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Montana Probate Types: Informal, Formal and Small Estate

Montana sorts its routes by whether anyone disputes the estate, not by size. Only one route has a dollar figure, and even that one cannot move a house.

Compare eligibility, timing, court involvement, and local verification points

How to Compare Montana Probate Types

One court hears every Montana estate. For the probate code, "court" means the district court having jurisdiction over decedents' affairs (Mont. Code Ann. § 72-1-103), and there is no separate probate court. Montana has no registrar: informal proceedings are conducted by the Clerk of District Court, who makes the findings on an application and makes the informal appointment (§§ 72-3-212 and 72-3-225). Venue is the county where the decedent was domiciled at death, or, for a decedent domiciled elsewhere, any county where the decedent's property was located (§ 72-3-112).

The five routes fall into three groups. Three are court administrations: informal probate and appointment by the clerk with no hearing, formal testacy and appointment proceedings heard after notice, and supervised administration under the court's continuing authority. One is a shortcut that still uses the court: summary administration under §§ 72-3-1103 and 72-3-1104, which needs an appointed personal representative and an inventory. The last, the § 72-3-1101 small estate affidavit, never reaches a court at all. Montana has no separate route for a surviving spouse who inherits everything.

Cost does not scale with the estate. Opening an informal, formal or supervised probate costs $100 in every county, the total on the Montana Clerks of District Courts civil fee schedule, built from $70 under Mont. Code Ann. § 25-1-201(1)(m), $20 under § 25-1-202(1)(a) and the $10 court technology surcharge in § 3-1-317(1)(b). Montana has no probate tax, no estate tax for deaths after 2004 and no inheritance tax.

Simplified Path vs Formal Path at a Glance

Who decides

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Simplified Path: The Clerk of District Court, on a verified application with no hearing

Formal Path: The district judge, on a petition, after notice and a hearing

Cost to open

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Simplified Path: $100 in every county

Formal Path: $100 in every county

Earliest start

Simplified Path

Simplified Path: 120 hours after the death to appoint (§ 72-3-225(1))

Formal Path: After notice and a hearing date, which takes longer

Notice before acting

Formal Path

Simplified Path: Only to people who demanded notice and, for appointment, people with an equal or prior right

Formal Path: To heirs, devisees, executors and any personal representative, with publication to unknown persons

Creditor window

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Simplified Path: Mandatory publication, then 4 months from first publication

Formal Path: The same 4 months; § 72-3-801 does not vary with the route

Earliest closing

Tie

Simplified Path: Six months after appointment by sworn statement (§ 72-3-1004)

Formal Path: The same floor unless the estate is supervised, which closes only by court order

Best fit

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Simplified Path: An agreed family, a will nobody challenges, and one obvious person to appoint

Formal Path: A contested will, competing applicants, uncertain heirs, or a family that wants a court order

Main Montana Probate Options

Informal Probate and Informal Appointment

Mont. Code Ann. §§ 72-3-211, 72-3-221 and 72-3-225

An uncontested estate that needs letters, with an agreed personal representative and a will nobody is challenging

Threshold: No dollar threshold. The ordinary route for an uncontested Montana estate.

Filing Fee: $100, the same in all 56 counties

Timeline: Commonly 7 to 12 months as a planning estimate. The floor is statutory: the closing statement cannot be filed earlier than 6 months after appointment (§ 72-3-1004), and the 4-month creditor window after first publication must have run

Real Estate: Yes

Attorney: No statutory requirement

Formal Testacy and Formal Appointment Proceedings

Mont. Code Ann. §§ 72-3-301 and 72-3-305

A contested will, competing applicants for appointment, or uncertain heirs

Threshold: No dollar threshold. Used where the will is disputed, heirs are uncertain, or someone wants a court order.

Filing Fee: $100, the same fee as informal probate

Timeline: 9 to 18 months as a planning estimate for a contested matter

Real Estate: Yes

Attorney: No statutory requirement, and rare without one because the proceeding is litigation

Supervised Administration

Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-401

An estate where beneficiaries want the court overseeing each step until discharge

Threshold: No dollar threshold.

Filing Fee: $100 to open

Timeline: Longer than informal administration, because the court approves distribution

Real Estate: Yes

Attorney: No statutory requirement, though counsel is common because the court approves each step

Summary Administration Procedure

Mont. Code Ann. §§ 72-3-1103 and 72-3-1104

An estate that the family allowances, funeral and last-illness bills would use up

Threshold: No dollar figure. Available where the inventory and appraisal show the estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed the $22,500 homestead allowance, up to $15,000 of exempt property, the family allowance, costs and expenses of administration, reasonable funeral expenses, and last-illness medical and hospital expenses.

Filing Fee: $100 to open the estate; the procedure itself adds no separate court fee

Timeline: 2 to 6 months as a planning estimate; it removes the creditor wait but still needs an appointment and an inventory

Real Estate: Yes

Attorney: No statutory requirement. The allowances must be claimed, so advice helps with the comparison

Small Estate Affidavit

Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-1101

An estate of accounts, wages, vehicles and belongings, net of liens, of $100,000 or less, with no land to pass

Threshold: $100,000 or less for deaths on or after October 1, 2023 ($50,000 before), measured as the value of the probate estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances. Real property counts toward it at its value net of the mortgage.

