Mont. Code Ann. § 72-4-308 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 4 / Part 3 / Section 72-4-308
72-4-308 Payment or delivery to foreign representative prohibited by resident creditor notice
Status: in_force

72-4-308 . Payment or delivery to foreign representative prohibited by resident creditor notice. Payment or delivery under 72-4-306 may not be made if a resident creditor of the nonresident decedent has notified the debtor of the nonresident decedent or the person having possession of the personal property belonging to the nonresident decedent that the debt should not be paid or the property delivered to the domiciliary foreign personal representative.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-5-448 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 5 / Part 4 / Section 72-5-448
72-5-448 Order
Status: in_force

72-5-448 . Order. After hearing, the court in its discretion may approve, modify and approve, or disapprove the proposed action and may authorize or direct the conservator to transfer or dispose of assets or take other action as provided in the court's order.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-526 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 3 / Part 5 / Section 72-3-526
72-3-526 Termination of appointment -- removal for cause
Status: in_force

72-3-526 . Termination of appointment -- removal for cause. (1) A person interested in the estate may petition for removal of a personal representative for cause at any time. Upon filing of the petition, the court shall fix a time and place for hearing. Notice must be given by the petitioner to the personal representative and to other persons as the court may order. Except as otherwise ordered as provided in 72-3-617 , after receipt of notice of removal proceedings, the personal representative may not act except to account, to correct maladministration, or preserve the estate. If removal is ordered, the court also shall direct by order the disposition of the assets remaining in the name of or under the control of the personal representative being removed.

(2) Cause for removal exists:

(a) when removal would be in the best interests of the estate; or

(b) if it is shown that a personal representative or the person seeking the personal representative's appointment intentionally misrepresented material facts in the proceedings leading to the appointment or that the personal representative has disregarded an order of the court, has become incapable of discharging the duties of the office, or has mismanaged the estate or failed to perform any duty pertaining to the office.

(3) Unless the decedent's will directs otherwise, a personal representative appointed at the decedent's domicile, incident to securing self-appointment or appointment of the personal representative's nominee as ancillary personal representative, may obtain removal of another who was appointed personal representative in this state to administer local assets.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-39-202 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 39 / Part 2 / Section 72-39-202
72-39-202 Reasonable reliance
Status: in_force

72-39-202 . Reasonable reliance. A trustee or other person that reasonably relies on the validity of a distribution of part or all of the property of a trust to another trust, or a modification of a trust, under this chapter, law of this state other than this chapter, or the law of another jurisdiction is not liable to any person for any action or failure to act as a result of the reliance.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-2-235 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 2 / Part 2 / Section 72-2-235
72-2-235 Decedent's nonprobate transfers to others
Status: in_force

72-2-235 . Decedent's nonprobate transfers to others. The value of the augmented estate includes the value of the decedent's nonprobate transfers to others, not included under 72-2-234 , of any of the following types, in the amount provided respectively for each type of transfer:

(1) Property owned or owned in substance by the decedent immediately before death that passed outside probate at the decedent's death. Property included under this category consists of:

(a) property over which the decedent alone, immediately before death, held a presently exercisable general power of appointment. The amount included is the value of the property subject to the power, to the extent the property passed at the decedent's death, by exercise, release, lapse, in default, or otherwise, to or for the benefit of any person other than the decedent's estate or surviving spouse.

(b) the decedent's fractional interest in property held by the decedent in joint tenancy with the right of survivorship. The amount included is the value of the decedent's fractional interest, to the extent the fractional interest passed by right of survivorship at the decedent's death to a surviving joint tenant other than the decedent's surviving spouse.

(c) the decedent's ownership interest in property or accounts held in POD, TOD, or co-ownership registration with the right of survivorship. The amount included is the value of the decedent's ownership interest, to the extent the decedent's ownership interest passed at the decedent's death to or for the benefit of any person other than the decedent's estate or surviving spouse.

(2) Property transferred in any of the following forms by the decedent during marriage:

(a) any irrevocable transfer in which the decedent retained the right to the possession or enjoyment of, or to the income from, the property if and to the extent the decedent's right terminated at or continued beyond the decedent's death. The amount included is the value of the fraction of the property to which the decedent's right related, to the extent the fraction of the property passed outside probate to or for the benefit of any person other than the decedent's estate or surviving spouse.

(b) any transfer in which the decedent created a power over income or property, exercisable by the decedent alone or in conjunction with any other person, or exercisable by a nonadverse party, to or for the benefit of the decedent, creditors of the decedent, the decedent's estate, or creditors of the decedent's estate. The amount included with respect to a power over property is the value of the property subject to the power, and the amount included with respect to a power over income is the value of the property that produces or produced the income, to the extent the power in either case was exercisable at the decedent's death to or for the benefit of any person other than the decedent's surviving spouse or to the extent the property passed at the decedent's death, by exercise, release, lapse, in default, or otherwise, to or for the benefit of any person other than the decedent's estate or surviving spouse. If the power is a power over both income and property and the preceding sentence produces different amounts, the amount included is the greater amount.

(3) Property that passed during marriage and during the 2 year period next preceding the decedent's death as a result of a transfer by the decedent if the transfer was of any of the following types:

(a) any property that passed as a result of the termination of a right or interest in, or power over, property that would have been included in the augmented estate under subsection (1)(a), (1)(b), or (1)(c), or under subsection (2), if the right, interest, or power had not terminated until the decedent's death. The amount included is the value of the property that would have been included under those subsections if the property were valued at the time the right, interest, or power terminated, and is included only to the extent the property passed upon termination to or for the benefit of any person other than the decedent or the decedent's estate, spouse, or surviving spouse. As used in this subsection (3)(a), "termination," with respect to a right or interest in property, occurs when the right or interest terminated by the terms of the governing instrument or the decedent transferred or relinquished the right or interest, and, with respect to a power over property, occurs when the power terminated by exercise, release, lapse, default, or otherwise, but, with respect to a power described in subsection (1)(a), "termination" occurs when the power terminated by exercise or release, but not otherwise.

(b) any transfer of property, to the extent not otherwise included in the augmented estate, made to or for the benefit of a person other than the decedent's surviving spouse. The amount included is the value of the transferred property to the extent the transfers to any one donee in either of the 2 years exceeded the amount excludable from taxable gifts under 26 U.S.C. 2503(b) or its successor on the date next preceding the date of the decedent's death.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-14-206 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 14 / Part 2 / Section 72-14-206
72-14-206 Unsold real property -- how disposed of -- auction sale
Status: in_force

72-14-206 . Unsold real property -- how disposed of -- auction sale. (1) If the real property was not sold by the personal representative at the final settlement of the estate, then the personal representative shall make and execute to the state of Montana a deed and deliver the deed to the county clerk and recorder of the county in which the real property is situated. The county clerk and recorder shall file and record the deed without charge and shall mail the deed to the department of revenue. The department of revenue shall record the deed and deliver it to the board of land commissioners.

(2) Within 1 year after the receipt of the recorded deed, the board shall sell the property to the highest bidder at a public auction sale to be held at the courthouse in the county where the real property or any part of the property is situated.

(3) The board shall give notice of the sale by publication once a week for 2 weeks in a newspaper published in the county in which the real estate or any part of the real estate is situated. The last publication must be at least 20 days prior to the date of the sale. The notice must give the time and place of the sale and contain a description of the real property to be sold.

(4) All expenses of the sale must be deducted by the board from the proceeds of the sale, and the balance of the proceeds must be turned over to the state treasurer for deposit in the private purpose trust fund. The board shall provide the department with a statement indicating the sale price, expenses, and net proceeds resulting from each sale.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-5-413 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 5 / Part 4 / Section 72-5-413
72-5-413 Petitions for orders subsequent to appointment -- interested persons
Status: in_force

72-5-413 . Petitions for orders subsequent to appointment -- interested persons. (1) A person interested in the welfare of a person for whom a conservator has been appointed may file a petition in the appointing court for an order:

(a) requiring bond or security or additional bond or security or reducing bond;

(b) requiring an accounting for the administration of the trust;

(c) directing distribution;

(d) removing the conservator and appointing a temporary or successor conservator; or

(e) granting other appropriate relief.

(2) A conservator may petition the appointing court for instructions concerning the conservator's fiduciary responsibility.

(3) Upon notice and hearing, the court may give appropriate instructions or make any appropriate order.

(4) For purposes of this section, any person, institution, or agency that is furnishing or supplying any money for support or care of a person for whom a conservator has been appointed is a person interested in the welfare of the protected person.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-38-704 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 38 / Part 7 / Section 72-38-704
72-38-704 Vacancy in trusteeship -- appointment of successor
Status: in_force

72-38-704 . Vacancy in trusteeship -- appointment of successor. (1) A vacancy in a trusteeship occurs if:

(a) a person designated as trustee rejects the trusteeship;

(b) a person designated as trustee cannot be identified or does not exist;

(c) a trustee resigns;

(d) a trustee is disqualified or removed;

(e) a trustee dies;

(f) a guardian or conservator is appointed for an individual serving as trustee; or

(g) a trustee has been ordered committed as provided in 53-21-102 .

(2) If one or more cotrustees remain in office, a vacancy in a trusteeship need not be filled. A vacancy in a trusteeship must be filled if the trust has no remaining trustee.

(3) A vacancy in a trusteeship of a trust that is required to be filled must be filled in the following order of priority:

(a) by a person designated in the terms of the trust to act as successor trustee;

(b) by a person appointed by unanimous agreement of the qualified beneficiaries; or

(c) by a person appointed by the court.

(4) Whether or not a vacancy in a trusteeship exists or is required to be filled, the court may appoint an additional trustee or special fiduciary whenever the court considers the appointment necessary for the administration of the trust.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-205 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 3 / Part 2 / Section 72-3-205
72-3-205 Application for appointment of successor personal representative
Status: in_force

72-3-205 . Application for appointment of successor personal representative. (1) An application for appointment of a personal representative to succeed a personal representative appointed under a different testacy status shall refer to the order in the most recent testacy proceeding, state the name and address of the person whose appointment is sought and of the person whose appointment will be terminated if the application is granted, and describe the priority of the applicant.

(2) An application for appointment of a personal representative to succeed a personal representative who has tendered a resignation as provided in 72-3-525 or whose appointment has been terminated by death or removal shall adopt the statements in the application or petition which led to the appointment of the person being succeeded except as specifically changed or corrected, state the name and address of the person who seeks appointment as successor, and describe the priority of the applicant.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-5-415 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 5 / Part 4 / Section 72-5-415
72-5-415 Public administrator as conservator when no other appropriate person
Status: in_force

72-5-415 . Public administrator as conservator when no other appropriate person. (1) Whenever a professional person, as defined in 53-21-102 , has reason to believe that any person is in need of the appointment of a conservator for the effective management of the person's property or affairs under this part and that the person has no relative, friend, or other appropriate person who is able and willing to serve as a conservator for the person, the professional person shall notify the public administrator.

(2) Whenever the public administrator is notified under subsection (1) of the need for the appointment of a conservator and reasonable cause exists, the public administrator shall file a petition for appointment of the public administrator as conservator of the person.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-1-106 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 1 / Part 1 / Section 72-1-106
72-1-106 Uniform Probate Code to take precedence
Status: in_force

72-1-106 . Uniform Probate Code to take precedence. Should any provision of this code conflict with any provisions of other statutes of the state of Montana relating to probate, guardianship, or other subjects incorporated in this code and such other statute or statutes was or were adopted prior to the enactment of this code, the provisions of this code shall be deemed to be controlling.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-26-501 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 26 / Part 5 / Section 72-26-501
72-26-501 Short title
Status: in_force

72-26-501 . Short title. This chapter may be cited as the "Montana Uniform Transfers to Minors Act".
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-38-206 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 38 / Part 2 / Section 72-38-206
72-38-206 Rules of procedure in trust proceedings
Status: in_force

72-38-206 . Rules of procedure in trust proceedings. (1) The pleadings described in 72-38-214 are permitted pleadings in judicial proceedings under this chapter.

(2) Unless specifically provided to the contrary in this chapter or unless inconsistent with this chapter, the rules of civil procedure, including the rules concerning vacation of orders and appellate review, govern proceedings under this chapter.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-6-303 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 6 / Part 3 / Section 72-6-303
72-6-303 Registration in beneficiary form -- applicable law
Status: in_force

72-6-303 . Registration in beneficiary form -- applicable law. (1) A security may be registered in beneficiary form if the form is authorized by this or a similar statute of the state:

(a) of organization of the issuer or registering entity;

(b) of the location of the registering entity's principal office;

(c) of the office of its transfer agent or its office making the registration; or

(d) listed as the owner's address at the time of registration.

(2) A registration governed by the law of a jurisdiction in which this or similar legislation is not in force or was not in force when a registration in beneficiary form was made is nevertheless presumed to be valid and authorized as a matter of contract law.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-38-103 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 38 / Part 1 / Section 72-38-103
72-38-103 Definitions
Status: in_force

72-38-103 . Definitions. As used in this chapter, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the following definitions apply:

(1) "Action", with respect to an act of a trustee, includes a failure to act.

(2) "Ascertainable standard" means a standard relating to an individual's health, education, support, or maintenance within the meaning of section 2041(b)(1)(A) or 2514(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as in effect on the effective date of this chapter, or as later amended.

(3) "Beneficiary" means a person who:

(a) has a present or future beneficial interest in a trust, vested or contingent; or

(b) in a capacity other than that of trustee, holds a power of appointment over trust property.

(4) "Charitable trust" means a trust or portion of a trust created for a charitable purpose described in 72-38-405 (1).

(5) "Conservator" means a person appointed by the court to administer the estate of a minor or adult individual.

(6) "Environmental law" means a federal, state, or local law, rule, regulation, or ordinance relating to protection of the environment.

