Free South Dakota Pour-Over Will

In South Dakota, a pour-over will is signed before 2 witnesses and moves anything left outside the trust into it through probate.

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Yes. A pour-over will catches whatever was never retitled into the revocable living trust: property acquired after the trust was signed, accounts left in the testator's own name, personal belongings. Those assets are probated through the Circuit Court before they reach the trust, typically 4 months to 6 months for a simple estate, and then follow the trust's distribution plan rather than South Dakota intestacy law. Assets already titled in the trust at death bypass probate. In South Dakota, estates valued at $100,000 or less skip probate with the Small Estate Affidavit, 30 days after death.

A pour-over will is executed like any South Dakota will: South Dakota requires 2 witnesses present at signing. A notary is not required for validity; the self-proving affidavit is notarized so the will enters probate without witness testimony.

The successor trustee can publish South Dakota's optional creditor notice to shorten the claim window to 4 months; without it, the settlor's creditors have up to 36 months to bring a claim. Either way, trust assets reach the beneficiaries without court involvement. Pour-over assets go through probate first, typically 4 months to 6 months. The more the trust holds during the settlor's lifetime, the less the pour-over will has to carry.

South Dakota allows remote online notarization (RON) for wills, so the self-proving affidavit can be notarized by video call with an approved online notary; the will itself is still signed and witnessed under South Dakota's execution rules. The trust needs neither a notary nor witnesses and may be signed electronically, so nothing in its signing has to happen in person.

Yes. A new pour-over will revokes the earlier one when it carries revocation language, and the new version is executed under the same South Dakota rules: 2 witnesses.

What Is a Pour-Over Will?

A pour-over will is a document that directs untitled assets — property not already in a trust, accounts never retitled, personal belongings — into the trust at death.

Assets in the trust transfer to beneficiaries without court involvement. The successor trustee can publish South Dakota's optional creditor notice to shorten the claim window to 4 months; without it, the settlor's creditors have up to 36 months to bring a claim. Pour-over assets go through South Dakota probate before reaching the trust. Without a pour-over will or other designation, untitled assets pass under South Dakota intestacy law.

South Dakota requires 2 witnesses for a valid pour-over will. The document carries a self-proving affidavit, which lets the will be admitted without witness testimony for any assets that do pour over.

A pour-over will can also include guardian nominations for minor children, the same as any South Dakota will.

SimplyTrust Editorial·Updated October 19, 2026

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Free South Dakota Pour-Over Will

In South Dakota, a pour-over will is signed before 2 witnesses and moves anything left outside the trust into it through probate.

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What Is a Pour-Over Will?

A pour-over will is a document that directs untitled assets — property not already in a trust, accounts never retitled, personal belongings — into the trust at death.

A pour-over will can also include guardian nominations for minor children, the same as any South Dakota will.