Montana Probate Accounting

Montana asks a personal representative for two written reports. The first is the inventory, due within 9 months after appointment under MCA 72-3-607, which lists the probate property at its fair market value on the date of death. The second is a sworn final accounting under MCA 72-3-1005, which Montana requires before an estate may be finally closed, unless you are the sole residual beneficiary.

That second rule is where Montana parts ways with the model probate code most states copy. A guide written for another state will often tell you the account is optional, or that the heirs can waive it together. Montana's section carries one exception, and it is narrow. Read this page with the personal representative's duties and when the estate can close. Every citation here comes from the Montana Code Annotated 2025, and this page explains how the statutes work rather than advising on one estate, so check your own dates with the clerk of district court holding the file or a licensed Montana attorney.

The Inventory Is Due 9 Months After Appointment

MCA 72-3-607(1) gives you 9 months from appointment to prepare the inventory. The duty falls on every personal representative except a special administrator and a successor who takes over after a predecessor already did it. The clock starts when the clerk or the court appoints you, not on the date of death.

The inventory covers probate property owned by the decedent at the time of death. Property that passes on its own outside probate, such as land under a recorded transfer on death deed, a jointly titled account with survivorship, or a policy with a named beneficiary, stays off it. For each item you list, 72-3-607(1) asks for three things:

1. A description in reasonable detail.
2. The fair market value as of the date of death.
3. The type and amount of any encumbrance, such as a mortgage or a lien.

Subsection (2) adds that the inventory must state the fair market value of the decedent's interest in every item. That wording matters for anything the decedent owned in part. A half interest in a pickup or a one-third share in a ranch parcel goes on the inventory at the value of that share, not the whole.

A 9-month window is long by the standard of other states. It is still worth starting early, because the creditor window and the closing statement both run on shorter clocks, and you cannot pay claims sensibly without knowing what the estate holds.

Filing With the Court Is One of Two Routes

MCA 72-3-607(3) gives you a choice about where the inventory goes:

• Send route. Send a copy to the heirs, devisees and creditors with allowed claims that have not been paid, if they ask for one. Nothing goes to the court.
• File route. File the original with the court and send a copy to any interested person who asks.

The send route keeps the inventory out of the court file. The choice has a knock-on effect later, because the supplemental inventory rule in 72-3-609 follows whichever route you used first.

Under 72-3-607(4), an heir, devisee, creditor or other interested person can waive the right to receive a copy by signing a written waiver and delivering it to you. For the send route, the law then treats you as having sent that person a copy. Keep every signed waiver in the estate file.

Appraisers and Where Their Names Go

You set the values yourself for most items. Bank and brokerage balances come from the date-of-death statements, and a vehicle can often be valued from a published guide. For an asset whose value may be subject to reasonable doubt, 72-3-607(2) lets you employ a qualified and disinterested appraiser. You can use different appraisers for different kinds of property, such as a real estate appraiser for the house and a firearms or livestock specialist for other items.

The same subsection requires the names and addresses of any appraiser to appear on the inventory next to the item or items that person appraised. An inventory that lists a ranch at an appraised figure but leaves off who appraised it does not meet the statute.

Subsection (7) gives you authority to gather the information you need to complete the inventory. Banks, insurers and other parties who give you that information are discharged from liability for doing so, which is worth pointing out to a records office that hesitates.

The Spouse's Demand: 90 Days for a Full Property List

Montana adds a list the inventory does not cover. Under MCA 72-3-607(6), a surviving spouse who has a right to an elective share under 72-2-232, and whose right has not expired under 72-2-241, can demand a list of all property the decedent owned at death. Once the demand arrives, you have 90 days to prepare the list and mail a copy to the spouse, unless the court orders otherwise after notice and hearing.

This list reaches further than the inventory. It covers both probate and nonprobate property, the fair market value and nature of the decedent's interest in each item on the date of death, and the name of each nonprobate transferee, in each case to the extent known or reasonably discoverable. A spouse uses it to decide whether to claim the elective share, and 72-2-241(1) gives the spouse until the later of 9 months after death or 6 months after the will is probated to file that petition.