(7) "Guardian" means a person appointed by the court, by a parent, or by a spouse to make decisions regarding the support, care, education, health, and welfare of a minor or adult individual. The term does not include a guardian ad litem.

(8) "Interested person" means:

(a) the trustee;

(b) the qualified beneficiaries who are entitled to notice; and

(c) the attorney general if the petition is related to a charitable trust subject to the jurisdiction of the attorney general.

(9) "Interests of the beneficiaries" means the beneficial interests provided in the terms of the trust.

(10) "Jurisdiction", with respect to a geographic area, includes a state or country.

(11) "Permissible distributee" means a beneficiary who is currently eligible to receive distributions of trust income or principal, whether mandatory or discretionary, or who holds a presently exercisable power of appointment over trust property. The term includes a charitable organization only if it is expressly designated to receive distributions under the terms of the charitable trust.

(12) "Person" means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, government, governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, public corporation, or any other legal or commercial entity.

(13) "Power of withdrawal" means a presently exercisable general power of appointment other than a power:

(a) exercisable by a trustee and limited by an ascertainable standard; or

(b) exercisable by another person only upon consent of the trustee or a person holding an adverse interest.

(14) (a) "Principal place of administration" means the usual place in which the day-to-day activity of the trust is carried on by the trustee or its representative who is primarily responsible for the administration of the trust unless otherwise designated by the terms of the trust as provided in 72-38-108 .

(b) If the principal place of administration of the trust cannot be determined under subsection (14)(a), then it must be determined as follows:

(i) if the trust has a single trustee, the principal place of administration of the trust is the trustee's residence or usual place of business; or

(ii) if the trust has more than one trustee, the principal place of administration of the trust is the residence or usual place of business of any of the cotrustees as agreed upon by them. If not agreed upon by the cotrustees, the principal place of administration of the trust is the residence or usual place of business of any of the cotrustees.

(15) "Property" means anything that may be the subject of ownership, whether real or personal, legal or equitable, or any interest therein.

(16) "Qualified beneficiary" means a beneficiary who on the date the beneficiary's qualification is determined:

(a) is a distributee or permissible distributee of trust income or principal;

(b) would be a distributee or permissible distributee of trust income or principal if the interests of the distributees described in subsection (16)(a) terminated on that date without causing the trust to terminate; or

(c) would be a distributee or permissible distributee of trust income or principal if the trust terminated on that date.

(17) "Revocable", as applied to a trust, means revocable by the settlor without the consent of the trustee or a person holding an adverse interest.

(18) "Settlor" means a person, including a testator, who creates or contributes property to a trust. If more than one person creates or contributes property to a trust, each person is a settlor of the portion of the trust property attributable to that person's contribution except to the extent another person has the power to revoke or withdraw that portion.

(19) "Spendthrift provision" means a term of a trust that restrains both voluntary and involuntary transfer of a beneficiary's interest.

(20) "State" means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. The term includes an Indian tribe or band recognized by federal law or formally acknowledged by a state.

(21) "Terms of a trust" means:

(a) except as otherwise provided in subsection (21)(b), the manifestation of the settlor's intent regarding a trust's provisions as:

(i) expressed in the trust instrument; or

(ii) established by other evidence that would be admissible in a judicial proceeding; or

(b) the trust's provisions as established, determined, or amended by:

(i) a trustee or trust director in accordance with applicable law;

(ii) court order; or

(iii) a nonjudicial settlement agreement under 72-38-111 .

(22) "Trust instrument" means an instrument executed by the settlor that contains terms of the trust, including any amendments thereto.

(23) "Trustee" includes an original, additional, and successor trustee and a cotrustee.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-17-103 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 17 / Part 1 / Section 72-17-103
72-17-103 Uniformity of interpretation
Status: in_force

72-17-103 . Uniformity of interpretation. This chapter shall be so construed as to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law of those states which enact it.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-5-202 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 5 / Part 2 / Section 72-5-202
72-5-202 Consent to jurisdiction by acceptance of appointment
Status: in_force

72-5-202 . Consent to jurisdiction by acceptance of appointment. (1) By accepting a testamentary or court appointment as guardian, a guardian submits personally to the jurisdiction of the court in any proceeding relating to the guardianship that may be instituted by any interested person.

(2) Notice of any proceeding must be delivered to the guardian or mailed to the guardian by ordinary mail at the guardian's address as listed in the court records and to the guardian's address as then known to the petitioner.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-7-204 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 7 / Part 2 / Section 72-7-204
72-7-204 Exception to presumption of unlimited authority
Status: in_force

72-7-204 . Exception to presumption of unlimited authority. Unless the terms of the instrument creating a power of appointment manifest a contrary intent, the power is nongeneral if:

(1) the power is exercisable only at the powerholder's death; and

(2) the permissible appointees of the power are a defined and limited class that does not include the powerholder's estate, the powerholder's creditors, or the creditors of the powerholder's estate.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-38-415 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 38 / Part 4 / Section 72-38-415
72-38-415 Reformation to correct mistakes
Status: in_force

72-38-415 . Reformation to correct mistakes. The court may reform the terms of a trust, even if unambiguous, to conform the terms to the settlor's intention if it is proved by clear and convincing evidence what the settlor's intention was and that the terms of the trust were affected by a mistake of fact or law, whether in expression or inducement.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-17-108 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 17 / Part 1 / Section 72-17-108
72-17-108 Coordination of procurement and use
Status: in_force

72-17-108 . Coordination of procurement and use. Each hospital in this state shall establish agreements or affiliations with procurement organizations for coordination of procurement and use of anatomical gifts.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-31-323 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 31 / Part 3 / Section 72-31-323
72-31-323 Agent's resignation -- notice
Status: in_force

72-31-323 . Agent's resignation -- notice. Unless the power of attorney provides a different method for an agent's resignation, an agent may resign by giving notice to the principal and, if the principal is incapacitated:

(1) to the conservator or guardian, if one has been appointed for the principal, and a coagent or successor agent; or

(2) if there is no person described in subsection (1), to:

(a) the principal's caregiver;

(b) another person reasonably believed by the agent to have sufficient interest in the principal's welfare; or

(c) a governmental agency having authority to protect the welfare of the principal.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-15-108 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 15 / Part 1 / Section 72-15-108
72-15-108 Refusal to furnish statement -- misdemeanor
Status: in_force

72-15-108 . Refusal to furnish statement -- misdemeanor. Any person, firm, bank, or corporation or officer, agent, or employee thereof refusing upon demand to furnish the statement as required by 72-15-107 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-31-321 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 31 / Part 3 / Section 72-31-321
72-31-321 Judicial relief
Status: in_force

72-31-321 . Judicial relief. (1) The following persons may petition a court to construe a power of attorney or review the agent's conduct and grant appropriate relief:

(a) the principal or the agent;

(b) a guardian, conservator, or other fiduciary acting for the principal;

(c) a person authorized to make health care decisions for the principal;

(d) the principal's spouse, parent, or descendant;

(e) an individual who would qualify as a presumptive heir of the principal;

(f) a person named as a beneficiary to receive any property, benefit, or contractual right on the principal's death or as a beneficiary of a trust created by or for the principal that has a financial interest in the principal's estate;

(g) a governmental agency having regulatory authority to protect the welfare of the principal;

(h) the principal's caregiver or another person that demonstrates sufficient interest in the principal's welfare; and

(i) a person asked to accept the power of attorney.

(2) Upon motion by the principal, the court shall dismiss a petition filed under this section unless the court finds that the principal lacks capacity to revoke the agent's authority or the power of attorney.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-26-701 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 26 / Part 7 / Section 72-26-701
72-26-701 Powers of custodian
Status: in_force

72-26-701 . Powers of custodian. (1) A custodian, acting in a custodial capacity, has all the rights, powers, and authority over custodial property that unmarried adult owners have over their own property, but a custodian may exercise those rights, powers, and authority in that capacity only.

(2) This section does not relieve a custodian from liability for breach of 72-26-702 .
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-15-211 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 15 / Part 2 / Section 72-15-211
72-15-211 Conflict of interest prohibited -- affidavit
Status: in_force

72-15-211 . Conflict of interest prohibited -- affidavit. The public administrator may not be interested in the expenditures of any kind made on account of any estate that the public administrator administers. The public administrator may not be associated, in business or otherwise, with anyone who is interested in expenditures made on account of an estate that the public administrator administers, and the public administrator shall attach to the report and publication, made in accordance with 72-15-207 , the public administrator's affidavit to that effect.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-6-413 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 6 / Part 4 / Section 72-6-413
72-6-413 Disclaimer
Status: in_force

72-6-413 . Disclaimer. A beneficiary may disclaim all or part of the beneficiary's interest as provided by 72-2-817 through 72-2-833 , the Uniform Disclaimer of Property Interests Act.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-701 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 3 / Part 7 / Section 72-3-701
72-3-701 Special administrator -- how and when appointed
Status: in_force

72-3-701 . Special administrator -- how and when appointed. A special administrator may be appointed:

(1) informally by the clerk on the application of any interested person when necessary to protect the estate of a decedent prior to the appointment of a general personal representative or if a prior appointment has been terminated as provided in 72-3-522 ;

(2) in a formal proceeding by order of the court on the petition of any interested person and finding, after notice and hearing, that appointment is necessary to preserve the estate or to secure its proper administration, including its administration in circumstances where a general personal representative cannot or should not act. If it appears to the court that an emergency exists, appointment may be ordered without notice.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-34-440 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 34 / Part 4 / Section 72-34-440
72-34-440 Insubstantial allocation -- allocation of entire amount to principal -- exceptions
Status: in_force

72-34-440 . Insubstantial allocation -- allocation of entire amount to principal -- exceptions. (1) If a trustee determines that an allocation between principal and income required by 72-34-441 , 72-34-442 , 72-34-443 , 72-34-444 , or 72-34-447 is insubstantial, the trustee may allocate the entire amount to principal unless one of the circumstances described in 72-34-424 (2) applies to the allocation. This power may be exercised by a cotrustee in the circumstances described in 72-34-424 (3) and may be released for the reasons and in the manner provided in 72-34-424 (4) and (5).

(2) An allocation is presumed to be insubstantial in either of the following cases:

(a) when the amount of the allocation would increase or decrease net income in an accounting period, as determined before the allocation, by less than 10%; or

(b) when the value of the asset producing the receipt for which the allocation would be made is less than 10% of the total value of the trust's assets at the beginning of the accounting period.

(3) Nothing in this section imposes a duty on the trustee to make an allocation under this section, and the trustee is not liable for failure to make an allocation under this section.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-504 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 3 / Part 5 / Section 72-3-504
72-3-504 Renunciation -- nomination of other -- two or more persons sharing priority
Status: in_force

72-3-504 . Renunciation -- nomination of other -- two or more persons sharing priority. (1) A person entitled to letters under 72-3-502 (2) through (7) may nominate a qualified person to act as personal representative.

(2) Any person entitled to letters may renounce the person's right to nominate or to an appointment by appropriate writing filed with the court.

(3) When two or more persons share a priority, those of them who do not renounce shall concur in nominating another to act for them or in applying for appointment. If they are unable to concur in nominating another to act for them or in applying for appointment, the court may appoint any qualified person.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-1004 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 3 / Part 10 / Section 72-3-1004
72-3-1004 Closing estate by sworn statement of personal representative
Status: in_force

72-3-1004 . Closing estate by sworn statement of personal representative. (1) Unless prohibited by order of the court and except for estates being administered in supervised administration proceedings, a personal representative may close an estate by filing with the court no earlier than 6 months after the date of original appointment of a general personal representative for the estate a verified statement stating that the personal representative, or a prior personal representative, has:

(a) determined that the time limitation for presentation of creditors' claims has expired;

(b) fully administered the estate of the decedent by making payment, settlement, or other disposition of all claims that were presented, expenses of administration, and estate and other death taxes, except as specified in the statement, and that the assets of the estate have been distributed to the persons entitled; if any claims remain undischarged, the statement must state whether the personal representative has distributed the estate subject to possible liability with the agreement of the distributees or it must state in detail other arrangements that have been made to accommodate outstanding liabilities; and

(c) sent a copy of the statement to all distributees of the estate and to all creditors or other claimants of whom the personal representative is aware whose claims are neither paid nor barred and has furnished a full account in writing of the administration to the distributees whose interests are affected by the accounting.

(2) If proceedings involving the personal representative are not pending in the court 1 year after the closing statement is filed, the appointment of the personal representative terminates.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-705 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 3 / Part 7 / Section 72-3-705
72-3-705 Special administrator -- termination of appointment
Status: in_force

72-3-705 . Special administrator -- termination of appointment. The appointment of a special administrator terminates in accordance with the provisions of the order of appointment or on the appointment of a general personal representative. In other cases, the appointment of a special administrator is subject to termination as provided in 72-3-521 through 72-3-526 .
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-131 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 3 / Part 1 / Section 72-3-131
72-3-131 Effect of approval of agreements involving trusts, inalienable interests, or interests of third persons
Status: in_force

72-3-131 . Effect of approval of agreements involving trusts, inalienable interests, or interests of third persons. (1) A compromise of any controversy as to admission to probate of any instrument offered for formal probate as the will of a decedent, the construction, validity, or effect of any governing instrument, the rights or interests in the estate of the decedent, of any successor, or the administration of the estate, if approved in a formal proceeding in the court for that purpose, is binding on all the parties to the proceeding, including those unborn, unascertained, or who could not be located.

