Each step carries two parts: what the law requires, and what we do about it.
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01
Locate the will and obtain death certificates
What the law requires. Before anything is filed, you need proof of death and you need to know whether a valid will exists. Whoever holds the original will has a legal duty to deliver it to the clerk of court promptly once they learn of the death.
SDCL 29A-2-516 — Duty of custodian of will
“A person having custody of a will of the testator shall deliver it with reasonable promptness to an appropriate court or to a person able to secure its probate.”
The statute requires “reasonable promptness,” not a specific number of days, so none is stated here. Obtaining death certificates is a vital-records matter, not something SDCL Title 29A addresses, so no probate-code citation applies to that half of this step.
What we do. We help you gather certified death certificates, check the original will against South Dakota's requirements, and secure the documents before a single formal step is taken.
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02
Petition for probate; a personal representative is appointed
What the law requires. Somebody has to be legally authorised to manage the estate — in South Dakota, the personal representative. Most local estates go through informal probate, which skips formal court hearings entirely.
SDCL 29A-3-301 & 29A-3-414 — Informal application; appointment of personal representative
Neither section sets a specific number of days to file. The outer limit is general: under SDCL 29A-3-108, a probate or appointment proceeding may not be commenced “more than three years after the decedent's death,” with narrow exceptions the statute itself sets out.
What we do. We draft and file the petition with the clerk of court to secure your Letters of Personal Representation, without the delay or the courtroom.
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03
Notice to heirs and devisees
What the law requires. Once appointed, the personal representative has fourteen days to give written notice to every heir, beneficiary and interested party.
SDCL 29A-3-705 — Duty of personal representative: information to heirs and devisees
“Not later than fourteen days after appointment, every personal representative, except any special administrator, shall give information of the appointment to the heirs and devisees.”
What we do. We draft and serve every required notice, on time, so an administrative challenge never becomes your problem.
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04
Notice to creditors and the claim period
What the law requires. Creditors get a fair window to bring legitimate claims. Publishing notice in a Minnehaha County newspaper opens a four-month claim period.
SDCL 29A-3-801 — Notice to creditors
“A personal representative upon appointment may publish a notice to creditors once a week for three successive weeks in a legal newspaper in the county in which the proceeding is pending… notifying creditors of the decedent to present their claims within four months after the date of the first publication of the notice or the claim may be barred.”
For a known or reasonably ascertainable creditor: present the claim “within four months after the date of the personal representative's appointment, or within sixty days after the mailing or other delivery of the written notice, whichever is later, or be forever barred.”
Even without any notice at all, SDCL 29A-3-803 sets an outer limit: a claim is barred if not presented “within three years after the decedent's death.”
What we do. We handle the publication, check incoming claims for validity, and make sure debts nobody asserted are barred once the deadline passes.
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05
Inventory of estate property
What the law requires. The personal representative assembles a detailed inventory of everything the deceased owned — real estate, accounts, vehicles, personal property — valued as at the date of death.
SDCL 29A-3-706 — Duty of personal representative: inventory and appraisement
“Within six months after appointment, or nine months after the decedent's death, whichever is later,” the personal representative “shall prepare an inventory of property owned by the decedent at the time of death.”
What we do. We take you through valuation, organise the documentation, and keep the record solid enough to survive a family disagreement or a court query.
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06
Paying claims, taxes, and expenses
What the law requires. South Dakota sets a strict order of payment: costs of administration and funeral expenses first, then taxes, then medical bills, then general claims.
SDCL 29A-3-805 & 29A-3-807 — Classification and payment of claims
These sections govern order of priority, not a separate deadline; the claim-period deadlines are the ones stated under Notice to Creditors, above.
What we do. We pay in that order, so you never settle a lower-priority claim out of your own pocket or run the estate short before the ones that come first.
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07
Distribution to heirs
What the law requires. Once debts and taxes are settled, what remains goes to the beneficiaries under the will — or under state law if there is no will — either as property or as cash.
SDCL 29A-3-906 — Distribution in kind: valuation, method
A distributee's right to object to a proposed in-kind distribution “terminates if the distributee fails to object in writing within fourteen days after the mailing or delivery of the proposal.”
What we do. We prepare the deeds, manage the transfers, and collect signed receipts and releases so the estate closes cleanly.
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08
Final accounting and closing the estate
What the law requires. Most South Dakota estates close informally, when the personal representative files a sworn statement confirming the debts were paid and the remaining assets distributed.
SDCL 29A-3-1003 — Closing estates by sworn statement of personal representative
The verified closing statement may be filed “no earlier than four months after the date of original appointment of a general personal representative.”
“If no proceedings involving the personal representative are pending in the court one year after the closing statement is filed, the appointment of the personal representative terminates.”
What we do. We prepare the final accounting and the closing paperwork, which discharges you as representative and ends the process.
Where are you right now?
You do not have to read all eight steps, and you do not have to do them alone. Whether you are holding a fresh death certificate at step one or stuck on the inventory at step five, we pick it up where you are. Call for a straight conversation, with the costs estimated in writing.