Updated September 7, 2026. Quick answer: In South Dakota, you have the later of 12 months from informal probate or 3 years from the date of death to contest a will that has already been admitted to probate, running from whichever of those two events is later.
How long do you have to contest a will in South Dakota?
| Deadline to contest an admitted will | the later of 12 months from informal probate or 3 years from the date of death |
| What starts the clock | whichever of those two events is later |
| Dedicated will-contest statute? | Yes |
“No informal probate or appointment proceeding or formal testacy or appointment proceeding…may be commenced more than three years after the decedent’s death…A proceeding to contest an informally probated will and to secure appointment of the person with legal priority…may be commenced within the later of twelve months from the informal probate or three years from the decedent’s death.”
Source: S.D.C.L. § 29A-3-108
What makes South Dakota different
South Dakota stretches the standard Uniform Probate Code formula well beyond most sibling UPC states; 12 months instead of the more common 8, and 3 years instead of 1, from death. The controlling authority is S.D.C.L. § 29A-3-108, and the window runs from whichever of those two events is later.
What happens once this deadline passes?
Once the window above closes, South Dakota’s probate of the will generally becomes final and binding on everyone who had the chance to object, subject only to the tolling or discovery exceptions described above; a separate objection South Dakota allowed at the original probate hearing does not reopen or extend it.
Sources
| Statute / rule | S.D.C.L. § 29A-3-108 |
| South Dakota courts (general reference) | South Dakota judicial branch |
| Confidence | High |
Every statute or rule quoted on this South Dakota page was read directly from the state’s own legislature/court/code site this session, or, where that site blocked automated access, from a reputable legal-citation mirror quoting the same official text with its official citation (disclosed below). General information, not legal advice; whether a specific contest is still timely can turn on facts (exactly when notice was given, how the will was probated, whether a disability applies) that only your own South Dakota probate court file can confirm.