(2) An approved compromise is binding even though it may affect a trust or an inalienable interest. A compromise does not impair the rights of creditors or of taxing authorities who are not parties to it.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-30-211 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 30 / Part 2 / Section 72-30-211
72-30-211 Reviewing compliance
Status: in_force

72-30-211 . Reviewing compliance. Compliance with this chapter is determined in light of the facts and circumstances existing at the time a decision is made or action is taken and not by hindsight.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-2-611 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 2 / Part 6 / Section 72-2-611
72-2-611 Scope
Status: in_force

72-2-611 . Scope. In the absence of a finding of a contrary intention, the rules of construction in this part control the construction of a will.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-6-411 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 6 / Part 4 / Section 72-6-411
72-6-411 Effect of transfer on death deed during transferor's life
Status: in_force

72-6-411 . Effect of transfer on death deed during transferor's life. During a transferor's life, a transfer on death deed does not:

(1) affect an interest or right of the transferor or any other owner, including the right to transfer or encumber the property;

(2) affect an interest or right of a transferee, even if the transferee has actual or constructive notice of the deed;

(3) affect an interest or right of a secured or unsecured creditor or future creditor of the transferor, even if the creditor has actual or constructive notice of the deed;

(4) affect the transferor's or designated beneficiary's eligibility for any form of public assistance;

(5) create a legal or equitable interest in favor of the designated beneficiary; or

(6) subject the property to claims or process of a creditor of the designated beneficiary.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-26-505 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 26 / Part 5 / Section 72-26-505
72-26-505 Effect on existing custodianships
Status: repealed

72-26-505 . Effect on existing custodianships. (1) Any transfer of custodial property as now defined in this chapter made before October 1, 1985, is validated notwithstanding that there was no specific authority in Title 72, chapter 26, parts 1 through 4 (repealed by section 25, Chapter 102, Laws of 1985), for the coverage of custodial property of that kind or for a transfer from that source at the time the transfer was made.

(2) This chapter applies to all transfers made before October 1, 1985, in a manner and form prescribed in Title 72, chapter 26, parts 1 through 4 (repealed by section 25, Chapter 102, Laws of 1985), except insofar as the application impairs constitutionally vested rights or extends the duration of custodianships in existence on October 1, 1985.

(3) Sections 72-26-502 and 72-26-803 , with respect to the age of a minor for whom custodial property is held under this chapter, do not apply to custodial property held in a custodianship that terminated because of the minor's attainment of the age of 18 before October 1, 1985.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-31-352 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 31 / Part 3 / Section 72-31-352
72-31-352 Gifts
Status: in_force

72-31-352 . Gifts. (1) In this section, a gift "for the benefit of" a person includes a gift to a trust, an account under the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act, Title 72, chapter 26, and a tuition savings account or prepaid tuition plan under section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C. 529.

(2) Unless the power of attorney otherwise provides, language in a power of attorney granting general authority with respect to gifts authorizes the agent only to:

(a) make outright to or for the benefit of a person, a gift of any of the principal's property, including by the exercise of a presently exercisable general power of appointment held by the principal, in an amount per donee not to exceed the annual dollar limits of the federal gift tax exclusion under section 2503(b) of the Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C. 2503(b), without regard to whether the federal gift tax exclusion applies to the gift, or if the principal's spouse agrees to consent to a split gift pursuant to section 2513 of the Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C. 2513, in an amount per donee not to exceed twice the annual federal gift tax exclusion limit; and

(b) consent, pursuant to section 2513 of the Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C. 2513, to the splitting of a gift made by the principal's spouse in an amount per donee not to exceed the aggregate annual gift tax exclusions for both spouses.

(3) An agent may make a gift of the principal's property only as the agent determines is consistent with the principal's objectives if actually known by the agent and, if unknown, as the agent determines is consistent with the principal's best interest based on all relevant factors, including:

(a) the value and nature of the principal's property;

(b) the principal's foreseeable obligations and need for maintenance;

(c) minimization of taxes, including income, estate, inheritance, generation-skipping transfer, and gift taxes;

(d) eligibility for a benefit, a program, or assistance under a statute or regulation; and

(e) the principal's personal history of making or joining in making gifts.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-306 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 3 / Part 3 / Section 72-3-306
72-3-306 Notice and procedure when fact of death in doubt
Status: in_force

72-3-306 . Notice and procedure when fact of death in doubt. (1) If it appears by the petition or otherwise that the fact of the death of the alleged decedent may be in doubt or on the written demand of any interested person, a copy of the notice of the hearing on the petition must be sent by certified mail to the alleged decedent at the alleged decedent's last-known address. The court shall direct the petitioner to report the results of or make and report back concerning a reasonably diligent search for the alleged decedent in any manner that may seem advisable, including any of the following methods:

(a) by inserting in one or more suitable periodicals a notice requesting information from any person having knowledge of the whereabouts of the alleged decedent;

(b) by notifying law enforcement officials and public welfare agencies in appropriate locations of the disappearance of the alleged decedent;

(c) by engaging the services of an investigator.

(2) The costs of any search must be paid by the petitioner if there is no administration or by the estate of the decedent if there is administration.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-2-1006 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 2 / Part 10 / Section 72-2-1006
72-2-1006 Prospective application
Status: in_force

72-2-1006 . Prospective application. (1) Except as extended by subsection (2), this part applies to a nonvested property interest or a power of appointment created on or after October 1, 1989. For purposes of this section, a nonvested property interest or a power of appointment created by the exercise of a power of appointment is created when the power is irrevocably exercised or when a revocable exercise becomes irrevocable.

(2) If a nonvested property interest or a power of appointment was created before October 1, 1989, and is determined in a judicial proceeding commenced on or after October 1, 1989, to violate this state's rule against perpetuities as that rule existed before October 1, 1989, a court, upon the petition of an interested person, may reform the disposition in the manner that most closely approximates the transferor's manifested plan of distribution and that is within the limits of the rule against perpetuities applicable when the nonvested property interest or power of appointment was created.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-9-108 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 9 / Part 1 / Section 72-9-108
72-9-108 Perfection of title of surviving spouse
Status: in_force

72-9-108 . Perfection of title of surviving spouse. If the title to any property to which this part applies was held by the decedent at the time of death, title of the surviving spouse may be perfected by an order of the district court or by execution of an instrument by the personal representative or the heirs or devisees of the decedent with the approval of the district court. Neither the personal representative nor the district court in which the decedent's estate is being administered has a duty to discover or attempt to discover whether property held by the decedent is property to which this part applies, unless a written demand is made by the surviving spouse or the spouse's successor in interest.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-5-437 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 5 / Part 4 / Section 72-5-437
72-5-437 Termination of conservatorship
Status: in_force

72-5-437 . Termination of conservatorship. The protected person, the protected person's personal representative, the conservator, or any other interested person may petition the court to terminate the conservatorship. A protected person seeking termination is entitled to the same rights and procedures as in an original proceeding for a protective order. The court, upon determining after notice and hearing that the minority or disability of the protected person has ceased, may terminate the conservatorship. Upon termination, title to assets of the estate passes to the former protected person or to the former protected person's successors, subject to provision in the order for expenses of administration or to conveyances from the conservator to the former protected person or the former protected person's successors to evidence the transfer.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-5-405 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 5 / Part 4 / Section 72-5-405
72-5-405 Exclusive and concurrent jurisdiction of particular court after petition and notice
Status: in_force

72-5-405 . Exclusive and concurrent jurisdiction of particular court after petition and notice. After the service of notice in a proceeding seeking the appointment of a conservator or other protective order and until termination of the proceeding, the court in which the petition is filed has:

(1) exclusive jurisdiction to determine the need for a conservator or other protective order until the proceedings are terminated;

(2) exclusive jurisdiction to determine how the estate of the protected person that is subject to the laws of this state is managed, expended, or distributed to or for the use of the protected person or any of the person's dependents;

(3) concurrent jurisdiction to determine the validity of claims against the person or estate of the protected person and the person's title to any property or claim.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-2-830 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 2 / Part 8 / Section 72-2-830
72-2-830 Tax qualified disclaimer
Status: in_force

72-2-830 . Tax qualified disclaimer. Notwithstanding any other provision of 72-2-817 through 72-2-833 , if as a result of a disclaimer or transfer the disclaimed or transferred interest is treated pursuant to the provisions of Title 26 of the United States Code, as now or hereafter amended, or any successor statute thereto, and the regulations promulgated thereunder, as never having been transferred to the disclaimant, then the disclaimer or transfer is effective as a disclaimer under 72-2-817 through 72-2-833 .
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-40-102 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 40 / Part 1 / Section 72-40-102
72-40-102 Definitions
Status: in_force

72-40-102 . Definitions. In this part, the following definitions apply:

(1) "Breach of trust" includes a violation by a trust director or trustee of a duty imposed on that director or trustee by the terms of the trust, this part, or law of this state other than this part pertaining to trusts.

(2) "Directed trust" means a trust for which the terms of the trust grant a power of direction.

(3) "Directed trustee" means a trustee that is subject to a trust director's power of direction.

(4) "Person" has the meaning in 72-38-103 .

(5) "Power of direction" means a power over a trust granted to a person by the terms of the trust to the extent the power is exercisable while the person is not serving as a trustee. The term includes a power over the investment, management, or distribution of trust property or other matters of trust administration. The term excludes the powers described in 72-40-105 (2).

(6) "Settlor" has the meaning in 72-38-103 .

(7) "State" has the meaning in 72-38-103 .

(8) "Terms of a trust" means:

(a) except as otherwise provided in subsection (8)(b), the manifestation of the settlor's intent regarding a trust's provision as:

(i) expressed in the trust instrument; or

(ii) established by other evidence that would be admissible in a judicial proceeding; or

(b) the trust's provisions as established, determined, or amended by:

(i) a trustee or trust director in accordance with applicable law;

(ii) court order; or

(iii) a nonjudicial settlement agreement under 72-38-111 .

(9) "Trust director" means a person that is granted a power of direction by the terms of a trust to the extent the power is exercisable while the person is not serving as a trustee. The person is a trust director whether or not the terms of the trust refer to the person as a trust director and whether or not the person is a beneficiary or settlor of the trust.

(10) "Trustee" has the meaning in 72-38-103 .
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-2-717 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 2 / Part 7 / Section 72-2-717
72-2-717 Survivorship with respect to future interests under terms of trust -- substitute takers
Status: in_force

72-2-717 . Survivorship with respect to future interests under terms of trust -- substitute takers. (1) As used in this section, the following definitions apply:

(a) "Alternative future interest" means an expressly created future interest that may take effect in possession or enjoyment instead of another future interest on the happening of one or more events, including survival of an event or failure to survive an event, whether an event is expressed in condition-precedent, condition-subsequent, or any other form. A residuary clause in a will does not create an alternative future interest with respect to a future interest created in a nonresiduary devise in the will, whether or not the will specifically provides that lapsed or failed devises are to pass under the residuary clause.

(b) "Beneficiary" means the beneficiary of a future interest and includes a class member if the future interest is in the form of a class gift.

(c) "Class member" includes an individual who fails to survive the distribution date but who would have taken under a future interest in the form of a class gift had the individual survived the distribution date.

(d) "Descendants", in the phrase "surviving descendants" of a deceased beneficiary or class member in subsections (2)(a) and (2)(b), mean the descendants of a deceased beneficiary or class member who would take under a class gift created in the trust.

(e) "Distribution date" with respect to a future interest means the time when the future interest is to take effect in possession or enjoyment. The distribution date need not occur at the beginning or end of a calendar day, but may occur at a time during the course of a day.

(f) "Future interest" includes an alternative future interest and a future interest in the form of a class gift.

(g) "Future interest under the terms of a trust" means a future interest that was created by a transfer creating a trust or to an existing trust or by an exercise of a power of appointment to an existing trust that directs the continuance of an existing trust, designates a beneficiary of an existing trust, or creates a trust.

(h) "Surviving" in the phrase "surviving beneficiaries" or "surviving descendants" means beneficiaries or descendants who neither predeceased the distribution date nor are deemed to have predeceased the distribution date under 72-2-712 .

(2) A future interest under the terms of a trust is contingent on the beneficiary surviving the distribution date. If a beneficiary of a future interest under the terms of a trust fails to survive the distribution date, the following provisions apply:

(a) Except as provided in subsection (2)(d), if the future interest is not in the form of a class gift and the deceased beneficiary leaves surviving descendants, a substitute gift is created in the beneficiary's surviving descendants. They take by representation the property to which the beneficiary would have been entitled had the beneficiary survived the distribution date.

(b) Except as provided in subsection (2)(d), if the future interest is in the form of a class gift, other than a future interest to "issue", "descendants", "heirs of the body", "heirs", "next of kin", "relatives", or "family" or a class described by language of similar import, a substitute gift is created in the surviving descendants of any deceased beneficiary. The property to which the beneficiaries would have been entitled had all of them survived the distribution date passes to the surviving beneficiaries and the surviving descendants of the deceased beneficiaries. Each surviving beneficiary takes the share to which the surviving beneficiary would have been entitled had the deceased beneficiaries survived the distribution date. Each deceased beneficiary's surviving descendants who are substituted for the deceased beneficiary take by representation the share to which the deceased beneficiary would have been entitled had the deceased beneficiary survived the distribution date. For purposes of this subsection (2), "deceased beneficiary" means a class member who failed to survive the distribution date and left one or more surviving descendants.

(c) For the purposes of 72-2-711 , words of survivorship attached to a future interest are not, in the absence of additional evidence, a sufficient indication of an intent contrary to the application of this section. Words of survivorship include words of survivorship that relate to the distribution date or to an earlier or an unspecified time, whether those words of survivorship are expressed in condition-precedent, condition-subsequent, or any other form.

(d) If a governing instrument creates an alternative future interest with respect to a future interest for which a substitute gift is created by subsection (2)(a) or (2)(b), the substitute gift is superseded by the alternative future interest if:

(i) the alternative future interest is in the form of a class gift and one or more members of the class is entitled to take in possession or enjoyment; or

(ii) the alternative future interest is not in the form of a class gift and the expressly designated beneficiary of the alternative future interest is entitled to take in possession or enjoyment.

