T&E Solo Pack · South Dakota · Week Of June 1, 2026

South Dakota.

Your state's pack. New issue every Monday. Bookmark it. I built this for the South Dakota T&E solo who knows the UPC cold but still loses an afternoon a week tracking the moving DSS Medicaid pieces.

For licensed attorneys. This pack is general legal information and professional commentary for practicing attorneys — it is not legal advice, does not apply to any specific matter, and creates no attorney-client relationship. Verify every authority against the cited primary source before relying on it with a client. Published by Mike Moss, a Utah-admitted attorney, as an AI-enablement information product; it is not an offer of legal services and is not a representation that the author is admitted to practice in your jurisdiction.

SD
South Dakota · Mount Rushmore State
UPC — Yes (Title 29A)
Common-law property — Yes
LTC — South Dakota Medicaid (DSS)
Estate Recovery — Expanded
T&E Solo Pack Built for South Dakota attorneys
The Big Three · Week Of June 1, 2026

Here's what I'd want you to see from last week.

Three developments I think actually matter to a South Dakota T&E solo. Each has a read that lands on your practice specifically — and each comes with a reachable citation so you can verify it yourself before you use it with a client.

01

South Dakota uses expanded estate recovery — not probate-only.

Under SDCL § 28-6-23, medical assistance for a recipient 55+ (or any nursing-facility inpatient) is a debt to DSS; South Dakota is an expanded-recovery state that can reach interests passing outside probate, deferred where a spouse or a child under 21 or blind/disabled survives.

This is the structural fact a SD Medicaid plan is built around. Because recovery is expanded, a recorded TOD deed or other non-probate transfer is not automatically safe — irrevocable-trust and lookback planning carry the weight.

SDCL § 28-6-23 · sdlegislature.gov · dss.sd.gov

02

South Dakota does have a real-property transfer-on-death deed.

South Dakota enacted the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act (SDCL ch. 29A-6, § 29A-6-401 et seq.), effective July 1, 2014; owners may name a beneficiary by recorded, revocable, nontestamentary deed.

The TOD deed is a real probate-avoidance tool here — but pair it with the expanded-recovery analysis above, because avoiding probate does not by itself defeat DSS recovery.

SDCL § 29A-6-401 · sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/29A-6

03

The 2026 federal figures are set.

Maximum CSRA is $162,660 (minimum $32,532); the 300%-FBR institutional income cap is $2,982/mo; South Dakota applies the lower $752,000 home-equity limit.

Two places this lands: community-spouse protection math and clients near the equity line. Flag the OBBBA flat $1,000,000 equity cap (eff. Jan 1, 2028) now.

42 U.S.C. § 1396p · CMS 2026 Standards (medicaid.gov)

Week Of June 1, 2026

This week.

This week in South Dakota for the T&E solo with Medicaid-planning clients: what the State Bar of South Dakota, the circuit courts, and DSS put in front of you.

The State Bar CLE calendar, the Real Property/Probate & Trust committee, and the DSS notices all publish on different schedules. This is that sift, already done, with the link on each item.