Estate Inventory and Appraisement Requirements in South Dakota

At a glance

Requirements one by one

The deadline uses two clocks and takes the later date

SDCL § 29A-3-706 requires preparation by the later of six months after the representative's appointment or nine months after the decedent's death. For example, if appointment occurs two months after death, the six-month-after- appointment date arrives eight months after death, so the nine-month date controls. If appointment occurs six months after death, the six-month-after- appointment date controls.

The duty excludes a special administrator and a successor when a prior representative already discharged it. Section 29A-3-706 states no extension standard and does not require the inventory to be signed, sworn, or verified.

Preparation does not mean universal court filing

The representative promptly mails or delivers a copy to any interested person who requests it. Filing the original with the court is optional under SDCL § 29A-3-706. A requester therefore does not need to wait for a court filing that may never occur.

Sections 29A-3-706 to -708 state no inventory-specific confidentiality, redaction, or sealing rule. Whether filing is appropriate can matter because the statute makes private delivery available without requiring the original to enter the court file.

Each listed item carries value and encumbrance information

The inventory covers property the decedent owned at death, listed in reasonable detail. Each item states its fair market value as of death and the type and amount of any encumbrance. SDCL § 29A-3-706 does not state separate category- specific exclusions or allow encumbrances simply to be netted out of value.

Outside appraisal is optional and asset-specific

Under SDCL § 29A-3-707, the representative may employ a qualified and disinterested appraiser when an asset's value is not readily ascertainable. Different appraisers may handle different kinds of assets, and each appraiser's name and address appears with the appraised item.

The section does not require appraisal of every asset or prescribe a separate appraiser oath, certificate, or signature block.

Supplements follow the original inventory's route

SDCL § 29A-3-708 requires a supplementary inventory or appraisement when the representative learns of omitted property or an erroneous or misleading value or description. It shows the new item's death-date market value or the revised value or description, plus any appraisers or other data relied upon.

If the original was filed, the supplement is filed. The representative also mails or delivers it to everyone sent the original and to other interested persons who request it. Section 29A-3-708 states no separate supplement clock.

An interested person may petition for removal under SDCL § 29A-3-611. Cause includes disregarding a court order or failing to perform a duty of the office; the inventory statutes do not state an inventory-specific fine or automatic removal.

What trips people up

The nine-month date is not always the deadline. Compare it with six months after appointment and use whichever date is later.

The original need not automatically enter the court file. Requested copies are mandatory, but filing is permissive.

A supplement has a broader recipient list than a new requester alone. It goes to the people sent the original and to other interested persons who ask.

Common questions

Must the inventory be notarized?

Sections 29A-3-706 to -708 do not require a signature, oath, verification, or notarization for the inventory.

Does every asset need an outside appraisal?

No. Section 29A-3-707 permits a qualified disinterested appraiser for an asset whose value is not readily ascertainable.

Does an interested person have to ask the court for a copy?

No. The interested person requests it from the personal representative, who must promptly provide it by mail or delivery.

Statutes and sources

• SDCL § 29A-3-706 — two-part deadline, representative and successor boundaries, contents, encumbrances, requested copies, and optional filing: https://sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/29A-3.html?all=true (accessed 2026-08-10).
• SDCL § 29A-3-707 — optional qualified disinterested appraiser and inventory identification: https://sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/29A-3.html?all=true (accessed 2026-08-10).
• SDCL § 29A-3-708 — omitted property, value or description correction, valuation support, filing, and recipients: https://sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/29A-3.html?all=true (accessed 2026-08-10).
• SDCL § 29A-3-611 — removal petition, procedure, and cause: https://sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/29A-3.html?all=true (accessed 2026-08-10).