(3) If, under subsection (2), substitute gifts are created and not superseded with respect to more than one future interest and the future interests are alternative future interests, one to the other, the determination of which of the substitute gifts takes effect is resolved as follows:

(a) Except as provided in subsection (3)(b), the property passes under the primary substitute gift.

(b) If there is a younger-generation future interest, the property passes under the younger-generation substitute gift and not under the primary substitute gift.

(c) As used in this subsection (3), the following definitions apply:

(i) "Primary future interest" means the future interest that would have taken effect had all the deceased beneficiaries of the alternative future interests who left surviving descendants survived the distribution date.

(ii) "Primary substitute gift" means the substitute gift created with respect to the primary future interest.

(iii) "Younger-generation future interest" means a future interest that:

(A) is to a descendant of a beneficiary of the primary future interest;

(B) is an alternative future interest with respect to the primary future interest;

(C) is a future interest for which a substitute gift is created; and

(D) would have taken effect had all the deceased beneficiaries who left surviving descendants survived the distribution date except the deceased beneficiary or beneficiaries of the primary future interest.

(iv) "Younger-generation substitute gift" means the substitute gift created with respect to the younger-generation future interest.

(4) Except as provided in subsection (5), if, after the application of subsections (2) and (3), there is no surviving taker, the property passes in the following order:

(a) if the trust was created in a nonresiduary devise in the transferor's will or in a codicil to the transferor's will, the property passes under the residuary clause in the transferor's will. For purposes of this section, the residuary clause is treated as creating a future interest under the terms of a trust.

(b) if no taker is produced by the application of subsection (4)(a), the property passes to the transferor's heirs under 72-2-721 .

(5) If, after the application of subsections (2) and (3), there is no surviving taker and if the future interest was created by the exercise of a power of appointment:

(a) the property passes under the donor's gift-in-default clause, if any, which clause is treated as creating a future interest under the terms of a trust; and

(b) if no taker is produced by the application of subsection (5)(a), the property passes as provided in subsection (4). For purposes of subsection (4), "transferor" means the donor if the power was a nongeneral power and means the donee if the power was a general power.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-2-814 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 2 / Part 8 / Section 72-2-814
72-2-814 Revocation of probate and nonprobate transfers by divorce -- no revocation by other changes of circumstances
Status: in_force

72-2-814 . Revocation of probate and nonprobate transfers by divorce -- no revocation by other changes of circumstances. (1) As used in this section, the following definitions apply:

(a) "Disposition or appointment of property" includes a transfer of an item of property or any other benefit to a beneficiary designated in a governing instrument.

(b) "Divorce or annulment" means any divorce, annulment, or dissolution or declaration of invalidity of a marriage that would exclude the spouse as a surviving spouse within the meaning of 72-2-812 . A decree of separation that does not terminate the status of husband and wife is not a divorce for purposes of this section.

(c) "Divorced individual" includes an individual whose marriage has been annulled.

(d) "Governing instrument" means a governing instrument executed by the divorced individual before the divorce or annulment of the individual's marriage to the individual's former spouse.

(e) "Relative of the divorced individual's former spouse" means an individual who is related to the divorced individual's former spouse by blood, adoption, or affinity and who, after the divorce or annulment, is not related to the divorced individual by blood, adoption, or affinity.

(f) "Revocable", with respect to a disposition, appointment, provision, or nomination, means one under which the divorced individual, at the time of the divorce or annulment, was alone empowered, by law or under the governing instrument, to cancel the designation in favor of the individual's former spouse or former spouse's relative, whether or not the divorced individual was then empowered to designate the divorced individual in place of the individual's former spouse or in place of the former spouse's relative and whether or not the divorced individual then had the capacity to exercise the power.

(2) Except as to a retirement system established in Title 19 or as provided by the express terms of a governing instrument, a court order, or a contract relating to the division of the marital estate made between the divorced individuals before or after the marriage, divorce, or annulment, the divorce or annulment of a marriage:

(a) revokes any revocable:

(i) disposition or appointment of property made by a divorced individual to the individual's former spouse in a governing instrument and any disposition or appointment created by law or in a governing instrument to a relative of the divorced individual's former spouse;

(ii) provision in a governing instrument conferring a general or nongeneral power of appointment on the divorced individual's former spouse or on a relative of the divorced individual's former spouse; and

(iii) nomination in a governing instrument that nominates a divorced individual's former spouse or a relative of the divorced individual's former spouse to serve in any fiduciary or representative capacity, including a personal representative, executor, trustee, conservator, agent, or guardian; and

(b) severs the interests of the former spouses in property held by them at the time of the divorce or annulment as joint tenants with the right of survivorship and transforms the interests of the former spouses into tenancies in common.

(3) A severance under subsection (2)(b) does not affect any third-party interest in property acquired for value and in good faith reliance on an apparent title by survivorship in the survivor of the former spouses unless a writing declaring the severance has been noted, registered, filed, or recorded in records appropriate to the kind and location of the property, which records are relied upon, in the ordinary course of transactions involving such property, as evidence of ownership.

(4) Provisions of a governing instrument are given effect as if the former spouse and relatives of the former spouse disclaimed all provisions revoked by this section or, in the case of a revoked nomination in a fiduciary or representative capacity, as if the former spouse and relatives of the former spouse died immediately before the divorce or annulment.

(5) Provisions revoked solely by this section are revived by the divorced individual's remarriage to the former spouse or by a nullification of the divorce or annulment.

(6) No change of circumstances other than as described in this section and in 72-2-813 effects a revocation.

(7) (a) A payor or other third party is not liable for having made a payment or transferred an item of property or any other benefit to a beneficiary designated in a governing instrument affected by a divorce, annulment, or remarriage, or for having taken any other action in good faith reliance on the validity of the governing instrument, before the payor or other third party received written notice of the divorce, annulment, or remarriage. A payor or other third party does not have a duty or obligation to inquire as to the continued marital relationship between the decedent and a beneficiary or to seek any evidence with respect to a marital relationship. A payor or other third party is only liable for actions taken 2 or more business days after the actual receipt by the payor or other third party of written notice. The payor or other third party may be liable for actions taken pursuant to the governing instrument only if the form of service is that described in subsection (7)(b).

(b) The written notice must indicate the name of the decedent, the name of the person asserting an interest, the nature of the payment or item of property or other benefit, and a statement that a dissolution, annulment, or remarriage of the decedent and the designated beneficiary occurred. Written notice of the divorce, annulment, or remarriage under subsection (7)(a) must be mailed to the payor's or other third party's main office or home by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, or served upon the payor or other third party in the same manner as a summons in a civil action. Upon receipt of written notice of the divorce, annulment, or remarriage, a payor or other third party may pay any amount owed or transfer or deposit any item of property held by it to or with the court having jurisdiction of the probate proceedings relating to the decedent's estate or, if no proceedings have been commenced, to or with the court having jurisdiction of probate proceedings relating to decedents' estates located in the county of the decedent's residence. In addition to the actions available under this section, the payor or other third party may take any action authorized by law or the governing instrument. If probate proceedings have not been commenced, the payor or other third party shall file with the court a copy of the written notice received by the payor or other third party, with the payment of funds or transfer or deposit of property. The court may not charge a filing fee to the payor or other third party for the payment to the court of amounts owed or transferred to or deposited with the court or any item of property. The court shall hold the funds or item of property and, upon its determination under this section, shall order disbursement or transfer in accordance with the determination. A filing fee, if any, may, in the discretion of the court, be charged upon disbursement either to the recipient or against the funds or property on deposit with the court. Payments, transfers, or deposits made to or with the court discharge the payor or other third party from all claims for the value of amounts paid to or items of property transferred to or deposited with the court.

(8) (a) A bona fide purchaser who purchases property from a former spouse, relative of a former spouse, or any other person or who receives from a former spouse, relative of a former spouse, or any other person for value and without notice a payment or other item of property in partial or full satisfaction of a legally enforceable obligation is neither obligated under this section to return the payment, item of property, or benefit nor liable under this section for the amount of the payment or the value of the item of property or benefit. However, a former spouse, relative of a former spouse, or other person who, not for value, received a payment, item of property, or other benefit to which that person is not entitled under this section is obligated to return the payment, item of property, or benefit, or is personally liable for the amount of the payment or the value of the item of property or benefit, to the person who is entitled to it under this section.

(b) If this section or any part of this section is preempted by federal law with respect to a payment, an item of property, or any other benefit covered by this section, a former spouse, relative of the former spouse, or any other person who, not for value, received a payment, item of property, or other benefit to which that person is not entitled under this section is obligated to return that payment, item of property, or benefit, or is personally liable for the amount of the payment or the value of the item of property or benefit, to the person who would have been entitled to it were this section or part of this section not preempted.

(9) The provisions of this section apply to testate and intestate estates, and in the event of a conflict between the provisions of this section and those provided in chapters 1 through 5 and chapter 16, part 6, of this title, the provisions of this section control. This subsection does not apply if a divorced individual designates a former spouse as personal representative of the estate subsequent to the divorce.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-2-121 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 2 / Part 1 / Section 72-2-121
72-2-121 Alienage
Status: in_force

72-2-121 . Alienage. No individual is disqualified to take as an heir because the individual or an individual through whom the individual claims is or has been an alien.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-5-301 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 5 / Part 3 / Section 72-5-301
72-5-301 Consent to jurisdiction by acceptance of appointment
Status: in_force

72-5-301 . Consent to jurisdiction by acceptance of appointment. (1) By accepting appointment, a guardian submits personally to the jurisdiction of the court in any proceeding relating to the guardianship that may be instituted by any interested person.

(2) Notice of any proceeding must be delivered to the guardian or mailed to the guardian by ordinary mail at the guardian's address as listed in the court records and to the guardian's address as then known to the petitioner.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-38-901 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 38 / Part 9 / Section 72-38-901
72-38-901 Prudent investor rule
Status: in_force

72-38-901 . Prudent investor rule. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), a trustee who invests and manages trust assets owes a duty to the beneficiaries of the trust to comply with the prudent investor rule.

(2) The settlor may expand or restrict the prudent investor rule by express provisions in the trust instrument. A trustee is not liable to a beneficiary for the trustee's good faith reliance on these express provisions.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-314 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 3 / Part 3 / Section 72-3-314
72-3-314 Probate of more than one instrument -- order
Status: in_force

72-3-314 . Probate of more than one instrument -- order. (1) If two or more instruments are offered for probate before a final order is entered in a formal testacy proceeding, more than one instrument may be probated if neither expressly revokes the other or contains provisions which work a total revocation by implication.

(2) If more than one instrument is probated, the order shall indicate what provisions control in respect to the nomination of an executor, if any. The order may but need not indicate how any provisions of a particular instrument are affected by the other instrument. After a final order in a testacy proceeding has been entered, no petition for probate of any other instrument of the decedent may be entertained, except incident to a petition to vacate or modify a previous probate order and subject to the time limits of 72-3-317 .
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-507 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 3 / Part 5 / Section 72-3-507
72-3-507 Appointment of one not having priority
Status: in_force

72-3-507 . Appointment of one not having priority. Appointment of one who does not have priority, including priority resulting from renunciation or nomination determined pursuant to 72-3-504 , may be made only in formal proceedings. Before appointing one without priority, the court must determine that those having priority, although given notice of the proceedings, have failed to request appointment or to nominate another for appointment and that administration is necessary.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-405 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 3 / Part 4 / Section 72-3-405
72-3-405 Interim orders
Status: in_force

72-3-405 . Interim orders. Interim orders approving or directing partial distributions or granting other relief may be issued by the court at any time during the pendency of a supervised administration on the application of the personal representative or any interested person.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-38-111 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 38 / Part 1 / Section 72-38-111
72-38-111 Nonjudicial settlement agreements
Status: in_force

72-38-111 . Nonjudicial settlement agreements. (1) For purposes of this section, "interested persons" means persons whose consent would be required in order to achieve a binding settlement were the settlement to be approved by the court.

(2) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (3), interested persons may enter into a binding nonjudicial settlement agreement with respect to any matter involving a trust.

(3) A nonjudicial settlement agreement is valid only to the extent it does not violate a material purpose of the trust and includes terms and conditions that could be properly approved by the court under this chapter.

(4) Matters that may be resolved by a nonjudicial settlement agreement include but are not limited to:

(a) the interpretation or construction of the terms of the trust;

(b) the approval of a trustee's report or accounting;

(c) direction to a trustee to refrain from performing a particular act or the grant to a trustee of any necessary or desirable power;

(d) the resignation or appointment of a trustee and the determination of a trustee's compensation;

(e) transfer of a trust's principal place of administration; and

(f) liability of a trustee for an action relating to the trust.

(5) Any interested person may request the court to approve a nonjudicial settlement agreement, to determine whether the representation as provided in Title 72, chapter 38, part 3, was adequate, and to determine whether the agreement contains terms and conditions the court could have properly approved.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-616 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 3 / Part 6 / Section 72-3-616
72-3-616 Improper exercise of power -- breach of fiduciary duty
Status: in_force

72-3-616 . Improper exercise of power -- breach of fiduciary duty. (1) If any exercise of power concerning the estate is improper, the personal representative is liable to interested persons for damage or loss resulting from breach of the personal representative's fiduciary duty to the same extent as a trustee of an express trust.

(2) The rights of purchasers and others dealing with a personal representative must be determined as provided in 72-3-615 and 72-3-618 .
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-30-302 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 30 / Part 3 / Section 72-30-302
72-30-302 Definitions
Status: in_force

72-30-302 . Definitions. For the purposes of this part, the following definitions apply:

(1) "Charitable organization" means an organization arranged and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, literary, educational, or other specified purposes or for testing for public safety and that has a tax-exempt designation under the provisions of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3).

