North Dakota has specific laws that affect how a last will ensures your property is correctly handled when you pass away. Find out more about the specific laws that affect last wills in North Dakota, how to get a last will, how to change a last will, and more.
Find out more about Last Wills
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by Michelle Kaminsky, Esq.
Freelance writer and editor Michelle Kaminsky, Esq. has been working with LegalZoom since 2004. She earned a Jur...
Updated on: February 6, 2024 · 4min read
A last will and testament is an important step in planning the distribution of your estate—real estate, cash, and personal property you own—upon your death. North Dakota wills permit the testator (the person writing the will) to provide for a spouse, children, other loved ones, and pets after his death as well as to name a personal representative for the estate.
Not to be confused with a will, a North Dakota living will, or healthcare directive, provides instructions should you become incapacitated and incapable of making decisions regarding your medical care.
Although a last will and testament is not legally required, without a will, state laws (called laws of intestacy) determine the distribution of an estate's assets. Because the outcome may not coincide with the decedent’s (deceased person’s) wishes, it is generally advisable to create a last will and testament.
One of the greatest benefits of having a last will and testament is that it allows the testator—the person creating and signing the will—to choose who will be responsible for carrying out the wishes contained in the will. The person who oversees the will is called the “executor.”
In addition to providing the opportunity to direct asset distribution, a North Dakota last will and testament form also allows the testator to make a charitable gift, create a trust for any person, name a legal guardian for minor children, or create a “pet trust” in order to provide for the care of an animal after its owner’s death.
Before the terms of a will can be accepted, the will must be proven in probate court. Probate is the court-supervised process of distributing the estate of a deceased person.
North Dakota probate procedures vary according to the value of the estate, but generally the process is simpler for estates valued at less than $50,000.
Someone who dies without a will is called “intestate,” which invokes the strict laws of intestacy. In North Dakota in the absence of a will, the deceased person’s surviving spouse inherits the entire estate unless either the spouse or the deceased has descendants from other relationships. The deceased’s parents are also entitled to a part of the estate if there is a surviving spouse but no children or descendants.
If there is no surviving spouse, descendants, or parents, other relatives, including siblings and grandparents, will inherit depending on the closeness of their relation to the deceased.
Not all property can be distributed according to a will. Some exceptions in North Dakota include the following:
The basic requirements for a North Dakota last will and testament include the following:
North Dakota recognizes holographic (handwritten) wills so long as the signature and material portions of the document are in the testator’s handwriting. A holographic will in North Dakota does not have to be witnessed in order to be valid.
A North Dakota will may be changed at any time by codicil, or amendment to the will, which must be executed in the same manner as a will.
The revocation of a North Dakota will can be accomplished by executing a subsequent will or by performing a revocatory act (including “burning, tearing, canceling, obliterating, or destroying”) on the document or any part of it, done with the intent to revoke the will by either the testator or by someone else at his direction in his conscious presence.
When you are ready to make a last will of your own, LegalZoom can help. We can help you start a last will online in three easy steps.
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