Subsection (5) lets you prepare the same kind of full list voluntarily, with no demand at all. Doing it early can head off a dispute when a large part of the estate passes outside probate. See the rights of a surviving spouse for how the elective share works.

When Something Turns Up Later

Estates rarely hold still for 9 months. A forgotten account surfaces, a refund check arrives, or the appraiser's figure for a parcel turns out to rest on the wrong acreage. MCA 72-3-609 requires a supplemental inventory or appraisal in two cases: property that was not on the original inventory comes to your attention, or you learn that a value or description on it is erroneous or misleading.

The supplement shows the market value as of the date of death for the new item, or the revised value or description, along with any appraisers or other data you relied on. Where it goes depends on your first choice. If you filed the original inventory with the court, file the supplement too. If you did not, furnish copies to the persons interested in the new information.

The Standard Montana Holds You To

The inventory and the account are how a personal representative shows the work. MCA 72-3-610 makes you a fiduciary who must observe the standards of care that apply to trustees under Montana law, and directs you to settle and distribute the estate as quickly as the best interests of the estate allow. The accounting is the document the heirs and devisees read to test whether you met that standard.

Your appointment notice already told them they could ask. MCA 72-3-603(2)(b) requires the notice you send within 30 days of appointment to say that the estate is administered without court supervision, but that recipients are entitled to information about the administration from you and may petition the court on any matter relating to the estate, including distribution of assets and expenses of administration.

What the Final Accounting Has to Show

MCA 72-3-1005(1) sets the contents. The accounting is made under oath and shows:

• The amount of money you received as personal representative.
• The amount of money you spent.
• The amount of all claims presented against the estate.
• The names of the claimants.
• All other matters necessary to show the state of the estate's affairs.

The statute sets no form and no fixed layout. A clear accounting usually runs in the same order an auditor would expect:

1. Starting point. The inventory value of the probate property, plus any supplemental inventory.
2. Receipts. Money that came in after death, such as interest, dividends, rent, refunds and the proceeds of any sale.
3. Disbursements. Funeral costs, claims paid, taxes, court and publication fees, appraisal costs, attorney fees and your own compensation.
4. Claims. Every claim presented, its amount, the claimant's name and whether it was allowed, disallowed, paid or compromised. See claims the accounting must list for how claims are presented and allowed.
5. Gains and losses. The difference between inventory value and sale price for anything you sold.
6. What remains. Property on hand and how you propose to distribute it.

The figures should reconcile. Starting value plus receipts and gains, less disbursements and losses, should equal what is left to distribute. A statement from the estate checking account is the easiest way to prove every line.

File It or Deliver It, but Give It to Everyone

Under 72-3-1005(1) you choose between filing the accounting with the court and delivering it to all interested persons. The word all matters. The inventory goes only to those who ask for it, but the final accounting on the delivery route goes to every interested person, requested or not.

MCA 72-3-1005 has one exception, in subsection (3): if you are the sole residual beneficiary of the estate, an accounting need not be made. That covers the common case of a surviving spouse or only child who inherits everything left after specific gifts and debts. The section contains no provision for heirs to waive the accounting as a group, so an estate with two or more residual beneficiaries should plan on preparing one.

Heirs Can Demand More Accountings Along the Way

The final accounting is not the only one a beneficiary can get. MCA 72-3-1005(2) says any interested person may, at any time during the administration, require further accountings for good cause shown. An estate that has dragged on, a sale that looks cheap, or unexplained withdrawals from the estate account are the kinds of facts an heir raises to show good cause.

Keeping a running ledger from the first week makes an interim demand easy to answer. Rebuilding a year of transactions from bank statements under a court deadline is harder and costlier.

