Letters Testamentary in North Dakota

Letters are issued by the district court. In informal probate, any time after five days from death, the applicant files an Application for Informal Probate/Appointment of Personal Representative (with the original will, if any) and receives a Statement of Informal Probate and Letters; formal probate is used when the will is disputed or in other cases requiring a court order. Before receiving letters, the personal representative must qualify by filing any required bond and a statement accepting the duties of the office. Bond is generally not required in informal proceedings unless the will requires it or an interested person demands it. The North Dakota courts publish a guidebook with forms, including Letters Testamentary.

Priority for appointment: the person named in the probated will, then a surviving spouse who is a devisee, other devisees, the surviving spouse, other heirs, the decedent's guardian or conservator, a trust company, and (45 days after death) any creditor. A person under 18 or found unsuitable by the court cannot serve. The statute does not bar nonresidents, and a personal representative appointed in the decedent's home state has priority. No bond is required in informal proceedings unless the will requires it, an interested person demands it, or a special administrator is appointed; in formal proceedings the court may require bond unless the will waives it.