For most Bowman County homeowners, the house is what drags an estate into probate. A transfer-on-death deed or a living trust keeps it out—here is how to set up either one and record it locally.
For a Bowman County property owner, the biggest probate risk is the home itself. Real estate is what forces most families into the District Court. The two tools that keep a Bowman County home out of probate are a transfer-on-death deed recorded with the County Recorder, and a revocable living trust that holds title to the property.
Without a recorded beneficiary designation or a trust, Bowman County property passes through the District Court — even simple North Dakota probates run 4+ months and start with $160 in filing fees.
A transfer on death deed names a beneficiary who receives Bowman County property automatically at the owner's death, without probate. It is recorded with the County Recorder during the owner's lifetime and can be revoked at any time.
Before recording, a North Dakota transfer on death deed is signed with notary acknowledgmentNDCC 30.1-32.1-01 to 30.1-32.1-14Verified Oct 19, 2026View source. The deed takes effect only if it is recorded before the owner's deathNDCC 30.1-32.1-01 to 30.1-32.1-14Verified Oct 19, 2026View source.
Deeds and other real property documents for Bowman County are recorded with the County Recorder at 104 1st Street Northwest, Suite 3, Bowman, ND 58623. Phone: 1-701-523-3450. Hours: Monday-Thursday 7:30 AM-noon and 12:30 PM-4:30 PM MT; Friday 7:30 AM-noon MT.
The County Recorder charges $20 for 1-6 pages, $65 for 7-25 pages, $65 plus $3 for each page beyond 25. Recording a 2-page transfer on death deed in Bowman County comes to $20. No transfer tax applies to a transfer on death deed.
Recording Office Record
Bowman County · County Recorder and Clerk of District Court
Phone
Hours
Office
Website
Fax
Recording fees
| 1-6 pages | $20 |
| 7-25 pages | $65 |
| 26+ pages | $65 |
| Transfer tax on a TOD deed | No transfer tax applies to TOD deeds |
N.D.C.C. § 11-18-05(1)(a) (recording fee by page band); § 11-18-05(1)(a)(2)-(4) (font, legal description, 3-inch first-page header space); § 11-18-05(1)(d) (1-inch margin rule and $10 nonconformance fee); § 11-18-05(2) (filing fee); § 11-18-05(3) (copy fees)
Verified October 16, 2026 · Source
FirmBowman, ND
Two-attorney office in Bowman serving Bowman County and southwestern North Dakota, successor to Sadowsky & Wild at the same address. Steven Wild was admitted in 1983 and Andrew Weiss in 2012; both are currently licensed. Handles estate planning, probate, and real estate. No website; contact by phone or email.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateReal Estate Law
FirmDickinson, ND
Dickinson firm licensed in North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Minnesota. Personal planning covers probate and probate alternatives, guardianships and conservatorships, health care directives, and elder law including long-term care and Medicaid planning. Attorney Marissa Cerkoney is a Certified Farm Succession Coordinator, working with farm and ranch families on transition planning.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder LawGuardianship
FirmDickinson, ND
Serves Stark County and western North Dakota from north Dickinson, continuing a practice founded in the mid-1980s by Diane Melbye, the city’s first permanent female attorney. Handles probate and estate planning, and represents individuals seeking guardianship over a minor or an incapacitated adult. Also offers mediation and guardian ad litem services.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateGuardianship
FirmDickinson, ND
Dickinson firm serving southwestern North Dakota, Montana, and South Dakota. Probate work covers appointing the personal representative, transferring real and personal property, filing court documents, liquidating assets, and paying taxes and debts. Mineral probates are a named service within its oil, gas and mineral practice, alongside farm leases.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbate
FirmHettinger, ND
Serves southwestern North Dakota, eastern Montana, and northwestern South Dakota, with the Hettinger office staffed by Aaron Roseland and a second office in Belle Fourche. Handles probate and estate planning, real estate, and dormant mineral actions, alongside civil litigation and family law. Both partners are admitted in North Dakota.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateReal Estate Law
Solo PracticeDickinson, ND
Solo practice in Dickinson serving Stark County and southwestern North Dakota. Handles estate and probate administrations, simple and complex wills, revocable, irrevocable and charitable trusts, powers of attorney, and family partnership structures, which suit ranch families passing an operation on. Free half-hour initial consultations.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateWills
Firm listings are for informational purposes only. SimplyTrust does not endorse or recommend any specific firm or attorney. Contact firms directly to verify their current practice areas and availability.
Data sourced from North Dakota statutes and official state code. How we research.
Free forms for planning your estate in North Dakota: will, living trust, pour-over will, powers of attorney and TOD deed. Prepare each form for North Dakota.
In North Dakota, a will is signed before 2N.D.C.C. § 30.1-08-02Verified Oct 19, 2026View source witnesses, and a self-proving affidavit signed with it lets the court admit it without witness testimonyN.D.C.C. § 30.1-08-02Verified Oct 19, 2026View source.
