Estate Planning for Traill County, North Dakota Property Owners

For most Traill 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.

Record a TOD deedWhere to recordLocal attorneys

For a Traill 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 Traill 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, Traill County property passes through the District Court — even simple North Dakota probates run 4+ months and start with $160 in filing fees.

Record a Transfer-on-Death Deed in Traill County

A transfer on death deed names a beneficiary who receives Traill 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.

Create a North Dakota TOD deed →Traill County signing requirements →

Where to Record Property Documents

Deeds and other real property documents for Traill County are recorded with the County Recorder at 114 West Caledonia, Hillsboro, ND 58045. Phone: 1-701-636-4457. Hours: Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-noon and 12:30 PM-4:30 PM (summer hours differ).

Documents submitted by mail go to P.O. Box 399, Hillsboro, ND 58045.

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 Traill County comes to $20. No transfer tax applies to a transfer on death deed.

Recording Office Record

County Recorder

Traill County

Hours

Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-noon and 12:30 PM-4:30 PM (summer hours differ)

Office

114 West Caledonia, Hillsboro, ND 58045

Open in Google Maps

Mail

P.O. Box 399 Hillsboro, ND 58045

Verified October 16, 2026 · Source

Estate Planning Attorneys Serving Traill County

FirmWest Fargo, ND

Ohnstad Twichell, P.C.

Serves Cass, Traill, and Benson counties from five offices in West Fargo, Casselton, Hillsboro, Page, and Maddock. Addresses newly named personal representatives and successor trustees directly: cataloging and valuing assets, filing court documents, paying creditor claims and estate taxes, and distributing to heirs, with litigation when disputes arise.

PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder Law

Office
444 Sheyenne Street, Suite 102West Fargo, ND 58078

FirmFargo, ND

Anderson, Bottrell, Sanden & Thompson (ABST Law)

Since 1981

Serves Fargo-Moorhead and Cass County. Probate work runs from identifying assets and the personal representative through commencing the estate, appointing the representative, and distributing both probate and non-probate property, including jointly held accounts and life insurance proceeds. Also handles farm and business succession.

PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateTrust LitigationAgricultural Law

Office
4132 30th Avenue South, Suite 100Fargo, ND 58104

Solo PracticeFargo, ND

Astrup Law Office, P.C.

Solo practice in Fargo serving Cass County and the surrounding Red River Valley. Jason Astrup has practiced in North Dakota since 2005 and appears as counsel for the personal representative in Cass County probate matters. Also handles estate planning, trust administration, and guardianship and conservatorship.

PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateGuardianshipBusiness Law

Office
3186 Sienna Dr. S.Fargo, ND 58104

Solo PracticeFargo, ND

Cheryl Bergian Law Office

Solo practice in Fargo serving North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota. Handles probate from the petition and appointment of the personal representative through creditor notices, inventory, payment of debts and taxes, sale of estate real estate, and distribution, representing either the representative or an heir disputing a will. Free 30-minute consultations.

PracticesEstate PlanningProbateGuardianshipWills

Office
112 N. University Drive, Suite 201Fargo, ND 58102
Free consultation

FirmFargo, ND

Conmy Feste Ltd.

Since 1879

Fargo firm serving the Fargo-Moorhead area, North Dakota, and northwestern Minnesota. Represents individual and corporate fiduciaries through probate and trust and estate administration, including court filings, and litigates will and trust disputes, land disputes, and contested guardianships in North Dakota and Minnesota state courts. The firm dates to 1879.

PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateTax PlanningWills

Office
3369 45th Street SouthFargo, ND 58104

FirmFargo, ND

Dwyer Law Office, PLLC

Fargo firm serving Cass County and practicing in both North Dakota and Minnesota. Handles probate where the decedent held real estate solely or as a tenant in common, or accounts with no co-owner or named beneficiary, filing to appoint the personal representative, inventorying property, and distributing it. Also handles guardianship and conservatorship and farm and business succession.

PracticesEstate PlanningProbateBusiness LawReal Estate Law

Office
5306 51st Ave. S., Suite BFargo, ND 58104
See all 29 firms serving Traill County →

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.

SimplyTrustSimplyTrust Editorial·

Legal Sources

Data sourced from North Dakota statutes and official state code. How we research.

Forms for Planning Your Estate in North Dakota

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.

Free

Last Will and Testament

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.

Get Started
Free

Codicil to a Will

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.

Get Started
Free

Healthcare Power of Attorney

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.

Get Started
Free

HIPAA Release

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.

Get Started
Free

Financial Power of Attorney

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.

Get Started
Free

Transfer on Death Deed

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.

Get Started
Free

Living Will

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.

Get Started
Free

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.

Get Started

All North Dakota forms

Tools for Planning Your Estate in North Dakota

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.

How Do I Sign Estate Documents?

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.

Check the Rules

Will My Estate Documents Transfer?

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.

Get the Answer

Trust or Will: Which Costs Less?

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.

Calculate Costs

How Much Does a Revocable Living Trust Cost?

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.

Calculate Costs

How Much Does a Will Cost?

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.

Calculate Costs

How Does SimplyTrust Compare to LegalZoom, Trust & Will, and Other Services?

Compare what it costs to make a trust official across SimplyTrust, LegalZoom, Trust & Will, Rocket Lawyer, and Quicken WillMaker.

Compare Options

How Do I Name a Guardian for My Minor Children?

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.

See the Steps

Do I Need a Revocable Trust?

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.

Get the Answer

All North Dakota tools

North Dakota Estate Planning Articles

Estate planning articles for North Dakota.