Filing Fee: $0. It is never filed. Budget for a notary and certified death certificates at $16 each

Timeline: Usable 30 days after the death; commonly 1 to 2 months to collect

Real Estate: No

Attorney: No

* Montana court fees are set statewide, so all 56 counties charge the same amounts. The $100 to open an informal, formal, supervised or ancillary probate is the total printed on the Montana Clerks of District Courts civil fee schedule (updated May 2024). It is built from three statutes: $70 under Mont. Code Ann. § 25-1-201(1)(m), which includes filing the will, $20 under § 25-1-202(1)(a), and the $10 court information technology surcharge that § 3-1-317(1)(b) charges in probate cases. Quoting $70 alone understates the bill. A domiciliary foreign personal representative filing papers under § 72-4-303 pays $85, and each person who appears to respond pays $70.

Unfamiliar terms in the comparison? The Montana probate glossary defines them in plain language.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What are the main Montana probate types?
Informal probate and appointment by the Clerk of District Court (Mont. Code Ann. §§ 72-3-211 to 72-3-225), formal testacy and appointment proceedings heard after notice (§ 72-3-301), and supervised administration (§ 72-3-401). Beside them sits one shortcut that still uses the court, summary administration under §§ 72-3-1103 and 72-3-1104, and one that never does: the § 72-3-1101 small estate affidavit for a probate estate of $100,000 or less, net of liens.
Which court handles probate in Montana?
The district court of the county. Mont. Code Ann. § 72-1-103 defines the court for probate purposes as the district court having jurisdiction over decedents' affairs, and Montana has no separate probate court. Informal matters are handled by the Clerk of District Court rather than a registrar, and formal and supervised matters go to the district judge. Filings go to the clerk in the county where the decedent was domiciled.
What is the difference between informal and formal probate in Montana?
Who decides and whether anyone gets notice first. Informal probate goes to the Clerk of District Court with no hearing, and the only notice of the application goes to people who demanded notice and, for appointment, people with an equal or prior right to be appointed. Formal proceedings are litigation, decided by the judge after notice and a hearing. Both cost $100 to open, so the choice turns on whether the will or the heirs are in dispute, not on price.
How soon can a Montana probate start?
The clerk can appoint a personal representative in informal proceedings once 120 hours have passed since the death (§ 72-3-225(1)). For a nonresident decedent, appointment waits 30 days unless the applicant is the domiciliary personal representative or the will directs that Montana law applies. The small estate affidavit waits 30 days.
Is publishing a notice to creditors required in Montana?
Yes. Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-801(1) says the personal representative shall publish a notice once a week for 3 successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county. Creditors then have 4 months from first publication; a creditor sent written notice has the later of that date or 30 days from the mailing. Under § 72-3-803, pre-death claims are barred in any event 1 year after the death. Summary administration is the one route that skips creditor notice.
How soon can a Montana estate close?
Six months after appointment at the earliest, by a verified closing statement under Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-1004. If an estate is still open 2 years after appointment, § 72-3-1015 lets the judge order the personal representative and the attorney to show cause, and without good cause order the estate closed within 30 days and bar both from any fee.
Does a Montana personal representative have to file an inventory?
Prepare one, yes; file it, only as an option. Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-607 requires an inventory within 9 months after appointment, at date-of-death fair market value with any encumbrances, sent to heirs, devisees and unpaid creditors who ask, or filed with the court. Summary administration cannot be used until the inventory and appraisal exist.
Does a Montana personal representative need a bond?
Usually not in informal proceedings. Bond is required only for a special administrator, where the will expressly requires it, or on a written demand by a person with an interest over $5,000 or a creditor with a claim over $5,000 (Mont. Code Ann. §§ 72-3-513 and 72-3-514). The surety sets the premium.
Does Montana have estate or inheritance tax?
No. Montana has no estate tax for deaths after 2004: the statute in Mont. Code Ann. §§ 72-16-904 and 72-16-905 remains, but it equals the federal credit for state death taxes, which no longer exists, so it computes to zero. The inheritance tax does not apply to any death after January 1, 2001. An estate may still file a Montana fiduciary income tax return, Form FID-3.
How is a Montana personal representative paid?
By reasonable compensation, not a percentage. Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-631 entitles the personal representative to reasonable compensation for services, and Montana publishes no percentage schedule. On motion and after notice, the court may review the reasonableness of that compensation and of any attorney or agent the estate employs, and order a refund of anything excessive (§ 72-3-634).

Important: Picking the Montana county picks the courthouse and nothing else. Every county runs the same routes through the district court, venue follows the decedent's domicile under Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-112, and the fee schedule is statewide, so no county is cheaper. What is local is the Clerk of District Court who takes the filing, the county clerk and recorder who records any deed, and the county newspaper that prints the required notice to creditors.

Legal Authority: Mont. Code Ann. § 72-1-103 (definitions of court, clerk and informal proceedings), § 72-3-112 (venue), §§ 72-3-211, 72-3-212, 72-3-221 and 72-3-225 (informal probate and appointment), §§ 72-3-301 and 72-3-305 (formal testacy and appointment), § 72-3-401 (supervised administration), §§ 72-3-513 and 72-3-514 (bond), § 72-3-603 (notice to heirs and devisees), § 72-3-607 (inventory), §§ 72-3-801 and 72-3-803 (creditor claims), § 72-3-1004 (closing statement), § 72-3-1015 (estate open two years), § 72-3-1101 (small estate affidavit), §§ 72-3-1103 and 72-3-1104 (summary administration), § 72-3-631 (compensation), and §§ 25-1-201, 25-1-202 and 3-1-317 (court fees).. Last Verified: September 2026.

SourcesOfficial references used for this page

This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice or a substitute for attorney review. Laws and fees may change. Verify current requirements with your local court clerk before filing.

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