Guides › Estate, Probate & Inheritance › Living Trust Cost
Updated September 24, 2026. Quick answer: Expect a median $2,250 for an attorney-drafted living trust in South Dakota, per LegalTemplates’ 2026 survey of 909 law firms; the middle half of firms quoted $1,900 to $2,650. That puts South Dakota at the 2nd-cheapest of the 21 states compared here, coming in under the $2,475 national median for a standalone trust. A DIY platform runs $149 to $649. What that spend buys locally: South Dakota charges $122.00 total to open a probate estate: a $75.00 filing fee plus a $40.00 automation surcharge and a $7.00 law library fee.
Whether the state taxes the trust’s income is a separate question: does South Dakota tax trust income.
Fast routes: National living trust cost guide | South Dakota probate filing fee | South Dakota probate cost | Is a living trust worth it in South Dakota?
If you choose a document service
Review the living-trust option
LawDepot builds a state-specific revocable living trust from guided questions. Check the price and retitling instructions before you buy.
If you need advice about your situation, compare the attorney route above before choosing a document service.
The link goes to LawDepot, a paid legal-document service, not Clear Money Guide and not a law firm. LawDepot pays Clear Money Guide a commission if you buy a document there, at no extra cost to you. You are under no obligation to buy anything. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice.
Review LawDepot’s living trustOpens on LawDepot. Follow the signing and retitling instructions for your state.
How our partner relationships workLiving trust cost in South Dakota: attorney vs DIY
Here is the same figure next to the national benchmark and the DIY floor:
| Figure | Amount |
|---|---|
| What South Dakota attorneys typically charge | $2,250 |
| Middle-50% spread in South Dakota | $1,900–$2,650 |
| National median, all 50 states and DC | $2,475 |
| DIY document platform range | $149–$649 |
Attorneys who bundle the trust into a fuller package (pour-over will, financial power of attorney, healthcare documents) charge a national median of $2,700 for that package. DIY document platforms run $149 to $649 and do not vary by state; the national living trust cost guide has the full platform comparison table (LegalZoom, Trust & Will, Quicken WillMaker, FreeWill) with what each one includes.
Attorney figures: LegalTemplates, September 24, 2026.
What a living trust avoids: probate in South Dakota
The payoff for the $2,250 spent on a trust shows up here: South Dakota probate, and what it would otherwise cost the estate. South Dakota charges $122.00 total to open a probate estate: a $75.00 filing fee plus a $40.00 automation surcharge and a $7.00 law library fee. Full filing-fee breakdown.
South Dakota publishes no percentage schedule for probate compensation; the personal representative and the attorney are each paid what the court finds reasonable (SDCL §29A-3-719), so the bill tracks hours worked rather than the size of the estate. The second number is the small-estate threshold, at or under which an estate skips most of probate: $100,000 of personal property, by affidavit. Whether any of that reaches a solely owned house is answered below; it is where most published guidance goes wrong. Full South Dakota probate cost guide, including when a smaller estate qualifies for a shortcut and skips probate anyway.
South Dakota living trust: signing, notary and the deed
Each line is a short extract quoted from, or a plain summary of, the statute cited; the section has the exceptions.
- Creating the trust. SDCL 55-1-4: “An intention on the part of the trustor to create a trust…”
- Writing rule. SDCL 55-1-4: “Any express trust that concerns real property shall also be evidenced in writing.”
- Deed and notary. SDCL 43-28-8: “…its execution must be acknowledged by the person executing it…”
- Certification of trust. SDCL 55-4-51.1: “…may be recorded in the office of the register of deeds…”
For what the court side costs if a trust is not used, see South Dakota probate cost.
Funding the trust in South Dakota
One step trips people up after the trust is drafted: retitling a house into it requires an actual new deed, not just the trust document. South Dakota still collects money at the register of deeds window: it imposes a real estate transfer fee of fifty cents per five hundred dollars of value on every deed recorded (SDCL §43-4-21). No line item in the exemption list names trusts specifically, but SDCL §43-4-22(18) exempts any transfer for which no consideration was given, which is how a deed into your own revocable trust is normally recorded. South Dakota also has no change-of-ownership property tax reassessment scheme; the county director of equalization values all real property at full and true market value every year regardless of title changes. Mark the deed exempt under §43-4-22(18) when recording.
Is a living trust worth it in South Dakota?
Set the $2,250 against what probate would have cost above, then add the non-dollar side: no public court file, and a faster transfer once you are gone. The full worth-it analysis for South Dakota breaks down the trade for your specific assets and estate size.
Sources
- LegalTemplates, 2026 Estate Planning Costs in the US (909 firms, read September 24, 2026).
- South Dakota probate filing fee, South Dakota probate cost, national living trust cost guide (Clear Money Guide).
- Statute/agency source, transfer-tax/recording source