Closing by Sworn Statement, No Earlier Than 6 Months

Most Montana estates close without a hearing. MCA 72-3-1004(1) lets a personal representative close by filing a verified statement with the court no earlier than 6 months after the date of original appointment of a general personal representative. The route is closed to estates in supervised administration and to any estate where a court order prohibits it.

The verified statement must say that you, or a prior personal representative, have done three things:

1. Determined that the time limit for presenting creditors' claims has expired.
2. Fully administered the estate by paying, settling or otherwise disposing of all claims presented, expenses of administration and estate and other death taxes, except as specified, and distributed the assets to the persons entitled. If any claims remain undischarged, the statement says whether you distributed subject to possible liability with the distributees' agreement, or spells out the other arrangements made for the outstanding debts.
3. Sent a copy of the statement to all distributees and to every creditor or claimant you know of whose claim is neither paid nor barred, and furnished a full account in writing of the administration to the distributees whose interests are affected.

The third item repeats the accounting duty in the closing paperwork itself. You cannot honestly sign the statement until the written account is in the distributees' hands. The creditor period also has to be over, and in Montana that is the later of 4 months after first publication or 30 days after mailed notice under 72-3-801, subject to the 1-year outer limit after death in 72-3-803(1).

If no proceedings involving you are pending in the court 1 year after the closing statement is filed, 72-3-1004(2) says your appointment terminates. For a side-by-side comparison of this route and a court order, see closing an estate in Montana.

Closing by Court Order Instead

A personal representative who wants a judge to approve the account, or who expects an objection, can use a formal proceeding. MCA 72-3-1001(1) lets you petition for an order of complete settlement at any time, and lets any other interested person petition after 1 year from the appointment of the original personal representative. No petition can be heard until the time for presenting claims that arose before death has expired.

Under 72-3-1001(2), the petition can ask the court to consider the final account or to compel or approve an accounting and distribution. After notice to all interested persons and a hearing, the court may enter an order approving settlement, directing or approving distribution, and discharging you from further claim or demand of any interested person under 72-3-1001(3). That discharge is broader protection than the sworn-statement route gives.

The Accounting Shows Your Fees, and a Court Can Review Them

Your own pay is one of the lines heirs read most closely. MCA 72-3-631(1) entitles a personal representative to reasonable compensation for services, and Montana sets no percentage schedule. On a motion by an interested person, by you, or by someone you employed, 72-3-634 has the court review the propriety of hiring any attorney, auditor, investment adviser or other agent, the reasonableness of what they were paid, and the reasonableness of what you set for yourself. In a dispute the court sets the fee, and anyone who received excessive compensation may be ordered to refund it.

The Two-Year Show-Cause Rule

Montana watches how long an estate stays open. Under MCA 72-3-1015(1), if an estate has not been closed within 2 years from the date the personal representative was appointed, the supreme court administrator notifies the district judge, and the judge orders you and your attorney to appear and show cause why it has not closed.

If the judge finds no good cause, 72-3-1015(2) lets the judge order the estate closed within 30 days and order that neither you nor your attorney receive a fee or other compensation from the estate. The judge decides whether to make that order. An up-to-date ledger and a draft accounting are the best evidence that a delay has a real reason behind it.

Six Months After Closing, Most Claims Against You End

MCA 72-3-1011 bars claims by successors, and by creditors whose claims were not otherwise barred, against the personal representative for breach of fiduciary duty unless a proceeding starts within 6 months after the closing statement is filed. Claims already decided by a court, and matters the closing statement provides for, fall outside that rule.

The bar does not cover fraud, misrepresentation or inadequate disclosure related to the settlement of the estate. That is the practical case for a complete accounting. A thin one leaves the inadequate-disclosure door open with no deadline attached, and a full one lets the 6 months run.

If property turns up after the estate is settled and you are discharged, or more than 1 year after a closing statement was filed, MCA 72-3-1016 lets the court, on petition of an interested person, appoint the same or a successor personal representative to administer it. No claim barred earlier can be raised in that later administration.

