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S.D. Codified Laws § 29A-2-202

Elective share

Applied in 8 court decisions — leading case Estate of Gaspar v. Vogt, Brown & Merry (2003)

Most recently applied in Estate of Webb (January 2026)

Source: SL 1995, ch 167, § 2-202.

How often courts cite this section

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citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

(a) The surviving spouse of a decedent who dies domiciled in this State has a right of election, under the limitations and conditions stated in this Part, to take an elective-share amount equal to the value of the elective-share percentage of the augmented estate, determined by the length of time the spouse and the decedent were married to each other, in accordance with the following schedule:

If the decedent and the spouse The elective-share

were married to each other: percentage is:

Less than 1 year Supplemental Amount Only

1 year but less than 2 years 3% of the augmented estate

2 years but less than 3 years 6% of the augmented estate

3 years but less than 4 years 9% of the augmented estate

4 years but less than 5 years 12% of the augmented estate

5 years but less than 6 years 15% of the augmented estate

6 years but less than 7 years 18% of the augmented estate

7 years but less than 8 years 21% of the augmented estate

8 years but less than 9 years 24% of the augmented estate

9 years but less than 10 years 27% of the augmented estate

10 years but less than 11 years 30% of the augmented estate

11 years but less than 12 years 34% of the augmented estate

12 years but less than 13 years 38% of the augmented estate

13 years but less than 14 years 42% of the augmented estate

14 years but less than 15 years 46% of the augmented estate

15 years or more 50% of the augmented estate

(b) If the sum of the amounts described in §§ 29A-2-207, 29A-2-209(a)(1), and that part of the elective-share amount payable from the decedent's probate estate and nonprobate transfers to others under § 29A-2-209(b) and (c) is less than $50,000, the surviving spouse is entitled to take a supplemental elective-share amount equal to $50,000, minus the sum of the amounts described in those sections. The supplemental elective-share amount is payable from the decedent's probate estate and from recipients of the decedent's nonprobate transfers to others in the order of priority set forth in § 29A-2-209(b) and (c).

(c) If the right of election is exercised by or on behalf of the surviving spouse, the surviving spouse's homestead allowance, exempt property, and family allowance, if any, are not charged against but are in addition to the elective-share and supplemental elective-share amounts.

(d) The right, if any, of the surviving spouse of a decedent who dies domiciled outside this state to take an elective share in property in this state is governed by the law of the decedent's domicile at death.

Official source: South Dakota Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain South Dakota statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.