Updated August 02, 2023
The South Dakota revocable living trust is commonly employed to save inheritors the financial cost and hassle of dividing an estate. The person creating the trust (the Grantor) will transfer their assets and property into the trust so that when they die, their named Beneficiaries will avoid probate when claiming the Grantor’s estate. During the Grantor’s lifetime, he or she will continue to benefit from any income generated by the trust and to enjoy any property contained therein. At such a time that the Grantor becomes incapacitated or unable to communicate, they will continue to receive financial support and care through trust via the Trustee. Unlike an irrevocable trust, the Grantor of a revocable trust can revoke or amend their trust at any time as they see fit.
Definition – § 55-4-1(4)
Laws – § 55-3-6
How to Write
Step 1 – Download in PDF, Microsoft Word (.docx), or Open Text Document (.odt).
Step 2 – Begin filling out the form by entering the Grantor’s name, the date, the Grantor’s address, the Trustee’s name, and the Trustee’s address into the indicated fields.
Step 3 – In Article 1, supply the name of the Living Trust and select the appropriate checkbox to indicate whether this Trust “is” or “is not” an amendment for a Trust that already exists.
Step 4 – Any specific property which the Grantor wishes to grant to a specific individual can be listed under Article 4, Section A.
Step 5 – Next, under Section B, indicate whether the personal property included in the Trust will be distributed to “The Beneficiaries” or to one specific individual, whose personal information you must provide.
Step 6 – If the Grantor has any pets, you should fill out Section C in order to appoint a Pet Caretaker and Alternate Pet Caretaker.
Step 7 – Indicate whether or not the Pet Caretaker is to receive funding and if so, what the minimum length of time that they must provide pet care.
Step 8 – To finish Section C, enter the name and address of the appointed 3rd Party Enforcer, whose job it is to monitor the Trust for Pets.
Step 9 – In Section D, list the Beneficiaries of the Trust by providing each of their names, SSN or TIN’s, and addresses.
Step 10 – Moving on to Article 10 of the form, supply the interval of time that Beneficiaries must wait before being allowed to have an accounting of the Living Trust.
Step 11 – Next, under Article 13, Section A, provide the names and addresses for the Successor Trustee and the 2nd Successor Trustee.
Step 12 – Under Section I, indicate whether or not the Trustee is to receive compensation from the Trust Estate.
Step 13 – In Article 15, you will need to enter the number of days that the Grantor must be survived by in order for a claim to made upon their Living Trust.
Step 14 – Article 17 asks you to indicate what the Grantor’s marriage status is, and if they are married, what the spouse’s name is.
Next, you can indicate whose estate should benefit from the other’s if both the Grantor and their spouse die at the same time.
Step 15 – Under the next article (Article 18), list the Grantor’s children.
Step 16 – Further down the page, enter the names of anyone who the Grantor has decided to exclude from their Living Trust under Article 21.
Step 17 – On Page 18 the Grantor, the Trustee, and the Successor Trustee must all provide their signatures, their printed names, and the date of the document’s signing.
Step 18 – On the following page, all of the information and signatures listed below must be provided in order to verify the “Self-Proving Affidavit.”
- State
- County
- Grantor’s signature plus the date
- Trustee’s signature plus the date
- Successor Trustee’s signature plus the date
- 2nd Successor Trustee’s signature plus the date
- Witness signature plus the date
- 2nd Witness signature plus the date
Step 19 – The Notary Acknowledgement section is filled out by a Notary Public in order to properly notarize the document (not required).
Step 20 – Under “Attachment A,” provide a full list of all the property and assets which the Grantor has chosen to include in their trust.