Records That Hold Up

The accounting is only as good as the file behind it. Keep these from the first day:

• A separate estate checking account, so every receipt and payment appears on one statement.
• Date-of-death statements for every account and a copy of each appraisal.
• Receipts or invoices for every payment, including the funeral and publication costs.
• Each creditor claim, your written allowance or disallowance, and proof of payment.
• Signed inventory waivers under 72-3-607(4), and proof of mailing for the inventory, any spouse's list and the closing statement.
• A time log of your own work, if you plan to take compensation.

When to Call a Montana Attorney

Many Montana estates are closed by a personal representative working from the clerk's files and the State Law Library forms on the Montana forms page. An attorney earns the fee when an heir has already objected, when a spouse has served an elective-share demand, when the estate holds a business or land in several counties, or when the estate cannot pay every claim in full. Your local clerk of district court can tell you what the court file needs, but cannot tell you how to handle a particular dispute.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the inventory due in a Montana probate?

Within 9 months after appointment, under MCA 72-3-607(1). The personal representative lists the probate property the decedent owned at death in reasonable detail, with each item's fair market value as of the date of death and the type and amount of any encumbrance on it. A special administrator does not owe the inventory, and neither does a successor whose predecessor already prepared one.

Does a Montana personal representative have to file the inventory with the court?

No. MCA 72-3-607(3) gives two routes. You either send a copy to the heirs, devisees and creditors with allowed but unpaid claims who ask for one, or you file the original with the court and send copies to interested persons who ask. Under 72-3-607(4), anyone entitled to a copy can waive it in a written waiver delivered to you.

Is a final accounting required to close a Montana estate?

Yes, in most estates. MCA 72-3-1005(1) says that before an estate may be finally closed and the personal representative relieved of duties, the personal representative shall either file with the court or deliver to all interested persons an accounting under oath. It shows the money received and spent, the claims presented and the claimants' names. Under 72-3-1005(3), no accounting is needed when the personal representative is the sole residual beneficiary.

Can a Montana beneficiary ask for an accounting before the estate closes?

Yes. MCA 72-3-1005(2) lets any interested person, at any time during the administration, require further accountings for good cause shown. Separately, MCA 72-3-1001(1) lets an interested person petition for an order of complete settlement one year after the original appointment, and the court can compel or approve an accounting as part of that proceeding.

How soon can a Montana estate be closed by sworn statement?

No earlier than 6 months after the date of original appointment of a general personal representative, under MCA 72-3-1004(1). The statement also has to say that the time for presenting creditor claims has expired, and that you sent a copy to the distributees and to unpaid claimants you know of and gave a full written account to the distributees whose interests it affects. Supervised estates cannot use this route.

What if the spouse asks for a list of all the property?

A surviving spouse whose right to take an elective share has not expired can demand one. MCA 72-3-607(6) then gives you 90 days from the demand, unless the court orders otherwise after notice and hearing, to prepare and mail a list of all property the decedent owned at death, probate and nonprobate, with fair market values and the name of each nonprobate transferee, to the extent known or reasonably discoverable.

How long can a beneficiary sue a Montana personal representative after closing?

Six months after the closing statement is filed, under MCA 72-3-1011, unless the claim was already decided or the closing statement provides otherwise. That bar does not reach claims for fraud, misrepresentation or inadequate disclosure related to settling the estate. So a thin account buys no protection, and a full one is what closes the window.

Related Guides

• Montana Executor Duties
• Montana Probate Timeline
• Montana Creditor Claims
• Montana Probate Guide
• Montana Surviving Spouse Rights
• Montana Probate Courts by County

Sources:

