust instrument sets a different amount.
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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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Do I Have to File Tax Returns for Someone Who Died?
North Dakota requires a final state income tax return for the decedent alongside the federal Form 1040N.D. Cent. Code § 57-38-30.3(1)(a); 2026 Forms ND-1 and ND-EZ Tax Rate Schedules (Form ND-1ES, SFN 28709)Verified Sep 20, 2026View source; a federal estate tax return (Form 706) is required only for estates above $15,000,00026 USC 2001(c), 2010; P.L. 119-21 §70106Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
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How Does Step-Up in Basis Work?
Inherited assets in North Dakota take a basis reset to fair market value on the date of death26 USC § 1014Verified Sep 15, 2026View source, and the gain on a later sale faces state tax on the 60% of long-term gain left after a 40% exclusionN.D. Cent. Code § 57-38-30.3(2)(d)Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
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