Terry N. Prendergast

Terry N. Prendergast

Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith, LLP
  • Estate Planning, Real Estate Law, Business Law
  • South Dakota
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Biography

Terry Prendergast is a South Dakota trusts and estates and trust company attorney at Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith, LLP. Terry joined the firm in 2017 with a prestigious career of nearly 40 years practicing law in Sioux Falls. Interacting with counsel and clients across the country and the world, Terry extols the virtues of South Dakota’s top-in-the-nation trust laws, flexible procedures and low tax environment, stating, “To open up people’s eyes to one of the best kept secrets in business—that South Dakota has a flexible, advantageous and responsive environment for business, estate and wealth planning, gives me great satisfaction.”

Terry’s professional background:
*Provided legal counsel to hundreds of trust clients with trusts containing assets ranging from a few thousand dollars to over $5 billion.
*Worked with trust company clients with over $180 billion of assets under management in South Dakota.
*Worked on transactions ranging from $5,000 to $300 million dollars.
*Served as special counsel for multiple institutes of higher education in South Dakota, and as hearing examiner for the South Dakota Board of Regents.
*Served as special counsel for the formation of three public captive insurance companies for the State of South Dakota, its agencies, and various authorities for the State of South Dakota.
*Served on Governor’s Task Force on Trust Administration Review and Reform, 2010-2018.
*Past Bar Commissioner, Past Chair, Law School Committee and Continuing Legal Education Committee, State Bar of South Dakota.
*Past Member, USD Law School Foundation.

Terry has received an AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rating by Martindale-Hubbell®, has been selected to Best Lawyers® in the areas of Trusts and Estates and has also been ranked by Chambers High Net Worth Guide and Chambers and Partners in the area of Corporate/Commercial law and Private Wealth law.

Practice Areas
Estate Planning
Guardianship & Conservatorship Estate Administration, Health Care Directives, Trusts, Wills
Real Estate Law
Commercial Real Estate, Condominiums, Easements, Eminent Domain, Homeowners Association, Land Use & Zoning, Mortgages, Neighbor Disputes, Residential Real Estate, Water Law
Business Law
Business Contracts, Business Dissolution, Business Finance, Business Formation, Business Litigation, Franchising, Mergers & Acquisitions, Partnership & Shareholder Disputes
Additional Practice Areas
  • Trust Companies
  • Insurance Regulatory Law
Jurisdictions Admitted to Practice
South Dakota
State Bar of South Dakota
ID Number: 1397
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8th Circuit
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U.S. Supreme Court
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Professional Experience
Of Counsel
Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith, LLP
- Current
Redstone Law Firm LLP (formerly Murphy, Goldammer & Prendergast)
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Boyce, Murphy, McDowell & Greenfield
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Law Clerk to Honorable Fred J. Nichol, Chief Judge
U.S. District Court of South Dakota
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Education
University of South Dakota School of Law
J.D. (1978)
Honors: with highest honors
University of South Dakota School of Law Logo
University of South Dakota
MBA (1978)
University of South Dakota Logo
Augustana College
B.A. (1975)
Honors: with honors
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Professional Associations
State Bar of South Dakota  # 1397
Member
Current
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Governor's Task Force on Trust Administration Review and Reform
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Publications
Websites & Blogs
Website
Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith, LLP
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Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith, LLP
Contact & Map
Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith, LLP
206 W. 14th Street
P.O. Box 1030
Sioux Falls, SD 57101
Telephone: (605) 336-2880