A cheaper fix, built for North Dakota's most common asset
North Dakota's standout feature: the state's transfer-on-death deed statute, N.D.C.C. Chapter 30.1-32.1, explicitly covers both real estate and mineral, oil, and gas interests — assets the Bakken Formation made common across North Dakota families. For a single mineral interest, that deed accomplishes probate avoidance at far lower cost than drafting and funding a full trust. A trust earns its keep once mineral interests span multiple counties, involve several co-owners, or sit alongside a larger, more complex estate.
The probate side of this comparison reuses the same approach as the North Dakota Probate Cost Calculator: the bare reasonable compensation standard under N.D.C.C. § 30.1-18-19 for the personal representative and the attorney — no percentage, and unlike some states, not even a list of factors written into the statute. Reported fees often land in a rough 2–3% market range for each. The trust side is also market data: a basic North Dakota revocable living trust commonly runs $1,000–$3,000 nationally, with North Dakota-specific data sometimes running a bit lower. See the full breakdown in North Dakota Living Trust Setup Cost.