Personal Property Memorandum Requirements in South Dakota

At a glance

Requirements one by one

The will and eligible property

S.D. Codified Laws § 29A-2-513 permits a will to refer to a written statement or list for tangible personal property that the will does not otherwise specifically dispose of. The will may refer to a writing that will exist at the testator's death, so the list need not exist when the will is executed.

Money is the section's only express excluded-property category. The writing still operates only on tangible personal property and cannot redirect an item already specifically disposed of by the will. The section states no per-item or aggregate value ceiling.

Signature and identification

The testator must sign the writing. Unlike statutes that allow either handwriting or signature, § 29A-2-513 does not make handwriting alone an alternative. The writing also must describe both the items and devisees with reasonable certainty.

The section states no date, witness, notarization, or signature-placement condition for the separate writing.

Timing and later alteration

The writing may be prepared before or after execution of the will and may have no significance apart from its effect on the will's dispositions. The testator may alter it after preparation.

Section 29A-2-513 does not prescribe a special formality for each alteration or say which of two conflicting writings controls. A writing offered under the section still must carry the testator's signature and reasonably certain item and devisee descriptions.

Evidentiary effect

A writing that satisfies the section is admissible as evidence of the intended disposition. The section states no separate probate filing or delivery procedure and no lapse or savings rule.

What trips people up

South Dakota requires the testator's signature. A handwritten but unsigned list does not satisfy the statute merely because the handwriting can be proved.

The permission to alter the writing later does not create a statutory newest- writing-wins rule. The section also does not authorize a blanket declaration that the memorandum overrides a specific gift already made in the will.

Common questions

Must the writing be dated?

Section 29A-2-513 states no dating condition. It requires the testator's signature and reasonably certain descriptions of the items and devisees.

Can the writing be created after the will is signed?

Yes. It may be prepared before or after execution of the will, and the will may refer to one that will exist at the testator's death.

Can the writing be changed later?

Yes. The testator may alter it after preparation. The statute states no special initialing, re-signing, re-dating, replacement, or conflict-priority rule.

Must witnesses or a notary sign?

No witness or notary condition appears in § 29A-2-513. The testator's signature is the stated execution requirement.

Statutes and sources

• S.D. Codified Laws § 29A-2-513 — will reference, property scope, signature, identification, timing, alteration, independent significance, and admissibility. South Dakota Legislature: https://sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/29A-2-513.html (accessed 2026-08-11).