South Dakota Small Estate Affidavit: $100,000 Limit and 30-Day Wait

South Dakota lets a successor collect a deceased person's personal property without probate by affidavit under SDCL 29A-3-1201 when the entire estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, is worth no more than $100,000. The affidavit can be used 30 days after the death.

Real estate follows a different rule. SDCL 29A-3-1203 allows a separate real property affidavit when the decedent's interest in South Dakota real property is worth no more than $50,000, after a 60-day wait. For how other states handle this, see our small estate affidavit rules by state.

Information last verified on 2026-10-07. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers South Dakota's personal property affidavit under SDCL 29A-3-1201 and 29A-3-1202, the real property affidavit under SDCL 29A-3-1203, the Department of Revenue's vehicle succession affidavit, the public-employee wage rule in SDCL 3-8-8 and 3-8-10, and closing an estate by sworn statement under SDCL 29A-3-1003. It does not cover full probate administration, who inherits under South Dakota intestacy rules, estate or inheritance tax, or the law of any other state.

South Dakota's two affidavits at a glance

South Dakota has two affidavit routes that skip a court case, and they do not share a limit or a waiting period. Readers often mix them up.

Both figures are fixed dollar amounts written into the statutes, not indexed to inflation. The legislature last amended section 29A-3-1201 in 2022 (SL 2022, ch 88), and section 29A-3-1203 was added by SL 2022, ch 89.

When can you use the personal property affidavit?

Section 29A-3-1201 requires the affidavit to state that "The value of the entire estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $100,000." The test looks at the whole estate, including property outside South Dakota, after subtracting liens and encumbrances.

The statute does not list which assets are left out of that figure. If the decedent held jointly owned or transfer-on-death assets, ask the holder or a lawyer how they will be treated before you sign.

The affidavit must also state each of these:

• 30 days have passed since the death.
• No probate is open anywhere. No application or petition to appoint a personal representative is pending or has been granted in any jurisdiction.
• No Medicaid institutional-care debt. The statute requires a statement that "The decedent has not incurred any indebtedness to the Department of Social Services for medical assistance for nursing home or other medical institutional care."
• The claimant is entitled to the property.

How long do you have to wait?

Thirty days for personal property. Section 29A-3-1201 opens: "Thirty days after the death of a decedent, any person indebted to the decedent or having possession of tangible personal property or an instrument evidencing a debt, obligation, stock, or chose in action belonging to the decedent shall make payment" to the claiming successor.

The real property affidavit has a longer wait of 60 days, covered below.

Who can sign the personal property affidavit?

A person claiming to be the decedent's successor. Holders must pay or deliver "upon being presented an affidavit made by or on behalf of the successor," so someone may also make the affidavit on the successor's behalf.

Signing comes with duties. Under SDCL 29A-3-1202(d), the affiant "shall be responsible for seeing that the property is applied to liens and encumbrances, homestead allowance, exempt property, family allowance, funeral expenses, expenses of administration and creditor claims, as required by law, and that any remaining property is distributed to heirs and devisees entitled thereto." Collecting the money does not make it yours.

Step by step: using the personal property affidavit

1. Wait 30 days after the death.
2. Add up the entire estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, and confirm it is $100,000 or less.
3. Confirm no probate case has been requested or opened in any state.
4. Check for a Medicaid institutional-care debt. If the decedent received nursing home or other institutional care paid for by the Department of Social Services, the affidavit route is closed. If the decedent was on Medicaid at 55 or older, read the Medicaid section below even without a nursing home stay.
5. Prepare the affidavit. The research for this page did not find a statewide court form for this affidavit. Section 29A-3-1201 lists what it must state, so ask each holder what it accepts.
6. Present it to each holder. Nothing is filed with a court; the holder pays or delivers on being presented the affidavit.

What the personal property affidavit can collect

Section 29A-3-1201 reaches money owed to the decedent, tangible personal property, and "an instrument evidencing a debt, obligation, stock, or chose in action." That covers items such as bank balances and property someone else is holding in the decedent's name. The statute also directs a transfer agent to change the registered ownership of securities to the successor.

