Your Home Stays Out of Probate. Your Land Stays in the Family. The State Stays Away From Your Estate.
You've worked hard to build what you have — a home, some savings, maybe land that's been in the family for generations. But without the right documents filed correctly under South Dakota law, the state's default rules decide what happens to all of it.
Your home? If it's titled solely in your name, it passes through probate court — and if you ever received Medicaid long-term care, the Department of Social Services can file a recovery claim against it. Your bank accounts? Without payable-on-death designations, they're frozen until the court appoints a personal representative. Your blended family? If you die without a will, your spouse gets the first $100,000 and half the remainder — the other half goes to your children from a prior relationship, and stepchildren get nothing.
The South Dakota Unified Judicial System's Self-Help Center provides forms for settling an estate after death. But it provides zero forms for creating a will, recording a Transfer on Death Deed, or protecting your home from Medicaid recovery before death. That gap is where families lose what they've built.
The South Dakota Estate Protection System
This is not a generic template from a national platform. The South Dakota Basic Estate Planning Kit is built around the specific statutes, county recording procedures, and asset protection strategies that apply to South Dakota families — including the mechanisms that LegalZoom, Trust & Will, and eForms never address.
Every document is formatted for South Dakota's Uniform Probate Code (SDCL Title 29A), with plain-English instructions that tell you exactly what to sign, who can witness, where to notarize, and which county office to file with.
What You Get
- South Dakota Last Will and Testament Framework — Fully aligned with SDCL 29A-2-502. Includes clauses for naming a personal representative, designating guardians for minor children, distributing real property and personal assets, authorizing digital asset access, and granting independent administration powers to keep your family out of supervised probate.
- Self-Proving Affidavit — The exact notarized form under SDCL 29A-2-504 that lets the probate court accept your will immediately, without tracking down witnesses years or decades later. The guide walks you through the precise signing ceremony — you, your two witnesses, and a notary, all in the same room at the same time.
- Transfer on Death Deed Guide — Step-by-step instructions for recording a TOD deed under SDCL 29A-6-401. The deed must be recorded at the county Register of Deeds before your death or it is legally void. Recording fee: $30. Exempt from transfer fees under SDCL 43-4-22(18). Your home transfers directly to your named beneficiary at death — completely outside probate and completely beyond Medicaid recovery.
- Beneficiary Designation Coordination Map — A systematic audit of every bank account, retirement fund, life insurance policy, and real estate parcel. Designed to catch the gaps that cause the most damage — like a payable-on-death account that names an ex-spouse, or an IRA that names "my estate" and drags the funds straight into probate.
- 15-Chapter Estate Planning Guide — Covers everything from will execution requirements and intestacy defaults to farm and ranch succession, blended family planning, Medicaid estate recovery avoidance, digital assets, the Special Spousal Trust (community property advantage), and the exact step-by-step process for signing, witnessing, and filing every document.
- 19-Item Estate Planning Checklist — A structured audit of your entire estate: real property, bank accounts, retirement designations, insurance beneficiaries, vehicle titles, digital accounts. Each item includes the specific South Dakota statute and the exact form or filing required.
Who This Kit Is Built For
- Homeowners protecting against probate and Medicaid recovery — South Dakota is a strict "probate-only" Medicaid recovery state (SDCL 28-6-23). If your home transfers via a TOD deed, the Department of Social Services cannot touch it. This kit shows you how to set up that protection for a $30 recording fee instead of a $1,500+ irrevocable trust.
- Farm and ranch families — The succession planning chapter addresses the hardest conversation in agriculture: how to transition the operation to the child who works the land while providing a fair inheritance to children who don't. Covers the seasonal timing that makes probate delays devastating for livestock and crop operations.
- Blended families and second marriages — Without a will, South Dakota's intestacy formula splits your estate between your spouse and your children from prior relationships. Stepchildren inherit nothing. A properly drafted will overrides these rigid defaults and lets you define the exact protections for everyone.
- Seniors approaching or receiving Medicaid — The kit includes the 6-month spousal petition deadline (Petition to Limit Financial Responsibility) that most families don't know exists. Miss this deadline after a spouse's death and DSS can claim against the surviving spouse's entire future estate.
- Young parents naming guardians — If both parents die without naming a guardian, the court decides who raises your children. The will framework includes guardian designation and backup guardian provisions that take effect immediately.
Why Not Free Resources or National Platforms?
The SD Unified Judicial System's Self-Help Center provides forms for probate petitions, small estate affidavits, and personal representative appointments — all after someone dies. It provides zero forms for creating a will, drafting a TOD deed, or establishing a power of attorney. The State Bar's Fast Facts page explains what these documents are, but doesn't provide them.
National platforms like LegalZoom charge $99–$299 per year for generic templates that don't address South Dakota's probate-only Medicaid recovery rule, the county-specific TOD deed recording process, or the Special Spousal Trust that can deliver a double step-up in tax basis. You're paying a recurring subscription for documents that miss the issues most likely to cost your family.
Free form sites like eForms and FormSwift offer basic will templates — with no execution instructions, no local validation, and hidden recurring subscriptions after the "free trial." A will that fails South Dakota's witness requirements is void, and your estate defaults to intestacy regardless of what you wrote.
What You Get — At a Glance
- 15-chapter guide with step-by-step instructions for every document
- Will framework, Self-Proving Affidavit walkthrough, TOD Deed guide
- Beneficiary Designation Coordination Map
- Medicaid recovery protection strategies with statutory citations
- Farm and ranch succession planning chapter
- 19-item estate planning checklist with statutes and filing details
- 8 standalone printable worksheets and reference sheets (see below)
- Instant PDF download — no subscription, no recurring fees
Standalone Printable Tools (Included)
- Beneficiary Coordination Map — Fillable worksheet to audit every account's beneficiary designation against your will
- TOD Deed Recording Guide — Step-by-step instructions to bring to the Register of Deeds office
- Medicaid Recovery Protection Reference — The probate-only rule, spousal petition deadline, and asset protection strategies on one sheet
- Will Signing Ceremony Guide — Bring-to-the-appointment checklist for the signing ceremony with witnesses and notary
- Small Estate Transfer Guide — Affidavit thresholds, vehicle transfer forms, and filing deadlines without probate
- Digital Asset Inventory — Fillable worksheet for every online account, email, social media, and cryptocurrency wallet
- Intestacy Quick Reference — Who inherits what under South Dakota's default rules if there is no will
- Forms and Contacts Reference — Key forms, agency contacts, and common filing fees in one printable sheet
100% Satisfaction Guarantee
If the kit doesn't deliver what you need, email us and we'll refund your purchase. No questions, no time limit.
— Less Than One Hour of Attorney Time
A single consultation with a South Dakota estate planning attorney starts at $200–$400 per hour. A basic estate plan runs $1,500–$5,000+. This kit gives you every document most families need, formatted for South Dakota law, with plain-English instructions — for a fraction of that hourly rate.
Start with the free checklist to audit your current estate plan and identify your gaps. When you're ready for the full guide and document frameworks, the complete kit is waiting.