North Dakota · probate and estate law
Probate in North Dakota: do you need a lawyer, and what it costs
North Dakota law decides whether an estate needs probate and what a lawyer may charge. Every fact links to its statute, with the date we read it. Not legal advice.
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Firms are listed by name with what they publish and what the bar roster says about them; you contact them yourself. A firm can never pay to move up a list.
Do I need a lawyer?
- Small-estate limit
- Estates under $100,000 can use a simpler process instead of full probate. In North Dakota this usually starts with a signed affidavit.
- Formal probate
- Required above $100,000. Independent administration: no. Uniform Probate Code: yes.
- Typical duration
- About 9 months.
- Source
- N.D.C.C. §30.1-23-01 (collection by affidavit ≤ $100,000, after 30 days) statute → · checked Oct 5, 2026
Settling an estate in North Dakota
What an executor deals with after the funeral: the will, the court, creditors, tax and closing the estate. Each fact links to the statute it comes from and shows the date we last read it.
- Filing the original will
In North Dakota, if you hold the original will of the person who died, you must hand it over with reasonable promptness, when an interested person asks, to someone who can get it probated, or to the court if no such person is known. The law sets no fixed number of days.
- Which court handles probate
In North Dakota, probate is handled by the district court in the county where the person who died lived. If they lived out of state, it can be opened in any North Dakota county where they owned property.
- Creditors' deadline to make claims
In North Dakota, the executor or administrator (called the personal representative) may publish a notice to creditors once a week for three weeks and mail it to known creditors. Creditors then have three months from the first publication or mailing to file claims. If no notice is given, claims are cut off three years after the death.
- Estate inventory
In North Dakota, the executor or administrator (called the personal representative) must prepare an inventory of what the person who died owned, with values as of the date of death, within six months after appointment or nine months after the death, whichever is later. It can be filed with the court or mailed to the heirs or beneficiaries.
- The order estate debts are paid
In North Dakota, if the estate cannot pay every bill, the executor or administrator pays them in a set order: estate administration costs first, then funeral expenses, then federal priority debts and taxes, then last illness medical bills, then unpaid child support, then state priority debts and taxes, then everything else.
- State estate and inheritance tax
North Dakota has no inheritance tax, and in practice no estate tax for current deaths. Its estate tax law is still on the books but equals the old federal credit for state death taxes, which no longer exists.
- Closing an estate
In North Dakota, most estates are closed by the executor or administrator (called the personal representative) filing a sworn closing statement with the court saying all claims, expenses and taxes are handled and the property has been given out, and sending a copy and a full account to the heirs. If creditors were notified, this cannot be filed until three months after the first notice.
What a probate lawyer may charge in North Dakota
Some states set the fee by statute, as a percentage of the estate. Others say "reasonable compensation", and you agree it with the firm.
No statutory fee schedule is recorded for North Dakota yet. Either the state leaves fees to "reasonable compensation", or we have not read the statute.
5 metros with named firms
A metro is listed once three firms there have an attorney active on the North Dakota bar.
Sorted by how many firms. Placement is never for sale.
Showing 1 to 5 of 5 metros in North Dakota
Every North Dakota firm with a roster-checked attorney, by city →
The estate letter · North Dakota
Settling an estate in North Dakota, one month at a time
Twelve months of steps with North Dakota's own numbers and deadlines. Read the checklist now, or sign up there for one email a month.
Get the estate letter- Month 1The first things to gather
- Month 2Work out what the estate is
- Month 3Get the authority to act
- 9 more months
Compare more
Estate checklist for North Dakota
What the executor does, month by month, with North Dakota's numbers and deadlines.
Funeral and cremation law in North Dakota
2 checked facts: who decides, waiting periods, permits.
Before probate
Look a lawyer up yourself
Every attorney we name is checked against the North Dakota bar roster. You can too: sband.org →