South Dakota Estate Planning Attorney

In South Dakota, your estate goes into the probate process at one of the 7 Judicial Circuit courts upon your death. Or does it? That depends on what you do in the way of estate planning while you are live. It's very possible a South Dakota estate planning attorney could get your entire estate to pass on out of probate. Now that is something to think about.

Need an Estate Lawyer?

This may not mean much to you, but it could mean a lot to your family, loved ones and potential heirs. Probate court is a lengthy and possibly expensive process. There are so many legal ways around it, maybe it's time you looked into it.

If you do not already have a will, that's a good place to start. If you make use of some of the probate avoiding devises like tenancy with right of survivorship, payable upon death, trusts, retirement accounts and gifting, there may not be much to put into a will. Matters concerning guardianship of children belong in a will, and maybe a few other personal effects. Most of your assets, however, may likely be handled in other ways.

That is all part of estate planning, preparing your estate to be passed on in the best possible way for your heirs. Another area you will be discussing with you estate attorney concerns all aspects of estates and taxes. You should be making sure your estate does not get eaten up with past due taxes or estate taxes.

This site offers advice for all of your financial needs. Our financial planning page is especially useful because without one, you may never need an estate plan. The earlier on in life you take responsibility for your financial decisions the better the quality of life your family will enjoy.

Hopefully the decision has been made to start your estate planning, if so you may need documents and forms along the way. Before you make the long drive half way across South Dakota for one form try Legal Zoom.

Online LEGAL Documents

A South Dakota estate planning attorney should be easy to locate in Rapid City, Sioux Falls or many places in between. Fill out a form at Legal Match and let the attorneys respond to you. You have the opportunity to discuss fees and services online, as well as checking feedback left by other users. Do all of this before your first in person visit.

New! Comments

Leave a comment about this article in the box below and share it with your Facebook friends.

What's On Your Mind?

We'd love to hear your comments or opinions. Submit them here and other visitors can read them and comment on them. An e-mail address is not required.

Enter Your Title

Your Comments Go Here [ ? ]

Upload 1-4 Pictures or Graphics (optional)[ ? ]

Add a Picture/Graphic Caption (optional)

Click here to upload more images (optional)

Author Information (optional)

To receive credit as the author, enter your information below.

Your Name	(first or full name)
Your Location	(e.g., City, State, Country)

Submit Your Contribution

Check box to agree to these submission guidelines.

(You can preview and edit on the next page)

Click here to see the rest of the form and complete your submission.

Home Page

About Us | Contact Us | Site Search | Terms of Use

--by Beth Heikkinen
Marquette, Michigan

I just want to thank you for this site. It answered my questions. I think many people that do research on the net take it for granted and when they find what they are looking for they forget "someone put time, money, etc into providing me with this information."

Thank you!

Like This Site

Visit Our Social Media Pages

Get a PDF version of this website and its sister site here.