(2) "Donor" means an individual or entity who has made a contribution of property or money to either an existing endowment fund or a new endowment fund of a charitable organization or of a charitable trust pursuant to the terms of an endowment agreement that may include donor-imposed restrictions governing the use of the contribution.

(3) "Donor-imposed restriction" means a written statement within an endowment agreement that specifies obligations on the management or purpose of the endowment fund.

(4) "Endowment agreement" means a written agreement between a charitable organization and a donor or a charitable trust and a donor regarding the contribution made by the donor and accepted by the charitable organization or the charitable trust that may include donor-imposed restrictions governing the use of the contribution.

(5) (a) "Endowment fund" means an institutional fund or part of an institutional fund that, under the terms of a gift instrument, is not wholly expendable by the institution on a current basis.

(b) The term does not include assets that an institution designates as an endowment fund for its own use.

(6) "Gift instrument" means a record or records, including an institutional solicitation, under which property is granted to, transferred to, or held by an institution as an institutional fund.

(7) "Legal representative" means the administrator or executor of a person's estate, if made known by the donor to the charitable organization, a surviving spouse if a court judgment has settled the accounts of the estate, or a person designated in an endowment agreement to act in place of a party to the agreement for all matters expressed in the agreement and all of the actions the agreement contemplates, including without limitation interpreting, performing, and enforcing the agreement and defending its validity.

(8) "Property" means real property, personal property or money, cryptocurrency, stocks, bonds, or any other asset or financial instrument.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-508 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 3 / Part 5 / Section 72-3-508
72-3-508 Application of priority provisions to appointment of successor
Status: in_force

72-3-508 . Application of priority provisions to appointment of successor. Sections 72-3-501 through 72-3-507 govern priority for appointment of a successor personal representative but do not apply to the selection of a special administrator.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-5-401 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 5 / Part 4 / Section 72-5-401
72-5-401 Original petition for appointment or protective order -- who may petition
Status: in_force

72-5-401 . Original petition for appointment or protective order -- who may petition. The person to be protected, any person who is interested in that person's estate, affairs, or welfare, including that person's parent, guardian, or custodian, or any person who would be adversely affected by lack of effective management of the property and affairs of the person to be protected may petition for the appointment of a conservator or for other appropriate protective order.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-1104 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 3 / Part 11 / Section 72-3-1104
72-3-1104 Small estates -- closing by sworn statement of personal representative
Status: in_force

72-3-1104 . Small estates -- closing by sworn statement of personal representative. (1) Unless prohibited by order of the court and except for estates being administered by supervised personal representatives, a personal representative may close an estate administered under the summary procedures of 72-3-1103 by filing with the court, at any time after disbursement and distribution of the estate, a verified statement stating that:

(a) to the best knowledge of the personal representative, the value of the entire estate, less liens and encumbrances, did not exceed homestead allowance, exempt property, family allowance, costs and expenses of administration, reasonable funeral expenses, and reasonable, necessary medical and hospital expenses of the last illness of the decedent;

(b) the personal representative has fully administered the estate by payment of estate taxes and by disbursing and distributing it to the persons entitled to it; and

(c) the personal representative has sent a copy of the closing statement to all distributees of the estate and to all creditors or other claimants of whom the personal representative is aware whose claims are neither paid nor barred and has furnished a full account in writing of the administration to the distributees whose interests are affected.

(2) If actions or proceedings involving the personal representative are not pending in the court 1 year after the closing statement is filed, the appointment of the personal representative terminates.

(3) A closing statement filed under this section has the same effect as one filed under 72-3-1004 .
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-2-617 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 2 / Part 6 / Section 72-2-617
72-2-617 Nonexoneration
Status: in_force

72-2-617 . Nonexoneration. A specific devise passes subject to any security interest existing at the date of death, without right of exoneration, regardless of a general directive in the will to pay debts.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-40-117 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 40 / Part 1 / Section 72-40-117
72-40-117 Limitation of action against trust director
Status: in_force

72-40-117 . Limitation of action against trust director. (1) An action against a trust director for breach of trust must be commenced within the same limitation period as under 72-38-1005 for an action for breach of trust against a trustee in a like position and under similar circumstances.

(2) A report or accounting has the same effect on the limitation period for an action against a trust director for breach of trust that the report or accounting would have under 72-38-1005 in an action for breach of trust against a trustee in a like position and under similar circumstances.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-2-412 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 2 / Part 4 / Section 72-2-412
72-2-412 Homestead allowance
Status: in_force

72-2-412 . Homestead allowance. A decedent's surviving spouse is entitled to a homestead allowance of $22,500. If there is no surviving spouse, each minor child and each dependent child of the decedent is entitled to a homestead allowance amounting to $22,500 divided by the number of minor and dependent children of the decedent. The homestead allowance is exempt from and has priority over all claims against the estate. Homestead allowance is in addition to any share passing to the surviving spouse or minor or dependent child by the will of the decedent unless otherwise provided, by intestate succession, or by way of elective share.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-1103 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 3 / Part 11 / Section 72-3-1103
72-3-1103 Small estates -- summary administration procedure
Status: in_force

72-3-1103 . Small estates -- summary administration procedure. If it appears from the inventory and appraisal that the value of the entire estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed homestead allowance, exempt property, family allowance, costs and expenses of administration, reasonable funeral expenses, and reasonable and necessary medical and hospital expenses of the last illness of the decedent, the personal representative, without giving notice to the creditors, may immediately disburse and distribute the estate to the persons entitled thereto and file a closing statement as provided in 72-3-1104 .
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-16-910 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 16 / Part 9 / Section 72-16-910
72-16-910 Extension of time for payment
Status: in_force

72-16-910 . Extension of time for payment. The district court of the county in which such estate is being probated may, for cause shown, extend the time of payment of said tax whenever the circumstances of the case require.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-9-101 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 9 / Part 1 / Section 72-9-101
72-9-101 Short title
Status: in_force

72-9-101 . Short title. This part shall be known and may be cited as the "Uniform Disposition of Community Property Rights at Death Act".
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-5-213 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 5 / Part 2 / Section 72-5-213
72-5-213 Objection by minor 14 years of age or older to testamentary appointment
Status: in_force

72-5-213 . Objection by minor 14 years of age or older to testamentary appointment. A minor 14 years of age or older may prevent an appointment of the minor's testamentary guardian from becoming effective or may cause a previously accepted appointment to terminate by filing with the court in which the will is probated a written objection to the appointment before it is accepted or within 30 days after notice of its acceptance. An objection may be withdrawn. An objection does not preclude appointment by the court in a proper proceeding of the testamentary nominee or any other suitable person.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-2-613 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 2 / Part 6 / Section 72-2-613
72-2-613 Antilapse -- deceased devisee -- class gifts
Status: in_force

72-2-613 . Antilapse -- deceased devisee -- class gifts. (1) As used in this section, the following definitions apply:

(a) "Alternative devise" means a devise that is expressly created by the will and that under the terms of the will may take effect instead of another devise on the happening of one or more events, including survival of the testator or failure to survive the testator, whether an event is expressed in condition-precedent, condition-subsequent, or any other form. A residuary clause constitutes an alternative devise with respect to a nonresiduary devise only if the will specifically provides that, upon lapse or failure, the nonresiduary devise or nonresiduary devises in general pass under the residuary clause.

(b) "Class member" includes an individual who fails to survive the testator but who would have taken under a devise in the form of a class gift had the individual survived the testator.

(c) "Descendant of a grandparent", as used in subsection (2), means an individual who qualifies as a descendant of a grandparent of the testator or of the donor of a power of appointment under the:

(i) rules of construction applicable to a class gift created in the testator's will if the devise or exercise of the power is in the form of a class gift; or

(ii) rules for intestate succession if the devise or exercise of the power is not in the form of a class gift.

(d) "Descendants", as used in the phrase "surviving descendants" of a deceased devisee or class member in subsections (2)(a) and (2)(b), mean the descendants of a deceased devisee or class member who would take under a class gift created in the testator's will.

(e) "Devise" includes an alternative devise, a devise in the form of a class gift, and an exercise of a power of appointment.

(f) "Devisee" includes:

(i) a class member if the devise is in the form of a class gift;

(ii) an individual or class member who was deceased at the time the testator executed the testator's will as well as an individual or class member who was then living but who failed to survive the testator; and

(iii) an appointee under a power of appointment exercised by the testator's will.

(g) "Stepchild" means a child of the surviving, deceased, or former spouse of the testator or of the donor of a power of appointment but not a child of the testator or donor.

(h) "Surviving", in the phrase "surviving devisees" or "surviving decendants" means devisees or descendants who neither predeceased the testator nor are deemed to have predeceased the testator under 72-2-712 .

(i) "Testator" includes the donee of a power of appointment if the power is exercised in the testator's will.

(2) If a devisee fails to survive the testator and is a grandparent, a descendant of a grandparent, or a stepchild of either the testator or the donor of a power of appointment exercised by the testator's will, the following apply:

(a) Except as provided in subsection (2)(d), if the devise is not in the form of a class gift and the deceased devisee leaves surviving descendants, a substitute gift is created in the devisee's surviving descendants. They take by representation the property to which the devisee would have been entitled had the devisee survived the testator.

(b) Except as provided in subsection (2)(d), if the devise is in the form of a class gift, other than a devise to "issue", "descendants", "heirs of the body", "heirs", "next of kin", "relatives", or "family" or a class described by language of similar import, a substitute gift is created in the surviving descendants of any deceased devisee. The property to which the devisees would have been entitled had all of them survived the testator passes to the surviving devisees and the surviving descendants of the deceased devisees. Each surviving devisee takes the share to which the devisee would have been entitled had the deceased devisees survived the testator. Each deceased devisee's surviving descendants who are substituted for the deceased devisee take by representation the share to which the deceased devisee would have been entitled had the deceased devisee survived the testator. For purposes of this section, "deceased devisee" means a class member who failed to survive the testator and left one or more surviving descendants.

(c) For purposes of 72-2-611 , words of survivorship, such as in a devise to an individual "if the individual survives me" or in a devise to "my surviving children", are not, in the absence of additional evidence, a sufficient indication of an intent contrary to the application of this section.

(d) If the will creates an alternative devise with respect to a devise for which a substitute gift is created by subsection (2)(a) or (2)(b), the substitute gift is superseded by the alternative devise if:

(i) the alternative devise is in the form of a class gift and one or more members of the class is entitled to take under the will; or

(ii) the alternative devise is not in the form of a class gift and the expressly designated devisee of the alternative devise is entitled to take under the will.

(e) Unless the language creating a power of appointment expressly excludes the substitution of the descendants of an appointee for the appointee, a surviving descendant of a deceased appointee of a power of appointment may be substituted for the appointee under this section, whether or not the descendant is an object of the power.

(3) If, under subsection (2), substitute gifts are created and not superseded with respect to more than one devise and the devises are alternative devises, one to the other, the determination of which of the substitute gifts takes effect is resolved as follows:

(a) Except as provided in subsection (3)(b), the devised property passes under the primary substitute gift.

(b) If there is a younger-generation devise, the devised property passes under the younger-generation substitute gift and not under the primary substitute gift.

(c) As used in this subsection (3), the following definitions apply:

(i) "Primary devise" means the devise that would have taken effect had all the deceased devisees of the alternative devises who left surviving descendants survived the testator.

(ii) "Primary substitute gift" means the substitute gift created with respect to the primary devise.

(iii) "Younger-generation devise" means a devise that:

(A) is to a descendant of a devisee of the primary devise;

(B) is an alternative devise with respect to the primary devise;

(C) is a devise for which a substitute gift is created; and

(D) would have taken effect had all the deceased devisees who left surviving descendants survived the testator except the deceased devisee or devisees of the primary devise.

(iv) "Younger-generation substitute gift" means the substitute gift created with respect to the younger-generation devise.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-14-204 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 14 / Part 2 / Section 72-14-204
72-14-204 Order directing sale of property upon final settlement of estate
Status: in_force

72-14-204 . Order directing sale of property upon final settlement of estate. At the final settlement of an estate, if there are no heirs or other claimants, the district judge shall order the public administrator to sell all property belonging to the estate and pay the proceeds to the county treasurer. The county treasurer shall keep an account of the money received from each estate and paid to the county treasurer and shall remit the money to the department of revenue with a statement of the estate to which the money belongs. The department shall immediately deliver the money to the state treasurer for deposit in the private purpose trust fund.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-2-532 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 2 / Part 5 / Section 72-2-532
72-2-532 Events of independent significance
Status: in_force

72-2-532 . Events of independent significance. A will may dispose of property by reference to acts and events that have significance apart from their effect upon the dispositions made by the will, whether they occur before or after the execution of the will or before or after the testator's death. The execution or revocation of a will of another person is such an event.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-6-412 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 6 / Part 4 / Section 72-6-412
72-6-412 Effect of transfer on death deed at transferor's death
Status: in_force

72-6-412 . Effect of transfer on death deed at transferor's death. (1) Except as otherwise provided in the transfer on death deed, in 72-2-712 , 72-2-716 , 72-2-813 , 72-2-814 , 72-6-112 , or in this section, and subject to chapter 2, part 2, of this title, on the death of the transferor, the following rules apply to property that is the subject of a transfer on death deed and owned by the transferor at death:

(a) Subject to subsection (1)(b), the interest in the property is transferred to the designated beneficiary in accordance with the deed.

(b) The interest of a designated beneficiary is contingent on the designated beneficiary surviving the transferor. The interest of a designated beneficiary that fails to survive the transferor lapses.

