How Much Does a Will Cost in North Dakota?

By The Estate Planning Guide Editorial Team Researched against primary sources

Published June 11, 2026 7 min read

Quick answer

A simple will in North Dakota typically costs $250 to $1,000 with an attorney, and $0 to $150 with an online tool. North Dakota also recognizes handwritten (holographic) wills, so a basic will can cost nothing — but a will directs an estate through probate rather than avoiding it. A will directs your estate through North Dakota's probate; it doesn't skip it. If avoiding probate is the goal, that's a living-trust question.

⚠️ Educational information only — not legal, tax, or financial advice.

The figures on this page are general estimates. Laws, fees, thresholds, and prices differ by state and change often, and your own situation may change the result. Before you act, confirm the current numbers and rules for North Dakota with a licensed professional — an attorney, tax advisor, or licensed agent as appropriate. Reading this page does not create a professional relationship.

What a will costs in North Dakota

How you make it	Typical cost in North Dakota	Best for
Attorney-drafted	$250 to $1000	Most people; anything with children, property, or blended families
Online will service	$0 to $150	Simple estates, clear beneficiaries
Pure DIY / handwritten	$0	Rarely the best idea — easy to get wrong

Illustrative North Dakota pricing as of 2026 — re-verify with current quotes. Attorney quotes are often for a small package (the will plus financial and healthcare powers of attorney), not the will alone.

A simple will in North Dakota is genuinely inexpensive — $250 to $1000 with an attorney, and as little as $0 online. The price is low for a reason: a will is a relatively simple document. The cost climbs only when your situation is complicated — minor children and a guardianship decision, a blended family, a business, or potential estate tax.

What makes a will valid in North Dakota

A standard North Dakota will must be in writing, signed by the testator (or by another at the testator's direction and in the testator's conscious presence), and signed by at least two witnesses who witnessed the signing or the testator's acknowledgment (N.D. Cent. Code §30.1-08-02).

The witnesses should be disinterested — that is, not people who inherit under the will — so no one can later argue they had a reason to lie about the signing. Get that one detail wrong and the gift to an interested witness (or the whole will) can be challenged.

Can you write your own will by hand in North Dakota?

North Dakota recognizes holographic (handwritten) wills: a will is valid without witnesses if the signature and the material portions of the document are in the testator's own handwriting (N.D. Cent. Code §30.1-08-02). They are legal but harder to prove than a witnessed, typed will.

Even where a handwritten will is legal, it’s the riskiest way to do it: no witnesses means no one to confirm it was really you and that you weren’t pressured, and ambiguous handwriting is a gift to anyone who wants to contest it. A typed, witnessed, self-proved will costs very little and avoids all of that.

The self-proving affidavit (a small step that saves a big headache)

North Dakota allows a self-proving will through a notarized affidavit signed by the testator and the witnesses (N.D. Cent. Code §30.1-08-04), so the court can admit the will to probate without contacting the witnesses.

Without it, your witnesses may have to be tracked down years later to confirm they watched you sign — which can be impossible if they’ve moved, lost touch, or died. It’s one of the cheapest, highest-value things you can add to a will.

What a will does not do in North Dakota

A will directs an estate through probate; it does not remove assets from it. A will tells the North Dakota probate court who receives what and who administers the estate. Property governed by the will still passes through probate — the court-supervised, public process.

The cost of the document and the cost of probate are therefore separate figures. For what probate itself costs in North Dakota, see How Much Does Probate Cost in North Dakota?.

What passes outside probate in North Dakota

Assets transfer outside probate only by operation of law or contract, regardless of what a will says. The recognised mechanisms are:

Beneficiary designations — retirement accounts, life insurance, and payable-on-death accounts pass to the named beneficiary.
Joint ownership with right of survivorship — passes to the surviving owner.
Transfer-on-death instruments, where North Dakota authorises them.
Assets titled into a funded living trust.

A will has no effect on any asset transferred by these routes. For the North Dakota figures on the trust alternative, see How Much Does a Living Trust Cost in North Dakota?, and for the documented differences between the two instruments, Will vs. Trust: How They Differ.

What affects the price in North Dakota

Published pricing varies with these factors:

Preparation route. Online will services are the lower end of the range; attorney drafting is the upper end. North Dakota-specific forms and a self-proving affidavit are not included by every service.
Bundling. A will, a financial power of attorney, and a healthcare directive are commonly quoted together at less than the sum of their separate prices. The power of attorney and directive operate during life; a will operates only at death.
Estate complexity. Minor children, blended families, business interests, special-needs beneficiaries, and estate-tax exposure are the factors attorneys cite for higher quoted fees.

What the record shows

Item	North Dakota
Attorney-drafted simple will	$250 – $1,000
Governing statutes	N.D. Cent. Code §30.1-08-02 (execution; witnessed wills; holographic wills); N.D. Cent. Code §30.1-08-04 (self-proved will)
State authority	North Dakota Century Code, Title 30.1 (ndlegis.gov)

A will directs an estate through probate and does not remove assets from it. Execution requirements, the treatment of handwritten wills, and the self-proving affidavit rules for North Dakota are set out above with their statutory citations. Figures reflect published 2026 pricing and should be re-verified against live quotes.

Will costs in other states

Compare North Dakota with what a will costs in other states:

How to Write a Will (and What Makes It Valid) — the full step-by-step.
Do I Need a Will? — what happens under intestacy when there is none.
How Much Does a Will Cost with a Lawyer? — the national cost picture.
How Much Does Probate Cost in North Dakota? — the separate cost of probate itself.
How Much Does a Living Trust Cost in North Dakota? — the instrument that holds assets outside probate.

This page explains will costs and validity rules in North Dakota in general terms as of 2026. It is not legal advice; statutes and figures change and depend on your situation. Confirm current rules with a licensed North Dakota attorney. Cost figures reflect published 2026 attorney and online-service pricing and should be re-verified with live quotes. Sources: North Dakota Century Code, Title 30.1 (ndlegis.gov); N.D. Cent. Code §30.1-08-02 (execution; witnessed wills; holographic wills), N.D. Cent. Code §30.1-08-04 (self-proved will).

Related guides

What Happens If You Die Without a Will by State

Do I Need a Will? What a Will Does and What Intestacy Does

How Much Does a Will Cost with a Lawyer?