Yes, trusts can avoid probate in South Dakota. By creating a trust and transferring your assets into it, the assets can bypass the probate process when you pass away. This can save your beneficiaries time and money, as probate can be a lengthy and expensive process.
The cost of setting up a trust in South Dakota varies depending on the complexity of the trust and the attorney's fees. A basic Revocable Living Trust generally ranges from $1,000 to $3,000. More complex trusts can cost several thousand dollars more. Online services like Snug can provide a more affordable alternative to traditional legal services, offering estate planning services, including trusts, at a lower cost.
The overall cost of estate planning in South Dakota can run up to around $4,950.
A Revocable Living Trust is the most common type of trust people set up, offering flexibility and control over your assets during your lifetime and helping to avoid probate. Other types of trusts, such as Charitable Trusts, Special Needs Trusts, and Irrevocable Trusts, may be appropriate depending on your specific circumstances and goals.
Funding a trust in South Dakota involves transferring ownership of your assets to the trust. For real estate, a new deed must be prepared with the trust as the owner. Bank accounts should be retitled in the name of the trust, and other assets like vehicles, personal property, business interests, stocks, and bonds must also be formally transferred to the trust.
Adding a house to a trust in South Dakota can be a little more complex — the state has specific rules and regulations about it.
In South Dakota, any individual who is at least 18 years old and mentally competent can serve as a trustee. Furthermore, South Dakota law allows for corporations, such as banks or trust companies, to serve as a trustee if they are authorized to exercise trust powers in the state. Trustees must be capable of handling and managing property, and they can't have been convicted of serious crimes, including felonies or crimes that involve dishonest or immoral behavior.
In South Dakota, if you want to amend your living trust, you must create an amendment document that clearly outlines the desired changes, such as altering beneficiaries, switching trustees, or modifying distribution instructions. This amendment must include specific details like the date, your name, the name of the trust, and the date the trust was originally established. The amendment, like the original trust document, should be signed in front of a notary public. However, if you need to make substantial changes, it might be more practical to draft a restatement of the trust. A restatement allows you to rewrite the entire trust while keeping the original trust's date and title, which can be advantageous in avoiding the need to retitle assets. The restatement should include all the changes you wish to make, and these new provisions will completely replace the old ones.