(c) Subject to subsection (1)(d), concurrent interests are transferred to the beneficiaries in equal and undivided shares with no right of survivorship.

(d) If the transferor has identified two or more designated beneficiaries to receive concurrent interests in the property, the share of one which lapses or fails for any reason is transferred to the other, or to the others in proportion to the interest of each in the remaining part of the property held concurrently.

(2) Subject to Title 70, chapter 21, a beneficiary takes the property subject to all conveyances, encumbrances, assignments, contracts, mortgages, liens, and other interests to which the property is subject at the transferor's death. For the purposes of this subsection and Title 70, chapter 21, the recording of the transfer on death deed is deemed to have occurred at the transferor's death.

(3) If a transferor is a joint owner and is:

(a) survived by one or more other joint owners, the property that is the subject of a transfer on death deed belongs to the surviving joint owner or owners with right of survivorship; or

(b) the last surviving joint owner, the transfer on death deed is effective.

(4) A transfer on death deed transfers property without covenant or warranty of title even if the deed contains a contrary provision.

(5) (a) On transfer of interest in the property after the death of the owner pursuant to a transfer on death deed in this section, any real property insurance coverage, including all rights and obligations, on the real property transferred must be extended to cover losses to the real property as if the designated beneficiary identified on the transfer on death deed was the named insured, unless the beneficiary has disclaimed interest in the real property. The beneficiary's temporary coverage terminates the earlier of:

(i) 45 days after the date of the owner's death;

(ii) the expiration date of the policy; or

(iii) on placement of the beneficiaries' replacement policy.

(b) Nothing in this subsection (5) affects any coverage provided under the policy to household members or others who are considered to be insureds on the death of the owner.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-39-209 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 39 / Part 2 / Section 72-39-209
72-39-209 Trust for beneficiary with disability
Status: in_force

72-39-209 . Trust for beneficiary with disability. (1) In this section:

(a) "Beneficiary with a disability" means a beneficiary of a first trust who the special-needs fiduciary believes may qualify for governmental benefits based on disability, whether or not the beneficiary currently receives those benefits or is an individual who has been adjudicated incapacitated.

(b) "Governmental benefits" means financial aid or services from a state, federal, or other public agency.

(c) "Special-needs fiduciary" means, with respect to a trust that has a beneficiary with a disability:

(i) a trustee or other fiduciary, other than a settlor, that has discretion to distribute part or all of the principal of a first trust to one or more current beneficiaries;

(ii) if no trustee or fiduciary has discretion under subsection (1)(c)(i), a trustee or other fiduciary, other than a settlor, that has discretion to distribute part or all of the income of the first trust to one or more current beneficiaries; or

(iii) if no trustee or fiduciary has discretion under subsections (1)(c)(i) and (1)(c)(ii), a trustee or other fiduciary, other than a settlor, that is required to distribute part or all of the income or principal of the first trust to one or more current beneficiaries.

(d) "Special-needs trust" means a trust the trustee believes would not be considered a resource for purposes of determining whether a beneficiary with a disability is eligible for governmental benefits.

(2) A special-needs fiduciary may exercise the decanting power under 72-39-207 over the principal of the first trust as if the fiduciary had authority to distribute principal to a beneficiary with a disability subject to expanded distributive discretion if:

(a) a second trust is a special-needs trust that benefits the beneficiary with a disability; and

(b) the special-needs fiduciary determines that exercise of the decanting power will further the purposes of the first trust.

(3) In an exercise of the decanting power under this section, the following rules apply:

(a) Notwithstanding 72-39-207 (3)(b), the interest in the second trust of a beneficiary with a disability may:

(i) be a pooled trust as defined by medicaid law for the benefit of the beneficiary with a disability under 42 U.S.C. 1396p(d)(4)(C), as amended; or

(ii) contain payback provisions complying with reimbursement requirements of medicaid law under 42 U.S.C. 1396p(d)(4)(A), as amended.

(b) 72-39-207 (3)(c) does not apply to the interests of the beneficiary with a disability.

(c) Except as affected by any change to the interests of the beneficiary with a disability, the second trust, or if there are two or more second trusts, the second trusts in the aggregate, must grant each other beneficiary of the first trust beneficial interests in the second trusts that are substantially similar to the beneficiary's beneficial interests in the first trust.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-6-112 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 6 / Part 1 / Section 72-6-112
72-6-112 Liability of nonprobate transferees for creditor claims and statutory allowances
Status: in_force

72-6-112 . Liability of nonprobate transferees for creditor claims and statutory allowances. (1) In this section, "nonprobate transfer" means a valid transfer effective at death, other than a transfer of a survivorship interest in a joint tenancy of real estate, by a transferor whose last domicile was in this state to the extent that the transferor immediately before death had power, acting alone, to prevent the transfer by revocation or withdrawal and instead to use the property for the benefit of the transferor or apply it to discharge claims against the transferor's probate estate.

(2) Except as otherwise provided by statute, a transferee of a nonprobate transfer is subject to liability to any probate estate of the decedent for allowed claims against decedent's probate estate and statutory allowances to the decedent's spouse and children to the extent the estate is insufficient to satisfy those claims and allowances. The liability of a nonprobate transferee may not exceed the value of nonprobate transfers received or controlled by that transferee.

(3) Nonprobate transferees are liable for the insufficiency described in subsection (2) in the following order of priority:

(a) a transferee designated in the decedent's will or any other governing instrument, as provided in the instrument;

(b) the trustee of a trust serving as the principal nonprobate instrument in the decedent's estate plan as shown by its designation as devisee of the decedent's residuary estate or by other facts or circumstances, to the extent of the value of the nonprobate transfer received or controlled;

(c) other nonprobate transferees, in proportion to the values received.

(4) Unless otherwise provided by the trust instrument, interests of beneficiaries in all trusts incurring liabilities under this section abate as necessary to satisfy the liability, as if all of the trust instruments were a single will and the interests were devises under it.

(5) A provision made in one instrument may direct the apportionment of the liability among the nonprobate transferees taking under that or any other governing instrument. If a provision in one instrument conflicts with a provision in another, the later one prevails.

(6) Upon due notice to a nonprobate transferee, the liability imposed by this section is enforceable in proceedings in this state, whether or not the transferee is located in this state.

(7) A proceeding under this section may not be commenced unless the personal representative of the decedent's estate has received a written demand for the proceeding from the surviving spouse or a child, to the extent that statutory allowances are affected, or a creditor. If the personal representative declines or fails to commence a proceeding after demand, a person making demand may commence the proceeding in the name of the decedent's estate, at the expense of the person making the demand and not of the estate. A personal representative who declines in good faith to commence a requested proceeding incurs no personal liability for declining.

(8) A proceeding under this section must be commenced within 1 year after the decedent's death, but a proceeding on behalf of a creditor whose claim was allowed after proceedings challenging disallowance of the claim may be commenced within 60 days after final allowance of the claim.

(9) Unless a written notice asserting that a decedent's probate estate is nonexistent or insufficient to pay allowed claims and statutory allowances has been received from the decedent's personal representative, the following rules apply:

(a) Payment or delivery of assets by a financial institution, registrar, or other obligor, to a nonprobate transferee in accordance with the terms of the governing instrument controlling the transfer releases the obligor from all claims for amounts paid or assets delivered.

(b) A trustee receiving or controlling a nonprobate transfer is released from liability under this section with respect to any assets distributed to the trust's beneficiaries. Each beneficiary to the extent of the distribution received becomes liable for the amount of the trustee's liability attributable to assets received by the beneficiary.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-5-211 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 5 / Part 2 / Section 72-5-211
72-5-211 Testamentary appointment of guardian of minor -- when effective -- priorities -- notice of appointment
Status: in_force

72-5-211 . Testamentary appointment of guardian of minor -- when effective -- priorities -- notice of appointment. (1) The parent of a minor may appoint by will a guardian of an unmarried minor. Subject to the right of the minor under 72-5-213 , a testamentary appointment becomes effective upon filing the guardian's acceptance in the court in which the will is probated if before acceptance both parents are dead or the surviving parent is adjudged incapacitated. If both parents are dead, an effective appointment by the parent who died later has priority.

(2) Upon acceptance of an appointment, written notice of acceptance must be given by the guardian to the minor and to the person having the minor's care or to the minor's nearest adult relations.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-321 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 3 / Part 3 / Section 72-3-321
72-3-321 Formal testacy proceedings -- contested cases
Status: in_force

72-3-321 . Formal testacy proceedings -- contested cases. In a contested case in which the proper execution of a will is at issue, the following rules apply:

(1) If the will is self-proved pursuant to 72-2-524 , the will satisfies the requirements for execution without the testimony of any attesting witness, upon filing the will and the acknowledgment and affidavits annexed or attached to it, unless there is evidence of fraud or forgery affecting the acknowledgment or affidavit.

(2) If the will is witnessed pursuant to 72-2-522 (1), but not self-proved, the testimony of at least one of the attesting witnesses is required to establish proper execution if the witness is within this state, competent, and able to testify. Proper execution may be established by other evidence, including an affidavit of an attesting witness. An attestation clause that is signed by the attesting witnesses raises a rebuttable presumption that the events recited in the clause occurred.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-30-213 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 30 / Part 2 / Section 72-30-213
72-30-213 Relation to Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act
Status: in_force

72-30-213 . Relation to Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act. This chapter modifies, limits, and supersedes the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, 15 U.S.C. 7001, et seq., but does not modify, limit, or supersede section 101(c) of that act, 15 U.S.C. 7001(c), or authorize electronic delivery of any of the notices described in section 103(b) of that act, 15 U.S.C. 7003(b).
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-1-208 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 1 / Part 2 / Section 72-1-208
72-1-208 Jury trial
Status: in_force

72-1-208 . Jury trial. (1) If duly demanded, a party is entitled to trial by jury in a formal testacy proceeding, and any proceeding in which any controverted question of fact arises as to which any party has a constitutional right to trial by jury.

(2) If there is no right to trial by jury under subsection (1) or the right is waived, the court in its discretion may call a jury to decide any issue of fact, in which case the verdict is advisory only.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-5-410 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 5 / Part 4 / Section 72-5-410
72-5-410 Who may be appointed conservator -- priorities
Status: in_force

72-5-410 . Who may be appointed conservator -- priorities. (1) The court may appoint an individual or a corporation with general power to serve as trustee as conservator of the estate of a protected person. The following are entitled to consideration for appointment in the order listed:

(a) a conservator, guardian of property, or other like fiduciary appointed or recognized by the appropriate court of any other jurisdiction in which the protected person resides;

(b) an individual or corporation nominated by the protected person if the person is 14 years of age or older and has, in the opinion of the court, sufficient mental capacity to make an intelligent choice;

(c) the spouse of the protected person;

(d) an adult child of the protected person;

(e) a parent of the protected person or a person nominated by the will of a deceased parent;

(f) any relative of the protected person with whom the protected person has resided for more than 6 months prior to the filing of the petition;

(g) a person nominated by the person who is caring for the person or paying benefits to the person;

(h) a conservator corporation organized under Title 35, chapter 2;

(i) the public administrator.

(2) A person in priorities listed in subsections (1)(a) and (1)(c) through (1)(f) may nominate in writing a person to serve in that person's stead.

(3) With respect to persons having equal priority, the court is to select the one who is best qualified of those willing to serve. The court, for good cause, may pass over a person having priority and appoint a person having less priority or no priority.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-7-301 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 7 / Part 3 / Section 72-7-301
72-7-301 Requisites for exercise of power of appointment
Status: in_force

72-7-301 . Requisites for exercise of power of appointment. (1) A power of appointment is exercised only:

(a) if the instrument exercising the power is valid under applicable law;

(b) if the terms of the instrument exercising the power:

(i) manifest the powerholder's intent to exercise the power; and

(ii) subject to 72-7-304 , satisfy the requirements of exercise, if any, imposed by the donor; and

(c) to the extent the appointment is a permissible exercise of the power.

(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this act, the property subject to a power of appointment may not pass to and may not be administered as a part of the powerholder's probate estate unless:

(a) the power of appointment is a general one that expressly authorizes the powerholder to appoint the appointive property to his or her own estate; and

(b) the powerholder utilizes clear and unequivocal language demonstrating a specific intent to exercise the power in favor of his or her own estate.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-2-530 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 2 / Part 5 / Section 72-2-530
72-2-530 Incorporation by reference
Status: in_force

72-2-530 . Incorporation by reference. A writing in existence when a will is executed may be incorporated by reference if the language of the will manifests this intent and describes the writing sufficiently to permit its identification.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-16-606 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 16 / Part 6 / Section 72-16-606
72-16-606 No apportionment as between temporary interest and remainder
Status: in_force

72-16-606 . No apportionment as between temporary interest and remainder. No interest in income and no estate for years or for life or other temporary interest in any property or fund is subject to apportionment as between the temporary interest and the remainder. The tax on the temporary interest and the tax, if any, on the remainder is chargeable against the corpus of the property or funds subject to the temporary interest and remainder.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-38-405 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 38 / Part 4 / Section 72-38-405
72-38-405 Charitable purposes -- enforcement
Status: in_force

72-38-405 . Charitable purposes -- enforcement. (1) A charitable trust may be created for the relief of poverty, the advancement of education or religion, the promotion of health, governmental or municipal purposes, or other purposes the achievement of which is beneficial to the community.

(2) If the terms of a charitable trust do not indicate a particular charitable purpose or beneficiary, the court may select one or more charitable purposes or beneficiaries. The selection must be consistent with the settlor's intention to the extent it can be ascertained.