• Title: MCA 72-3-603, Notice of appointment to heirs and devisees. Publisher: Montana State Legislature, Montana Code Annotated 2025. Publication Date: Accessed 2026-09-27. URL: https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0720/chapter_0030/part_0060/section_0030/0720-0030-0060-0030.html
• Title: MCA 72-3-607, Inventory -- appraisal. Publisher: Montana State Legislature, Montana Code Annotated 2025. Publication Date: Accessed 2026-09-27. URL: https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0720/chapter_0030/part_0060/section_0070/0720-0030-0060-0070.html
• Title: MCA 72-3-609, Supplemental inventory. Publisher: Montana State Legislature, Montana Code Annotated 2025. Publication Date: Accessed 2026-09-27. URL: https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0720/chapter_0030/part_0060/section_0090/0720-0030-0060-0090.html
• Title: MCA 72-3-610, General duties -- fiduciary. Publisher: Montana State Legislature, Montana Code Annotated 2025. Publication Date: Accessed 2026-09-27. URL: https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0720/chapter_0030/part_0060/section_0100/0720-0030-0060-0100.html
• Title: MCA 72-3-631, Compensation of personal representative. Publisher: Montana State Legislature, Montana Code Annotated 2025. Publication Date: Accessed 2026-09-27. URL: https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0720/chapter_0030/part_0060/section_0310/0720-0030-0060-0310.html
• Title: MCA 72-3-634, Proceedings for review of employment of agents and compensation of personal representatives and employees. Publisher: Montana State Legislature, Montana Code Annotated 2025. Publication Date: Accessed 2026-09-27. URL: https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0720/chapter_0030/part_0060/section_0340/0720-0030-0060-0340.html
• Title: MCA 72-3-801, Notice to creditors. Publisher: Montana State Legislature, Montana Code Annotated 2025. Publication Date: Accessed 2026-09-27. URL: https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0720/chapter_0030/part_0080/section_0010/0720-0030-0080-0010.html
• Title: MCA 72-3-803, Nonclaim -- limitations on presentation of claims -- exceptions. Publisher: Montana State Legislature, Montana Code Annotated 2025. Publication Date: Accessed 2026-09-27. URL: https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0720/chapter_0030/part_0080/section_0030/0720-0030-0080-0030.html
• Title: MCA 72-3-1001, Formal proceedings terminating administration -- testate or intestate -- order of complete settlement. Publisher: Montana State Legislature, Montana Code Annotated 2025. Publication Date: Accessed 2026-09-27. URL: https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0720/chapter_0030/part_0100/section_0010/0720-0030-0100-0010.html
• Title: MCA 72-3-1004, Closing estate by sworn statement of personal representative. Publisher: Montana State Legislature, Montana Code Annotated 2025. Publication Date: Accessed 2026-09-27. URL: https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0720/chapter_0030/part_0100/section_0040/0720-0030-0100-0040.html
• Title: MCA 72-3-1005, Final accounting required to close estate. Publisher: Montana State Legislature, Montana Code Annotated 2025. Publication Date: Accessed 2026-09-27. URL: https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0720/chapter_0030/part_0100/section_0050/0720-0030-0100-0050.html
• Title: MCA 72-3-1011, Limitation on actions against personal representative. Publisher: Montana State Legislature, Montana Code Annotated 2025. Publication Date: Accessed 2026-09-27. URL: https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0720/chapter_0030/part_0100/section_0110/0720-0030-0100-0110.html
• Title: MCA 72-3-1015, Estate to be closed within two years. Publisher: Montana State Legislature, Montana Code Annotated 2025. Publication Date: Accessed 2026-09-27. URL: https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0720/chapter_0030/part_0100/section_0150/0720-0030-0100-0150.html
• Title: MCA 72-3-1016, Subsequent administration upon discovery of other property. Publisher: Montana State Legislature, Montana Code Annotated 2025. Publication Date: Accessed 2026-09-27. URL: https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0720/chapter_0030/part_0100/section_0160/0720-0030-0100-0160.html
• Title: MCA 72-2-241, Proceeding for elective share -- time limit. Publisher: Montana State Legislature, Montana Code Annotated 2025. Publication Date: Accessed 2026-09-27. URL: https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0720/chapter_0020/part_0020/section_0410/0720-0020-0020-0410.html

It is not legal advice.