Get Answers to Your Highest Priority South Dakota Legal Questions

In South Dakota, a total return unitrust (or TRU) is a trust in which the income beneficiary is entitled each year to a percentage of the net fair market value of the trust assets. The value of those assets would be calculated on the same day of each year.

Unfortunately, many people incorrectly believe that transfering an asset to a revocable trust will result in Medicaid qualification. However, assets held in a revocable trust are still treated as still being owned by the individual for purposes of Medicaid eligibility.

The reason these transfers do not help with Medicaid eligibility is because the person still controls the asset in a revocable trust, either by keeping the right to revoke the trust or by retaining the power to control the disposition of the assets.

No!

If you haven't recently reviewed your beneficiary designations for your retirement account, you may find that your designated beneficiaries are not who or what you think it should be. This is especially true if you have recently divorced, remarried, or had children since your retirement plan was started. And while many of us make sure that important documents, like our wills, are frequently updated, we tend to "forget" about our retirement account beneficiary designations.

Remember - your retirement accounts are not part of your estate and usually are not governed by the provisions of your will, so it is important to keep those retirement accounts updated!

In a South Dakota "per stirpes" distribution, a group represents a deceased ancestor. The group takes the proportional share to which the deceased ancestor would have been entitled if still living.

For instance, presume your father named you and your brother as his primary beneficiaries. Your father left you 70% of his assets while your brother's share is 30%. If you brother dies before your father, your brother's share would go to his heirs (likely his children) upon your father's death.

The most common type of charitable trust is a "charitable remainder trust."  Here are the steps usually followed to create one of these potentially-valuable trusts. 

First, you establish a trust and transfer the property you want to donate to a charity. Please note that the charity must be approved by the IRS (which usually requires tax-exempt status under the Internal Revenue Code).

Second, the charity serves as trustee of the trust and manages the property so it will produce income for you. The charity then pays you (or your named beneficiary) a portion of the income generated by the trust property for a certain number of years.

Finally, at your death (or at the end of the period you designate) the property goes to the charity.

In South Dakota, a "charitable trust" allows you to donate to a charity.  At the same time, a "charitable trust" can give you and your heirs a significant tax break.

Establishing a "charitable trust" requires serious thinking because this trust requires that you give up legal control of your property.  Also, charitable trusts are irrevocable - in other words, once the trust becomes operational, you cannot change your mind and regain legal control of the trust property.

Under South Dakota law, there are a variety of ways to title property. Title is the method in which property is owned. How property is titled impacts the drafting of your estate plan. In South Dakota, title is commonly held in three different ways: sole ownership, tenancy in common, and joint tenancy.

In a joint tenancy, two or more persons own the same property with their right of ownership subject to the other joint tenant’s ownership right. When one joint tenant passes away their interest in the property automatically is transferred to the surviving joint tenant. This is the common ownership form among married couples, and couples often do this to their property to avoid probate. However,  when placing property in joint tenancy one must be cautious and contemplate the pros and cons of such an action because a joint tenant cannot leave their interest in the property to someone through their will.

 

South Dakota’s agriculture industry has a $20.9 billion economic impact each year. With more than 19 million acres of cropland and 23 million acres of pastureland, our farmers and ranchers are one of our economy’s key drivers.

In addition to generating 20% of our state’s economic activity, production agriculture and its value added industries employ over 80,000 South Dakotans.   

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For many years, certain portions of South Dakota were designated as "open range." These specific laws allowed for cattle to range without fences. These laws were repealed in 1980.

Get Your Free Book "What You Need To Know About South Dakota Agricultural Law"

Under South Dakota law, there are a variety of ways to title property. Title is the method in which property is owned. How property is titled impacts the drafting of your estate plan. In South Dakota, title is commonly held in three different ways: sole ownership, joint tenancy, and tenancy in common.

In a tenancy in common, two or more persons hold exclusive interest in the same property with no right of survivorship for the surviving tenant in common. Exclusive interest in the property means that each tenant in common has exclusive ownership in the entire property, not just a section of the property. Additionally, each tenant in common can transfer their share of the property by selling it, transferring it, giving it away, or by their choice at death through a will. Unlike joint tenancy, when a tenant in common passes away there is no right to survivorship. Basically, that means that upon the death of a tenant in common the ownership interest in the property passes to the heirs of the deceased in accordance with the South Dakota law of intestate succession, if you do not have a will, or to the beneficiaries named in the will of the deceased.