(3) A proceeding to enforce a charitable trust may be brought by the settlor, the attorney general, a charitable organization expressly named in the trust to receive distributions, or any other person with standing.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-30-103 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 30 / Part 1 / Section 72-30-103
72-30-103 Uniformity of application and construction
Status: in_force

72-30-103 . Uniformity of application and construction. In applying and construing this chapter, consideration must be given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among those states that enact it.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-16-912 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 16 / Part 9 / Section 72-16-912
72-16-912 Collection and deposit of tax
Status: in_force

72-16-912 . Collection and deposit of tax. The tax imposed by this part must be collected by the department of revenue for deposit with the state treasurer.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-12-407 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 12 / Part 4 / Section 72-12-407
72-12-407 Report property of petitioner unless interested party shares fees
Status: in_force

72-12-407 . Report property of petitioner unless interested party shares fees. Unless the court otherwise orders, the handwriting expert's written report must be the sole and exclusive property of the party requesting it. However, upon demand and the payment of a pro rata share of the fees and costs of the handwriting expert, as determined by the court, any interested party may obtain a certified copy of the written report.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-38-121 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 38 / Part 1 / Section 72-38-121
72-38-121 Resulting trust upon full performance of trust
Status: in_force

72-38-121 . Resulting trust upon full performance of trust. When the owner of property gratuitously transfers it subject to a trust that is properly declared and that is fully performed without exhausting the trust estate, the trustee holds the surplus as a resulting trust for the transferor or the transferor's estate unless the transferor manifested in the trust instrument an intention that no resulting trust of the surplus should arise.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-4-402 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 4 / Part 4 / Section 72-4-402
72-4-402 Adjudication in other jurisdiction binding on local representative
Status: in_force

72-4-402 . Adjudication in other jurisdiction binding on local representative. An adjudication rendered in any jurisdiction in favor of or against any personal representative of the estate is as binding on the local personal representative as if the local personal representative were a party to the adjudication.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-702 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 3 / Part 7 / Section 72-3-702
72-3-702 Special administrator -- who may be appointed
Status: in_force

72-3-702 . Special administrator -- who may be appointed. (1) If a special administrator is to be appointed pending the probate of a will which is the subject of a pending application or petition for probate, the person named executor in the will shall be appointed if available and qualified.

(2) In other cases, any proper person may be appointed special administrator.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-2-719 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 2 / Part 7 / Section 72-2-719
72-2-719 Representation -- per capita at each generation -- per stirpes
Status: in_force

72-2-719 . Representation -- per capita at each generation -- per stirpes. (1) As used in this section, the following definitions apply:

(a) "Deceased child" or "deceased descendant" means a child or a descendant who either predeceased the distribution date or is considered to have predeceased the distribution date under 72-2-712 .

(b) "Distribution date", with respect to an interest, means the time when the interest is to take effect in possession or enjoyment. The distribution date need not occur at the beginning or end of a calendar day but may occur at a time during the course of a day.

(c) "Surviving ancestor", "surviving child", or "surviving descendant" means an ancestor, a child, or a descendant who neither predeceased the distribution date nor is considered to have predeceased the distribution date under 72-2-712 .

(2) (a) If a governing instrument calls for property to be distributed "per capita at each generation", the property is divided into as many equal shares as there are:

(i) surviving descendants in the generation nearest to the designated ancestor that contains one or more surviving descendants; and

(ii) deceased descendants in the same generation who left surviving descendants, if any.

(b) Each surviving descendant in the nearest generation is allocated one share. The remaining shares, if any, are combined and then divided in the same manner among the surviving descendants of the deceased descendants as if the surviving descendants who were allocated a share and their surviving descendants had predeceased the distribution date.

(3) (a) If a governing instrument calls for property to be distributed "per stirpes", the property is divided into as many equal shares as there are:

(i) surviving children of the designated ancestor; and

(ii) deceased children who left surviving descendants.

(b) Each surviving child, if any, is allocated one share. The share of each deceased child with surviving descendants is divided in the same manner, with subdivision repeating at each succeeding generation until the property is fully allocated among surviving descendants.

(4) (a) If an applicable statute or a governing instrument calls for property to be distributed "by representation", the property is divided into as many equal shares as there are:

(i) surviving descendants in the generation nearest to the designated ancestor that contains one or more surviving descendants; and

(ii) deceased descendants in the same generation who left surviving descendants, if any.

(b) Each surviving descendant in the nearest generation is allocated one share. The share of each deceased descendant in the same generation as the surviving descendant is divided in the same manner, with the subdivision repeating at each succeeding generation until the property is fully allocated among surviving descendants.

(5) For the purposes of subsections (2) through (4), an individual who is deceased and left no surviving descendant is disregarded and an individual who leaves a surviving ancestor who is a descendant of the designated ancestor is not entitled to a share.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-31-340 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 31 / Part 3 / Section 72-31-340
72-31-340 Tangible personal property
Status: in_force

72-31-340 . Tangible personal property. Unless the power of attorney otherwise provides, language in a power of attorney granting general authority with respect to tangible personal property authorizes the agent to:

(1) demand, buy, receive, accept as a gift or as security for an extension of credit, or otherwise acquire or reject ownership or possession of tangible personal property or an interest in tangible personal property;

(2) sell, exchange, convey with or without covenants, representations, or warranties, quitclaim, release, surrender, create a security interest in, grant options concerning, lease, sublease, or otherwise dispose of tangible personal property or an interest in tangible personal property;

(3) grant a security interest in tangible personal property or an interest in tangible personal property as security to borrow money or pay, renew, or extend the time of payment of a debt of the principal or a debt guaranteed by the principal;

(4) release, assign, satisfy, or enforce, by litigation or otherwise, a security interest, lien, or other claim on behalf of the principal with respect to tangible personal property or an interest in tangible personal property;

(5) manage or conserve tangible personal property or an interest in tangible personal property on behalf of the principal, including:

(a) insuring against liability or casualty or other loss;

(b) obtaining or regaining possession or protecting the property or interest, by litigation or otherwise;

(c) paying, assessing, compromising, or contesting taxes or assessments or applying for and receiving refunds in connection with taxes or assessments;

(d) moving the property from place to place;

(e) storing the property for hire or on a gratuitous bailment; and

(f) using and making repairs, alterations, or improvements to the property; and

(6) change the form of title of an interest in tangible personal property.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-38-904 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 38 / Part 9 / Section 72-38-904
72-38-904 Review of assets -- time for compliance
Status: in_force

72-38-904 . Review of assets -- time for compliance. Within a reasonable time after accepting a trusteeship or receiving trust assets, a trustee shall review the trust assets and make and implement decisions concerning the retention and disposition of assets in order to bring the trust portfolio into compliance with the purposes, terms, distribution requirements, and other circumstances of the trust and with the requirements of this part.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-631 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 3 / Part 6 / Section 72-3-631
72-3-631 Compensation of personal representative
Status: in_force

72-3-631 . Compensation of personal representative. (1) A personal representative is entitled to reasonable compensation for services.

(2) If the will provides for the compensation of the personal representative and there is no contract with the decedent regarding compensation, the personal representative may renounce the provision before qualifying and be entitled to compensation under the terms of this section. A personal representative also may renounce the right to all or any part of the compensation. A written renunciation of fee may be filed with the court.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-16-611 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 16 / Part 6 / Section 72-16-611
72-16-611 Action to recover apportioned tax -- determination of court prima facie correct
Status: in_force

72-16-611 . Action to recover apportioned tax -- determination of court prima facie correct. In any action to recover from any person interested in the estate the amount of the tax apportioned to the person in accordance with this part, the determination of the court in respect thereto made pursuant to 72-16-602 shall be prima facie correct.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-122 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 3 / Part 1 / Section 72-3-122
72-3-122 Time limit on probate, testacy, and appointment proceedings -- exceptions
Status: in_force

72-3-122 . Time limit on probate, testacy, and appointment proceedings -- exceptions. (1) 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:

(a) if a previous proceeding was dismissed because of doubt about the fact of the decedent's death, appropriate probate, appointment, or testacy proceedings may be maintained at any time thereafter upon a finding that the decedent's death occurred prior to the initiation of the previous proceeding and the applicant or petitioner has not delayed unduly in initiating the subsequent proceeding;

(b) appropriate probate, appointment, or testacy proceedings may be maintained in relation to the estate of an absent, disappeared, or missing person for whose estate a conservator has been appointed at any time within 3 years after the conservator becomes able to establish the death of the protected person;

(c) a proceeding to contest an informally probated will and to secure appointment of the person with legal priority for appointment in the event the contest is successful may be commenced within the later of 12 months from the informal probate or 3 years from the decedent's death;

(d) an informal appointment or a formal testacy or appointment proceeding may be commenced thereafter, if no proceedings concerning the succession or estate administration have occurred within the 3-year period after the decedent's death, but the personal representative has no right to possess estate assets provided in 72-3-606 beyond that necessary to confirm title to the property in the successors to the estate, and claims other than expenses of administration may not be presented against the estate; and

(e) a formal testacy proceeding may be commenced at any time after 3 years from the decedent's death for the purpose of establishing an instrument to direct or control the ownership of property passing or distributable after the decedent's death from one other than the decedent when the property is to be appointed by the terms of the decedent's will or is to pass or be distributed as a part of the decedent's estate or its transfer is otherwise to be controlled by the terms of the decedent's will.

(2) These limitations do not apply to proceedings to construe probated wills or determine heirs of an intestate.

(3) In cases under subsection (1)(a) or (1)(b), the date on which a testacy or appointment proceeding is properly commenced shall be deemed to be the date of the decedent's death for purposes of other limitations provisions of this code which relate to the date of death.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-16-608 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 16 / Part 6 / Section 72-16-608
72-16-608 Powers of personal representative in relation to satisfaction of tax liability
Status: in_force

72-16-608 . Powers of personal representative in relation to satisfaction of tax liability. (1) The personal representative or other person in possession of the property of the decedent required to pay the tax may withhold from any property distributable to any person interested in the estate, upon its distribution to the person, the amount of tax attributable to the person's interest.

(2) If the property in possession of the personal representative or other person required to pay the tax and distributable to any person interested in the estate is insufficient to satisfy the proportionate amount of the tax determined to be due from the person, the personal representative or other person required to pay the tax may recover the deficiency from the person interested in the estate.

(3) If the property is not in the possession of the personal representative or the other person required to pay the tax, the personal representative or the other person required to pay the tax may recover from any person interested in the estate the amount of the tax apportioned to the person in accordance with this part.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-1-205 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 1 / Part 2 / Section 72-1-205
72-1-205 Powers of clerk -- performable by clerk or court
Status: in_force

72-1-205 . Powers of clerk -- performable by clerk or court. The acts and orders which this code specifies as performable by the clerk of court may be performed either by a judge of the court or by the clerk of court.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-17-201 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 17 / Part 2 / Section 72-17-201
72-17-201 Making, amending, revoking, and refusing to make anatomical gifts by individual
Status: in_force

72-17-201 . Making, amending, revoking, and refusing to make anatomical gifts by individual. (1) An anatomical gift of a donor's body or part may be made during the life of the donor for the purpose of transplantation, therapy, research, or education in the manner provided in this section by:

(a) the donor if the donor is an adult or if the donor is a minor and is:

(i) emancipated; or

(ii) authorized under state law to apply for a driver's license because the donor is at least 15 years of age;

(b) an agent of the donor unless the power of attorney for health care or other record prohibits the agent from making an anatomical gift;

(c) a parent of the donor if the donor is an unemancipated minor; or

(d) the donor's guardian.

(2) A donor may make an anatomical gift:

(a) by authorizing a statement or symbol indicating that the donor has made an anatomical gift to be imprinted on the donor's driver's license or identification card;

(b) by a statement contained in a will;

(c) during a terminal illness or injury of the donor, by any form of communication addressed to at least two adults, at least one of whom is a disinterested witness; or

(d) as provided in subsection (3).

(3) A donor or other person authorized to make an anatomical gift under subsection (1) may make a gift by a donor card or other record signed by the donor or other person making the gift or by authorizing that a statement or symbol indicating that the donor has made an anatomical gift be included on a donor registry. If the donor or other person is physically unable to sign the record, the record may be signed by another individual at the direction of the donor or the other person and must:

(a) be witnessed by at least two adults, at least one of whom is a disinterested witness, who have signed at the request of the donor or other person; and

(b) state that it has been signed and witnessed as provided in subsection (3)(a).

(4) Revocation, suspension, expiration, or cancellation of a driver's license or identification card issued to a donor does not invalidate the anatomical gift.

(5) A document of gift may designate a particular physician or surgeon to carry out the appropriate procedures. In the absence of a designation or if the designee is not available, the donee or other person authorized to accept the anatomical gift may employ or authorize any physician, surgeon, technician, or enucleator to carry out the appropriate procedures.

(6) An anatomical gift by will takes effect upon the donor's death, whether or not the will is probated. If, after the donor's death, the will is declared invalid for testamentary purposes, the validity of the anatomical gift is unaffected. An anatomical gift made in accordance with this section is sufficient legal authority for procurement without additional authority from the donor or the donor's family or estate.

(7) Except as provided in subsection (17) and subject to subsection (14), a donor or other person authorized to make an anatomical gift under subsection (1) may amend or revoke an anatomical gift only by:

(a) a record signed by:

(i) the donor or the other person; or

(ii) subject to subsection (8), another individual acting at the direction of the donor or the other person if the donor or other person is physically unable to sign;

(b) any form of communication during a terminal illness or injury addressed to at least two adults, one of whom is a disinterested witness;

(c) the delivery of a signed statement to a specified donee to whom a document of gift had been delivered;

(d) a later-executed document of gift that amends or revokes a previous anatomical gift or portion of an anatomical gift, either expressly or by inconsistency; or

(e) destroying or canceling the document of gift or portion of the document of gift used to make the anatomical gift with the intent to revoke the anatomical gift.