It does not move land. The section covers tangible personal property and instruments; real estate goes through the separate register of deeds affidavit in section 29A-3-1203.

Vehicles. The South Dakota Department of Revenue uses Form 1013, Affidavit of Vehicle Ownership by Succession, when there is no probate. Its motor vehicle procedures manual describes the form as "Used for transferring a vehicle title in the event of a death where the estate does not exceed $100,000." The manual says the affiant must be an heir or devisee, the county treasurer requires surrender of the South Dakota title, a copy of the will is not required, and a separate affidavit is needed for each vehicle. A successor taking the vehicle this way is exempt from the excise tax. For a vehicle titled in another state, apply through that state. The form is listed on the DOR title, fees and registration page.

Final paychecks. SDCL 3-8-8 and 3-8-10 cover only wages owed by the State of South Dakota or its political subdivisions. If the wages accrued within 60 days before death and the decedent left no non-exempt property, they can be paid to the surviving spouse or minor children on a sworn statement, and "No probate proceeding of any kind" is required. The research for this page found no similar statute for private employers, so ask a private employer whether it will pay final wages on the 29A-3-1201 affidavit.

Unclaimed property. The research for this page did not confirm whether South Dakota's unclaimed property program accepts a small estate affidavit from an heir or applies a dollar limit. See our South Dakota unclaimed property guide for the search and claim process.

Transferring a house: the real property affidavit

The house is where South Dakota's two limits matter most. SDCL 29A-3-1203 is the only affidavit route for land, and its limit is half the personal property figure.

The limit. The affidavit must state that "The value of the decedent's interest in all real property located in this state does not exceed fifty thousand dollars." For non-agricultural land, the value may come from the assessment rolls for the year of death; agricultural land is valued at fair market value on the date of death. The affidavit must also give each claiming successor's relationship to the decedent and "the value of the entire estate of the decedent."

The wait. "Sixty days after the death of a decedent, any person claiming to be a successor to the decedent's interest in real property in this state may file" the affidavit.

Who signs. "All persons claiming as successors or parties legally acting on their behalf shall sign the affidavit." A successor must take through the homestead allowance, the family allowance, intestate succession or a will.

What it must state. Beyond the value and the 60 days, the affidavit describes the property and the decedent's interest in it, and states that:

• no application or petition to appoint a personal representative is pending or has been granted in any jurisdiction;
• if the claim is under a will, the successor investigated and found no later will;
• no one else has a right to the decedent's interest in the property;
• the transfer is not subject to a transfer fee under SDCL 43-4-22(18);
• the decedent owed no debt to the Department of Social Services for nursing home or other medical institutional care.

Each signer must "swear or affirm that all statements in the affidavit are true and material and further acknowledge that any false statement may subject the person or persons to criminal penalties."

Where it goes. "A certified or authenticated copy of the decedent's death certificate and the affidavit must be filed with the register of deeds office in all counties where the real property of the decedent is located." It goes to the register of deeds, not a court. The research for this page did not identify a statewide form, so ask the register of deeds what it accepts. The general statewide recording fee under SDCL 7-9-15 is $30 for the first fifty pages, plus $2 for each additional page. To look up the deed, see our South Dakota property records guide.

After recording. A successor named in the affidavit "has the same protection and liability as a distributee who has received a deed of distribution from a personal representative," under SDCL 29A-3-908, subject to 29A-3-901. A purchaser or lender dealing with the successor in good faith "takes title free of any claims of the decedent's estate and incurs no personal liability to the estate."

The successor must also see that the property is applied to liens, allowances, funeral and administration expenses and creditor claims. The affidavit does not affect a mortgage, judgment lien or other secured creditor's rights in the land.

Medicaid estate recovery and the affidavit

Both affidavits shut out estates where the decedent incurred a Department of Social Services debt for nursing home or other medical institutional care. If the decedent received long-term care, read the department's Estate Recovery page before going further.

That page says that for estates collected by affidavit, "DSS may only claim on estates less than $100,000," and it limits those claims to nursing facility, home and community based services, ICF/IID, hospital and prescription drug services.

