{"data":{"id":"us-sd/sdcl-29a-3-401","jurisdiction":"us-sd","citation":"SDCL § 29A-3-401","heading":"Formal testacy proceedings--Nature--When commenced.","body":"(a) A formal testacy proceeding is a proceeding conducted before the court to establish a will or determine intestacy. A formal testacy proceeding may be commenced by an interested person filing a petition as described in § 29A-3-402 requesting that the court, after notice and hearing, enter an order probating a will, an order setting aside an informal probate of a will, an order preventing informal probate of a will which is the subject of a pending application, or an order that the decedent died intestate.\n(b) A petition may request formal probate of a will without regard to whether the same or a conflicting will has been informally probated. A formal testacy proceeding may, but need not, involve a request for appointment of a personal representative.\n(c) During the pendency of a formal testacy proceeding, the clerk shall not act upon any application for informal probate of any will of the decedent or any application for informal appointment of a personal representative.\n(d) Unless a petition in a formal testacy proceeding also requests confirmation of the previous informal appointment, a previously appointed personal representative, after receipt of notice of the commencement of a formal testacy proceeding, shall refrain from exercising the power to make any further distribution of the estate during the pendency of the formal proceeding. A petitioner who requests the appointment of a different personal representative in a formal proceeding also may request an order restraining the acting personal representative from exercising any of the powers of office and requesting the appointment of a special administrator. In the absence of a request, or if the request is denied, the commencement of a formal proceeding has no effect on the powers and duties of a previously appointed personal representative other than those relating to distribution.\nSource: SL 1994, ch 232, § 3-401; SL 1995, ch 167, § 111.","path":["TITLE 29A. UNIFORM PROBATE CODE","CHAPTER 29A-3. PROBATE OF WILLS AND ADMINISTRATION"],"source_url":"https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-3-401","current_through":"2026-08-31","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-03T15:18:57Z","sha256":"b00e995002bf814319a65cfff247375f97841c88d67ac74a3638e75e226e5aa1","source_id":"us-sd","stale":true,"prev":"us-sd/sdcl-29a-3-311","next":"us-sd/sdcl-29a-3-402"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}