In North Dakota, a codicil is signed before 2N.D.C.C. § 30.1-08-02Verified Oct 19, 2026View source witnesses, like a will, and the self-proving affidavit signed with it lets the court admit it without witness testimonyN.D.C.C. §§ 30.1-01-06(64), 30.1-08-04Verified Oct 25, 2026View source.
North Dakota allows a choice for a healthcare power of attorney: 2N.D.C.C. § 23-06.5-17Verified Oct 15, 2026View source witnesses or a notary.
In North Dakota, a HIPAA release is the federal authorization alone: the state adds no category rule, and the document carries the elements federal law requires, among them an expiration date or an expiration event that relates to the individual45 CFR 164.508(c)(1)(v)Verified Oct 21, 2026View source.
North Dakota requires explicit durability language for a power of attorney to survive incapacityN.D.C.C. § 30.1-30-01Verified Oct 21, 2026View source, and it is signed with no witness or notary requirementN.D.C.C. § 30.1-30-01Verified Oct 21, 2026View source.
In North Dakota, a transfer on death deed is signed before a notaryNDCC 30.1-32.1-01 to 30.1-32.1-14Verified Oct 19, 2026View source, then recorded with the county before the owner's deathNDCC 30.1-32.1-01 to 30.1-32.1-14Verified Oct 19, 2026View source. North Dakota does not recognize a Lady Bird deed.
In North Dakota, the living will is the Health Care DirectiveN.D.C.C. ch. 23-06.5 (Health Care Directives), §§ 23-06.5-01 to 23-06.5-19Verified Sep 27, 2026View source, a written instruction that is valid with no agent named.
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.
Free tools for planning your estate in North Dakota: will and trust costs, trust or TOD deed, and the signing rules. Run each tool for North Dakota.
In North Dakota, a will is signed before 2N.D.C.C. § 30.1-08-02Verified Oct 19, 2026View source witnesses, and notarization is not requiredN.D.C.C. § 30.1-08-02Verified Oct 19, 2026View source.
North Dakota recognizes a will signed under the law of the place where it was signedN.D.C.C. § 30.1-08-06Verified Oct 19, 2026View source; a will signed in North Dakota itself needs 2N.D.C.C. § 30.1-08-02Verified Oct 19, 2026View source witnesses, and notarization is not requiredN.D.C.C. § 30.1-08-02Verified Oct 19, 2026View source.
In North Dakota, a will-based plan pays probate attorney fees of typically 1.8%Modeled estimate under N.D.C.C. § 30.1-18-21 (court reviews the reasonableness of attorney compensation; no statutory percentage schedule); § 30.1-18-20 (estate pays reasonable attorney's fees): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source to 2.9%Modeled estimate under N.D.C.C. § 30.1-18-21 (court reviews the reasonableness of attorney compensation; no statutory percentage schedule); § 30.1-18-20 (estate pays reasonable attorney's fees): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate; a funded revocable trust keeps those assets out of probate and off that fee.
An attorney-prepared revocable living trust in North Dakota runs $3,540Estimate: 10 hours at $354, Clio's North Dakota Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $5,310Estimate: 15 hours at $354, Clio's North 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.
An attorney-prepared will in North Dakota runs $957Estimate: 3 hours at $319, Clio's North Dakota Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $1,914Estimate: 6 hours at $319, Clio's North Dakota Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source, against $0 to $299 up front with an online service, and probate on a $500,000 estate adds about $24,994N.D.C.C. § 30.1-18-21 (court reviews the reasonableness of attorney compensation; no statutory percentage schedule); § 30.1-18-20 (estate pays reasonable attorney's fees)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source.
Compare what it costs to make a trust official across SimplyTrust, LegalZoom, Trust & Will, Rocket Lawyer, and Quicken WillMaker.
In North Dakota, a parent names a guardian for a minor child in a willN.D.C.C. § 30.1-27-02 (5-202); will execution § 30.1-08-02, self-proved § 30.1-08-04Verified Sep 16, 2026View source, and the nomination covers the child until the age of majority, 18N.D.C.C. §§ 14-10-01, 14-10-02Verified Sep 16, 2026View source.
Probate in North Dakota takes 4 months to 6 months for a simple estate and charges attorney fees of typically 1.8%Modeled estimate under N.D.C.C. § 30.1-18-21 (court reviews the reasonableness of attorney compensation; no statutory percentage schedule); § 30.1-18-20 (estate pays reasonable attorney's fees): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source to 2.9%Modeled estimate under N.D.C.C. § 30.1-18-21 (court reviews the reasonableness of attorney compensation; no statutory percentage schedule); § 30.1-18-20 (estate pays reasonable attorney's fees): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate; assets held in a revocable trust skip both.
Estate planning articles for North Dakota.
Estate planning articles for North Dakota.
