Letter to a bank or other holder in North Dakota

A letter that presents the small estate affidavit you have already signed. It says what you enclose and asks the holder to release the property.

Required when you mail the letter.

It goes into the letter only. It is never saved or sent to us.

Papers you are enclosing

Check what you will include. Only checked items go in the letter.

It goes into the letter as you type it. You can add a ready-made sentence:

Other formats

Do not send original documents unless the holder asks; keep copies. Sign the letter and keep a copy.

Official forms (linked, not reproduced here)

This site does not write the affidavit. Use the official form or the holder's own form:

Before you send it

Some banks have their own form or ask for a notary. Call the bank's estates department first and ask what it needs. Keep a copy of everything you send.

Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property of the Decedent (N.D.C.C. 30.1-23-01)

A sworn statement you give to whoever holds the person's money or belongings, such as a bank, so they pay or deliver it to you. It is not filed with the court.

Limit

Up to $100,000 (deaths on or after August 1, 2025) Counted after subtracting liens (what is owed on the property).

Date of deathLimit
On or after August 1, 2025
$100,000
On or before July 31, 2025
$50,000

The entire estate, wherever located, minus liens and encumbrances, cannot be worth more than $100,000. The limit rose from $50,000 to $100,000 on August 1, 2025.

What counts

The value of the entire probate estate, wherever located, minus liens and encumbrances. Property that passes outside probate (joint tenancy, payable-on-death, beneficiary designations, trusts) is not counted.

Waiting period

At least 30 days must have passed since the death, and no application or petition to appoint a personal representative can be pending or granted anywhere (in any state or tribal court).

Who can use it

The successor: a person entitled to the property under the will or under state inheritance law if there is no will.

Court or where to file

Not filed with a court. You give it to the holder of the property.

Notary

The affidavit must be signed in front of a notary public or a clerk of court.

Papers to attach
  • Certified copy of the death certificate (holders usually ask for it)
  • The specific property you are collecting and who holds it, listed in the affidavit
Steps
  1. List everything the person owned and its value on the date of death, and subtract liens.
  2. Wait until at least 30 days after the death.
  3. Ask the holder whether it will accept the affidavit.
  4. Fill in ND Probate Code Form 1 and sign it before a notary or clerk of court.
  5. Give the signed affidavit to the bank, company or person holding the property.
Fee

There is no court filing fee because the affidavit is not filed with the court.

Debts and responsibility

A person who receives property this way must answer and account for it to any personal representative appointed later and to anyone with a better right to it. Filing a false affidavit is a Class A misdemeanor.

What the bank or holder must do

A holder who pays or delivers property on the affidavit is released as if it dealt with a personal representative and does not have to check the truth of the affidavit. A transfer agent must re-register securities. If the holder refuses, the property can be recovered in a court proceeding.

Law: N.D.C.C. secs. 30.1-23-01, 30.1-23-02 (as amended by 2025 N.D. Sess. Laws ch. 319, H.B. 1224)

Source: Official page

Bank accounts after a death in North Dakota

At death, money in a joint account belongs to the surviving owner, and a payable-on-death account goes to the named beneficiary; the bank pays on a death certificate. For an account in the person's name alone, the successor can use the small estate affidavit after 30 days if the whole estate, minus liens, is $100,000 or less.

Law: N.D.C.C. secs. 30.1-31-09, 30.1-31-15, 30.1-31-16, 30.1-23-01

Source: Official page

Transfer-on-death (TOD) and payable-on-death (POD) in North Dakota

Bank account (POD)

Yes

Law: N.D.C.C. secs. 30.1-31-04, 30.1-31-16

Source: Official page

Death certificates in North Dakota

A complete certified copy (with cause of death and Social Security number) can go to a relative (spouse, parent or guardian, child, grandparent, grandchild or sibling), an authorized representative or by court order. The first certified copy is $15 and each additional copy ordered at the same time is $10. Order online, by mail or by appointment: (701) 328-2360.

Where to get it
North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services, Vital Records
Official page
Official page

Surviving spouse in North Dakota

In a probate case, the surviving spouse is entitled to the homestead, up to $15,000 in household furniture, vehicles, furnishings, appliances and personal effects (exempt property), and a reasonable family allowance; if there is no spouse, minor and dependent children share these. These come before most creditors. North Dakota has no separate spouse-only small estate procedure.

Who inherits with no will in North Dakota

If there is no will, the surviving spouse gets everything when there are no children or parents, or when all the person's children are also the spouse's children and the spouse has no other children. If there are no children but a parent survives, the spouse gets the first $300,000 plus three-fourths of the rest. If all the children are the spouse's but the spouse has other children, the spouse gets the first $225,000 plus half. If any of the person's children are not the spouse's, the spouse gets the first $150,000 plus half. The rest, or everything if there is no spouse, goes to children (or their descendants), then parents, then brothers and sisters and their descendants, then grandparents' families.

Law: N.D.C.C. secs. 30.1-04-02, 30.1-04-03

Source: Official page

Good to know in North Dakota

  • North Dakota doubled its small estate affidavit limit from $50,000 to $100,000 effective August 1, 2025.
  • The affidavit limit covers the entire estate 'wherever located', including property in other states.
  • North Dakota can recover Medicaid costs from the estate of the recipient's surviving spouse after the spouse dies.

Changes in 2024–2026

H.B. 1224, approved March 19, 2025, effective August 1, 2025: small estate affidavit limit raised from $50,000 to $100,000. Court Form 1 and NDDOT form SFN 2916 updated to $100,000.

Law: 2025 N.D. Sess. Laws ch. 319

Related pages

Free help in North Dakota

A court self-help center or a legal aid office can check whether the estate qualifies, free of charge or at low cost.