What to gather for a small estate in South Dakota
Pick a procedure and check off what you already have. Download or print the list to take with you.
Collection of personal property by affidavit (small estate affidavit)
The person who inherits signs an affidavit and gives it to the bank, company or person holding the property, which must then pay or hand it over. Nothing is filed with a court.
- Limit
Up to $100,000 Counted after subtracting liens (what is owed on the property).
The entire estate, wherever located, minus liens and encumbrances, cannot be more than $100,000. The affidavit also requires that the person owed no debt to the Department of Social Services for Medicaid nursing home or other institutional care.
- What counts
The value of the person's entire estate, wherever located, minus liens and encumbrances.
- Waiting period
At least 30 days must have passed since the death.
- Who can use it
A person claiming to be the successor (an heir or will beneficiary entitled to the property), or someone acting on the successor's behalf. The Department of Social Services can also use the affidavit to collect a Medicaid debt.
- Court or where to file
Not filed with a court. You give it to the holder of the property.
- Notary
It is an affidavit (sworn statement).
- Papers to attach
- Death certificate, if the holder asks for it
- Steps
- Wait until at least 30 days after the death.
- Check that no one has applied to be personal representative anywhere and that the person owed no Medicaid nursing home or institutional care debt to the Department of Social Services.
- Sign an affidavit with the five statements the law requires.
- Give it to each holder; a transfer agent must re-register securities.
- Use what you collect to pay liens, allowances, funeral and administration costs and creditors as the law requires, then distribute the rest.
- Fee
No court filing fee, because the affidavit is not filed with a court.
- Debts and responsibility
The person who collects property by affidavit is responsible for seeing that it is applied to liens and encumbrances, the homestead allowance, exempt property, family allowance, funeral expenses, administration costs and creditor claims, as the law requires, before the rest goes to heirs and devisees. Anyone who receives property this way must answer for it to a later personal representative or anyone with a better right. The affiant submits to the South Dakota courts in any case about the affidavit.
- What the bank or holder must do
The holder must pay or deliver on a proper affidavit and is then released as if it had dealt with a personal representative; it need not check the affidavit. If it refuses, the property can be recovered in a court proceeding on proof of the facts in the affidavit. If the holder knows the person owed the Department of Social Services for Medicaid nursing home or institutional care, it may not pay anyone (except for funeral expenses) until the Department is paid or issues a satisfaction.
Law: S.D. Codified Laws secs. 29A-3-1201, 29A-3-1202, 29A-3-817
Source: Official page
Death certificates in South Dakota
Death certificates can be ordered in person, by mail, by phone or online from South Dakota Vital Records. A certified copy costs $15.00; phone and internet orders add an $11.50 expedite fee. Proper identification is required.
- Where to get it
- South Dakota Department of Health, Vital Records
- Official page
- Official page
Car or vehicle title after a death in South Dakota
Heirs transfer a vehicle title with the Department of Revenue's Succession Affidavit through the county treasurer's office. A vehicle titled with a transfer on death (TOD) beneficiary goes to that beneficiary, who applies for a new title with a copy of the death certificate; vehicles with a TOD beneficiary must not have open liens.
Law: S.D. Codified Laws secs. 32-3-80 to 32-3-84 (SL 2025, ch. 116)
Source: Form 1013
- Agency
- South Dakota Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Division (titles through the county treasurer)
- Fee
Title fees apply; ask the county treasurer.
- Transfer-on-death title
An owner can name a transfer on death beneficiary on the title application at the county treasurer's office; all owners must approve in writing, and the vehicle must have no liens. The beneficiary has no rights while the owner is alive. After the death, the beneficiary submits an affidavit verifying the death (the Department of Revenue asks for a copy of the death certificate) and gets a new title.
Source: Official page
Surviving spouse in South Dakota
A surviving spouse or minor children are entitled to a homestead allowance, and the spouse to exempt property, in addition to any share under the will or intestacy. The spouse and minor or dependent children also get a family allowance, which the personal representative can set at up to $18,000 as a lump sum or $1,500 a month for one year without court approval. These have priority over creditors' claims.
Law: SDCL ch. 43-31; SDCL ch. 43-45
Related pages
- Small estate affidavit in South Dakota
- Car title after a death in South Dakota
- Bank accounts after a death in South Dakota
- House without probate in South Dakota
- Small estate checker for South Dakota
- Letter to a bank in South Dakota
- Balance request letter for South Dakota
- All about small estates in South Dakota
Free help in South Dakota
A court self-help center or a legal aid office can check whether the estate qualifies, free of charge or at low cost.