The affidavit itself only asks about institutional care, but South Dakota law also treats Medicaid paid for anyone 55 or older for home and community based services, hospital and prescription drug services as a debt to the Department of Social Services (SDCL 28-6-23). DSS can collect by presenting its own affidavit 30 days after the death, and its Estate Recovery page says a holder who knows of the debt may pay only funeral expenses until DSS is paid. DSS does not pursue recovery while there is a surviving spouse, a child under 21, or a blind or disabled child. If the decedent was on Medicaid at 55 or older, contact DSS before collecting.

Liability and false affidavits

The holder is protected. Under SDCL 29A-3-1202, a person who pays or delivers on the affidavit "is discharged and released as if the person had dealt with a personal representative of the decedent," and does not have to look into whether the affidavit is true.

The person who collects is not. The same section says: "Any person to whom payment, delivery, transfer or issuance is made is liable and accountable therefor to any personal representative of the estate or to any other person having a superior right." If a personal representative is later appointed, or an heir with a better claim appears, you may have to account for what you took.

False statements. The real property affidavit makes each signer acknowledge that a false statement may bring criminal penalties. The personal property statute contains no penalty clause of its own, but it is still a sworn affidavit, so sign only what you know to be true.

When to use probate instead

If the estate is over $100,000, the real estate is worth more than $50,000, the decedent owed the Department of Social Services for institutional care, or the heirs disagree, the estate needs a court proceeding. Our South Dakota probate guide explains how that works.

Once a personal representative has been appointed, SDCL 29A-3-1003 lets that representative close the estate by filing a verified statement with the court "no earlier than four months after the date of original appointment of a general personal representative." That is a way to close a probate case, not a way to avoid one.

Related

• Small estate affidavit rules by state
• South Dakota probate process
• South Dakota unclaimed property
• South Dakota property records
• North Dakota small estate affidavit
• Nebraska small estate affidavit

Disclaimer: This article provides general legal information about South Dakota's small estate affidavits under SDCL 29A-3-1201 through 29A-3-1203, verified on 2026-10-07. It is not legal advice. For help with a specific estate, contact the clerk of courts in the county where the person lived, a legal aid office, or a lawyer licensed in South Dakota.

Last updated: 2026-10-07.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the small estate limit in South Dakota?

For personal property, the entire estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, must not exceed $100,000 (SDCL 29A-3-1201). Real estate has its own, lower limit: the decedent's interest in all South Dakota real property must not exceed $50,000 under SDCL 29A-3-1203.

How long after death can I use a small estate affidavit in South Dakota?

30 days after the death for the personal property affidavit under SDCL 29A-3-1201, and 60 days after the death for the real property affidavit under SDCL 29A-3-1203.

Does a South Dakota small estate affidavit need to be filed with the court?

No. The personal property affidavit is presented to whoever holds the property. The real property affidavit is filed with the register of deeds in every county where the land lies, together with a certified or authenticated copy of the death certificate, not with a court.

Can I transfer a house with a small estate affidavit in South Dakota?

Only through the separate real property affidavit in SDCL 29A-3-1203, and only if the decedent's interest in all South Dakota real property is worth $50,000 or less. All claiming successors must sign it, and it cannot be used until 60 days after the death.

Can I use a small estate affidavit if my parent was in a nursing home on Medicaid?

Not if the decedent incurred a debt to the South Dakota Department of Social Services for medical assistance for nursing home or other medical institutional care. Both SDCL 29A-3-1201 and 29A-3-1203 require the affidavit to state that no such debt exists. Medicaid paid for someone 55 or older for home and community based, hospital or prescription drug services is also a debt to the department under SDCL 28-6-23, so contact DSS before collecting.

How do I transfer a car title in South Dakota without probate?

The Department of Revenue uses Form 1013, Affidavit of Vehicle Ownership by Succession, which its motor vehicle manual describes as used where the estate does not exceed $100,000. You complete a separate affidavit for each vehicle and work through the county treasurer.

Is there an official South Dakota small estate affidavit form?

The research for this page did not find a statewide court form for the personal property or real property affidavit. SDCL 29A-3-1201 and 29A-3-1203 list what each affidavit must state, so ask the holder, the register of deeds or the clerk of courts what they accept.