Montana editionIn your inbox within a minute30-day money-back promise
The End of Life Plannerby Valoren

General information · not a substitute for the advice of an attorney.

Free · general informationMontana

Probate in Montana

What Montana’s own law and courts say about probate, from how an estate comes before the court to when creditors must claim. Nothing on this page decides whether a particular estate needs probate. That question belongs to the court, or to an attorney in Montana.

  • Every fact dated, in the official words
  • Each state’s own law

Every quotation checked October 24, 2026

The free first-week checklist

Pages taken from the planner, by email: who to phone first, and a blank records sheet.

We use your email address to send the checklist and those emails, and for nothing else. We do not sell it. We first send one email asking you to confirm your address. Privacy notice

Every quotation on this page is the official body’s own words, as they stood on the day we read them. The date is beside each one.

Which county the probate is opened in

in the county where the decedent had the decedent's domicile at the time of death

Montana · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · MCA 72-3-112(1)(a)

The clerk’s informal appointment, and the wait after the death

Upon receipt of an application for informal appointment of a personal representative other than a special administrator as provided in 72-3-701, if at least 120 hours have elapsed since the decedent's death, the clerk, after making the findings required by 72-3-222 and 72-3-223, shall appoint the applicant subject to qualification and acceptance.

Montana · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · MCA 72-3-225(1)

How long after a death probate can still be opened, subject to exceptions

No informal probate or appointment proceeding or formal testacy or appointment proceeding, other than a proceeding to probate a will previously probated at the testator's domicile and appointment proceedings relating to an estate in which there has been a prior appointment, may be commenced more than 3 years after the decedent's death, except:

Montana · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · MCA 72-3-122(1)

The court’s filing fee for a probate application, which includes filing the will

(m) on the filing of an application for informal, formal, or supervised probate or for the appointment of a personal representative or the filing of a petition for the appointment of a guardian or conservator, from the applicant or petitioner, $70, which includes the fee for filing a will for probate;

Montana · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · MCA 25-1-201(1)(m)

The published notice to creditors, how long they have after it, and the notice sent to a creditor directly

a personal representative upon appointment shall publish a notice once a week for 3 successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county announcing the personal representative's appointment and address and notifying creditors of the estate to present their claims within 4 months after the date of the first publication of the notice or be forever barred.

within 4 months from the published notice if given as provided in subsection (1) or within 30 days from the mailing or other delivery of the notice, whichever is later

Montana · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · MCA 72-3-801(1)–(2)

Telling the heirs and devisees of the appointment, and how soon

Not later than 30 days after appointment, every personal representative, except any special administrator, shall give information of the appointment to the heirs and devisees

Montana · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · MCA 72-3-603(1)

The inventory of the estate, and when it is due

Within 9 months after appointment, a personal representative who is not a special administrator or a successor to another representative who has previously discharged this duty shall prepare an inventory of probate property owned by the decedent at the time of the decedent's death

Montana · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · MCA 72-3-607(1)

What the person holding the will must do when asked, and the liability for not doing it

After the death of a testator and on request of an interested person, a person having custody of a will of the testator shall deliver it with reasonable promptness to a person able to secure its probate and, if none is known, to an appropriate court. A person who willfully fails to deliver a will is liable to any person aggrieved for any damages that may be sustained by the failure.

Montana · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · MCA 72-2-536

A will deposited with a court for safekeeping, and what the court does at the death

A will may be deposited by the testator or the testator's agent with any court for safekeeping, under rules of the court. The will must be sealed and kept confidential.

Upon being informed of the testator's death, the court shall notify any person designated to receive the will and deliver it to that person on request or the court may deliver the will to the appropriate court.

Montana · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · MCA 72-2-535

The same page for other states

Friends sharing breakfast at a sunny patio table among citrus trees
A family on a boat dock in Florida: a grandfather fishing, a girl pointing at a heron
Three generations peeling potatoes at a kitchen table while snow falls outside
FAQ

Common questions

(1) The district court has exclusive jurisdiction of all probate matters.

Montana · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · MCA 72-3-111(1)

in the county where the decedent had the decedent's domicile at the time of death

Montana · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · MCA 72-3-112(1)(a)

No informal probate or appointment proceeding or formal testacy or appointment proceeding, other than a proceeding to probate a will previously probated at the testator's domicile and appointment proceedings relating to an estate in which there has been a prior appointment, may be commenced more than 3 years after the decedent's death, except:

Montana · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · MCA 72-3-122(1)

(m) on the filing of an application for informal, formal, or supervised probate or for the appointment of a personal representative or the filing of a petition for the appointment of a guardian or conservator, from the applicant or petitioner, $70, which includes the fee for filing a will for probate;

Montana · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · MCA 25-1-201(1)(m)

Upon receipt of an application for informal appointment of a personal representative other than a special administrator as provided in 72-3-701, if at least 120 hours have elapsed since the decedent's death, the clerk, after making the findings required by 72-3-222 and 72-3-223, shall appoint the applicant subject to qualification and acceptance.

Montana · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · MCA 72-3-225(1)

a personal representative upon appointment shall publish a notice once a week for 3 successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county announcing the personal representative's appointment and address and notifying creditors of the estate to present their claims within 4 months after the date of the first publication of the notice or be forever barred.

within 4 months from the published notice if given as provided in subsection (1) or within 30 days from the mailing or other delivery of the notice, whichever is later

Montana · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · MCA 72-3-801(1)–(2)

After the death of a testator and on request of an interested person, a person having custody of a will of the testator shall deliver it with reasonable promptness to a person able to secure its probate and, if none is known, to an appropriate court. A person who willfully fails to deliver a will is liable to any person aggrieved for any damages that may be sustained by the failure.

Montana · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · MCA 72-2-536

A will may be deposited by the testator or the testator's agent with any court for safekeeping, under rules of the court. The will must be sealed and kept confidential.

Upon being informed of the testator's death, the court shall notify any person designated to receive the will and deliver it to that person on request or the court may deliver the will to the appropriate court.

Montana · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · MCA 72-2-535

For anyone who would rather their family found it all in one place than went looking.

A couple. A parent. An adult child and a parent, doing it together. One sitting starts it; keep it current, and tell someone where it is.

A man on the telephone with the planner's pages open on the table