Williston firm serving Williams County and the Bakken. Handles ancillary probate where the decedent lived elsewhere but owned North Dakota property, and opens probate so mineral and royalty rights pass from parents or grandparents once an oil company makes contact. Walks families through inventorying the estate, testing it against the $50,000 threshold, and noticing heirs.
Estate Planning for Williams County, North Dakota Property Owners
For most Williams 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 Williams 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 Williams 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, Williams 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 Williams County
A transfer on death deed names a beneficiary who receives Williams 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.
Where to Record Property Documents
Deeds and other real property documents for Williams County are recorded with the County Recorder at 206 East Broadway, 1st Floor, Williston, ND 58801. Phone: 1-701-577-4540. Hours: Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-5:00 PM.
Documents submitted by mail go to P.O. Box 2047, Williston, ND 58802-2047.
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 Williams County comes to $20. No transfer tax applies to a transfer on death deed.
Williams County accepts electronic recording through Simplifile, CSC, ePN and Indecomm.
Recording Office Record
County Recorder
Williams County
Phone
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-5:00 PM
Office
206 East Broadway, 1st Floor, Williston, ND 58801
Website
P.O. Box 2047
Williston, ND 58802-2047
Fax
1-701-577-4535
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
Estate Planning Attorneys Serving Williams County
MacMaster, Geltel & Siewert, Ltd.
Williston general practice serving Williams County and northwestern North Dakota, with two attorneys both admitted in North Dakota in 2011 and a retired founding partner. Handles estate planning and probate alongside real estate and family law. The firm has no website; contact is by phone or email.
Serves northwestern North Dakota and northeastern Montana from Williston and Watford City, for more than 60 years. Represents families through probate whether the decedent died with or without a will, and keeps a dedicated probate paralegal on staff. Also handles oil and gas interests and land ownership in producing territory.
The longest-standing firm in Williston, serving Williams County and the Bakken. Curative probate is a named specialty: resolving the land and mineral title problems that surface on inherited property, with work alongside the oil companies operating the wells folded into the probate as standard. Also serves heirs living far from North Dakota, and handles farm succession.
Williston firm licensed in North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota, which suits an estate spread across state lines. Handles probates and heirship matters, determines mineral ownership, and gets royalty funds released from suspense. Founder Malcolm Pippin has been a CPA since 1986. Consultation fees are paid upfront.
Watford City firm in McKenzie County, at the center of the Bakken. Handles personal representative appointments, testate and intestate probates, heirships, and probate litigation including challenges to a representative’s actions — and the release of suspended oil and gas revenue, where operators withhold royalties pending a probate or title cure.
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.
Legal Sources
(2)·
- NDCC 30.1-32.1-01 to 30.1-32.1-14
- 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)
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
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
North Dakota Estate Planning Articles
Estate planning articles for North Dakota.