(8) A record signed pursuant to subsection (7)(a)(ii) must:

(a) be witnessed by at least two adults, at least one of whom is a disinterested witness, who have signed at the request of the donor or the other person; and

(b) state that it has been signed and witnessed as provided in subsection (8)(a).

(9) A donor shall notify the federally designated organ procurement organization of the destruction, cancellation, or mutilation of the document for the purpose of removing the person's name from the organ and tissue donation registry created in 72-17-105 and 72-17-106 .

(10) The donor of an anatomical gift made by will may amend or revoke the anatomical gift in the manner provided for amendment or revocation of wills or as provided in subsection (7).

(11) (a) An individual may refuse to make an anatomical gift of the individual's body or part by:

(i) a writing signed in the same manner as a document of gift;

(ii) a statement attached to or imprinted on a donor's driver's license or identification card;

(iii) the individual's will, whether or not the will is admitted to probate or invalidated after the individual's death; or

(iv) any other writing used to identify the individual as refusing to make an anatomical gift.

(b) During a terminal illness or injury, the refusal may be an oral statement or other form of communication addressed to at least two adults, at least one of whom is a disinterested witness.

(12) An individual who has made a refusal may amend or revoke a refusal:

(a) in the manner provided in subsection (11) for making a refusal;

(b) by subsequently making an anatomical gift pursuant to subsection (2) or (3) that is inconsistent with the refusal; or

(c) by destroying or canceling the record evidencing the refusal or the portion of the record used to make the refusal with the intent to revoke the refusal.

(13) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (17) and subject to subsection (15), in the absence of an express, contrary indication by the donor, a person other than the donor is barred from making, amending, or revoking an anatomical gift of a donor's body or part if the donor made an anatomical gift of the donor's body or part under subsection (2) or (3) or an amendment to an anatomical gift under subsection (7). The donor's family or health care provider may not refuse to honor the anatomical gift or thwart the procurement of the donation.

(14) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (18), in the absence of an express, contrary indication by the individual set forth in the refusal, an individual's unrevoked refusal to make an anatomical gift of the individual's body or a part bars all other persons from making an anatomical gift of the individual's body or a part.

(15) In the absence of an express, contrary indication by the donor or other person authorized under this section to make an anatomical gift, an anatomical gift of a part for one or more of the purposes set forth in subsection (1) is neither a refusal to give other parts nor a limitation on an anatomical gift under 72-17-214 or on a removal or release of other parts under 72-17-215 .

(16) In the absence of contrary indications by the donor, a donor's revocation or amendment of an anatomical gift of the donor's body or part is not a refusal to make another anatomical gift and does not bar another person specified in 72-17-214 or this section from making an anatomical gift of the donor's body or part. If the donor intends a revocation to be a refusal to make an anatomical gift, the donor shall make the refusal pursuant to subsection (11).

(17) If a donor who is an unemancipated minor dies, a parent of the donor who is reasonably available may revoke or amend an anatomical gift of the donor's body or part.

(18) If an unemancipated minor who signed a refusal dies, a parent of the minor who is reasonably available may revoke the minor's refusal.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-31-410 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 31 / Part 4 / Section 72-31-410
72-31-410 Disclosure of digital assets held in trust when trustee is original user
Status: in_force

72-31-410 . Disclosure of digital assets held in trust when trustee is original user. Unless otherwise ordered by the court or provided in a trust, a custodian shall disclose to a trustee that is an original user of an account any digital asset of the account held in trust, including a catalogue of electronic communications of the trustee and the content of electronic communications.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-38-303 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 38 / Part 3 / Section 72-38-303
72-38-303 Representation by fiduciaries and parents
Status: in_force

72-38-303 . Representation by fiduciaries and parents. To the extent there is no conflict of interest between the representative and the person represented or among those being represented with respect to a particular question or dispute:

(1) a conservator may represent and bind the estate that the conservator controls;

(2) a guardian may represent and bind the ward if a conservator of the ward's estate has not been appointed;

(3) an agent having authority to act with respect to the particular question or dispute may represent and bind the principal;

(4) a trustee may represent and bind the beneficiaries of the trust;

(5) a personal representative of a decedent's estate may represent and bind persons interested in the estate; and

(6) a parent may represent and bind the parent's minor or unborn child if a conservator or guardian for the child has not been appointed. The parent entitled to represent and bind the child is determined in the following order of priority:

(a) the parent who is a lineal descendant of a settlor;

(b) the parent who is a beneficiary of the trust that is the subject of the representation;

(c) the parent with legal custody of the child; and

(d) if one parent cannot be determined pursuant to the preceding criteria and if a disagreement arises between the parents seeking to represent the same child, a guardian ad litem must be appointed to represent the minor child.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-16-905 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 16 / Part 9 / Section 72-16-905
72-16-905 Estate tax -- how computed
Status: in_force

72-16-905 . Estate tax -- how computed. The tax imposed upon the transfer of each estate is equal to the maximum tax credit allowable for state death taxes against the federal estate tax imposed with respect to the portion of the decedent's estate having a taxable situs in this state. It is the purpose and intent of this part to impose only those additional taxes that may be necessary to give this state the full benefit of the maximum tax credit allowable against the federal estate tax imposed with respect to a decedent's estate that has a taxable situs in this state. If only a portion of a decedent's estate has a taxable situs in this state, the maximum tax credit must be determined by multiplying the entire amount of the credit allowable against the federal estate tax for state death taxes by the percentage that the value of the portion of the decedent's estate that has a taxable situs in this state bears to the value of the entire estate.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-1-103 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 1 / Part 1 / Section 72-1-103
72-1-103 General definitions
Status: in_force

72-1-103 . General definitions. Subject to additional definitions contained in the subsequent chapters that are applicable to specific chapters, parts, or sections and unless the context otherwise requires, in chapters 1 through 6, the following definitions apply:

(1) "Agent" includes an attorney-in-fact under a durable or nondurable power of attorney, an individual authorized to make decisions concerning another's health care, and an individual authorized to make decisions for another under a natural death act.

(2) "Application" means a written request to the clerk for an order of informal probate or appointment under chapter 3, part 2.

(3) "Beneficiary", as it relates to:

(a) a trust beneficiary, includes a person who has any present or future interest, vested or contingent, and also includes the owner of an interest by assignment or other transfer;

(b) a charitable trust, includes any person entitled to enforce the trust;

(c) a beneficiary of a beneficiary designation, refers to a beneficiary of:

(i) an account with POD designation or a security registered in beneficiary form (TOD); or

(ii) any other nonprobate transfer at death; and

(d) a beneficiary designated in a governing instrument, includes a grantee of a deed, a devisee, a trust beneficiary, a beneficiary of a beneficiary designation, a donee, and a person in whose favor a power of attorney or a power held in any individual, fiduciary, or representative capacity is exercised.

(4) "Beneficiary designation" refers to a governing instrument naming a beneficiary of:

(a) an account with POD designation or a security registered in beneficiary form (TOD); or

(b) any other nonprobate transfer at death.

(5) "Child" includes an individual entitled to take as a child under chapters 1 through 5 by intestate succession from the parent whose relationship is involved and excludes a person who is only a stepchild, a foster child, a grandchild, or any more remote descendant.

(6) (a) "Claims", in respect to estates of decedents and protected persons, includes liabilities of the decedent or protected person, whether arising in contract, in tort, or otherwise, and liabilities of the estate that arise at or after the death of the decedent or after the appointment of a conservator, including funeral expenses and expenses of administration.

(b) The term does not include estate taxes or demands or disputes regarding title of a decedent or protected person to specific assets alleged to be included in the estate.

(7) "Clerk" or "clerk of court" means the clerk of the district court.

(8) "Conservator" means a person who is appointed by a court to manage the estate of a protected person.

(9) "Court" means the district court in this state having jurisdiction in matters relating to the affairs of decedents.

(10) "Descendant" of an individual means all of the individual's descendants of all generations, with the relationship of parent and child at each generation being determined by the definition of child and parent contained in this code.

(11) "Devise" when used as a noun means a testamentary disposition of real or personal property and when used as a verb means to dispose of real or personal property by will.

(12) "Devisee" means a person designated in a will to receive a devise. For purposes of chapter 3, in the case of a devise to an existing trust or trustee or to a trustee or trust described by will, the trust or trustee is the devisee and the beneficiaries are not devisees.

(13) "Disability" means cause for a protective order as described by 72-5-409 .

(14) "Distributee" means any person who has received property of a decedent from the decedent's personal representative other than as a creditor or purchaser. A testamentary trustee is a distributee only to the extent of distributed assets or increment to distributed assets remaining in the trustee's hands. A beneficiary of a testamentary trust to whom the trustee has distributed property received from a personal representative is a distributee of the personal representative. For purposes of this provision, "testamentary trustee" includes a trustee to whom assets are transferred by will, to the extent of the devised assets.

(15) "Estate" includes the property of the decedent, trust, or other person whose affairs are subject to chapters 1 through 5 as originally constituted and as it exists from time to time during administration.

(16) "Exempt property" means that property of a decedent's estate that is described in 72-2-413 .

(17) "Fiduciary" includes a personal representative, guardian, conservator, and trustee.

(18) "Foreign personal representative" means a personal representative appointed by another jurisdiction.

(19) "Formal proceedings" means proceedings conducted before a judge with notice to interested persons.

(20) "Governing instrument" means a deed; will; trust; insurance or annuity policy; account with POD designation; security registered in beneficiary form (TOD); pension, profit-sharing, retirement, or similar benefit plan; instrument creating or exercising a power of appointment or a power of attorney; or dispositive, appointive, or nominative instrument of any similar type.

(21) "Guardian" means a person who has qualified as a guardian of a minor or incapacitated person pursuant to testamentary or court appointment but excludes one who is merely a guardian ad litem.

(22) "Heirs", except as controlled by 72-2-721 , means persons, including the surviving spouse and the state, who are entitled under the statutes of intestate succession to the property of a decedent.

(23) "Incapacitated person" has the meaning provided in 72-5-101 .

(24) "Informal proceedings" means proceedings conducted without notice to interested persons by the clerk of court for probate of a will or appointment of a personal representative.

(25) "Interested person" includes heirs, devisees, children, spouses, creditors, beneficiaries, and any others having a property right in or claim against a trust estate or the estate of a decedent, ward, or protected person. The term also includes persons having priority for appointment as personal representative and other fiduciaries representing interested persons. The meaning as it relates to particular persons may vary from time to time and must be determined according to the particular purposes of and matter involved in any proceeding.

(26) "Issue" of a person means a descendant.

(27) "Joint tenants with the right of survivorship" includes co-owners of property held under circumstances that entitle one or more to the whole of the property on the death of the other or others but excludes forms of co-ownership registration in which the underlying ownership of each party is in proportion to that party's contribution.

(28) "Lease" includes an oil, gas, coal, or other mineral lease.

(29) "Letters" includes letters testamentary, letters of guardianship, letters of administration, and letters of conservatorship.

(30) "Minor" means a person who is under 18 years of age.

(31) "Mortgage" means any conveyance, agreement, or arrangement in which property is used as security.

(32) "Nonresident decedent" means a decedent who was domiciled in another jurisdiction at the time of death.

(33) "Organization" means a corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, joint venture, association, government or governmental subdivision or agency, or any other legal or commercial entity.

(34) "Parent" includes any person entitled to take, or who would be entitled to take if the child died without a will, as a parent under chapters 1 through 5 by intestate succession from the child whose relationship is in question and excludes any person who is only a stepparent, foster parent, or grandparent.

(35) "Payor" means a trustee, insurer, business entity, employer, government, governmental agency or subdivision, or any other person authorized or obligated by law or a governing instrument to make payments.

(36) "Person" means an individual, a corporation, an organization, or other legal entity.

(37) "Personal representative" includes executor, administrator, successor personal representative, special administrator, and persons who perform substantially the same function under the law governing their status. "General personal representative" excludes special administrator.

(38) "Petition" means a written request to the court for an order after notice.

(39) "Proceeding" includes action at law and suit in equity.

(40) "Property" includes both real and personal property or any interest in that property and means anything that may be the subject of ownership.

(41) "Protected person" has the meaning provided in 72-5-101 .

(42) "Protective proceeding" has the meaning provided in 72-5-101 .

(43) "Record" means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.

(44) "Security" includes any note; stock; treasury stock; bond; debenture; evidence of indebtedness; certificate of interest or participation in an oil, gas, or mining title or lease or in payments out of production under such a title or lease; collateral trust certificate; transferable share; voting trust certificate; in general, any interest or instrument commonly known as a security; any certificate of interest or participation; or any temporary or interim certificate, receipt, or certificate of deposit for or any warrant or right to subscribe to or purchase any of the foregoing.

(45) "Settlement", in reference to a decedent's estate, includes the full process of administration, distribution, and closing.

(46) "Sign" means, with present intent to authenticate or adopt a record other than a will:

(a) to execute or adopt a tangible symbol; or

(b) to attach to or logically associate with the record an electronic symbol, sound, or process.

(47) "Special administrator" means a personal representative as described by chapter 3, part 7.

(48) "State" means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

(49) "Successor personal representative" means a personal representative, other than a special administrator, who is appointed to succeed a previously appointed personal representative.

(50) "Successors" means persons, other than creditors, who are entitled to property of a decedent under the decedent's will or chapters 1 through 5.

(51) "Supervised administration" refers to the proceedings described in chapter 3, part 4.

(52) "Survive" means that an individual has neither predeceased an event, including the death of another individual, nor is considered to have predeceased an event under 72-2-114 or 72-2-712 . The term includes its derivatives, such as "survives", "survived", "survivor", and "surviving".

(53) "Testacy proceeding" means a proceeding to establish a will or determine intestacy.

(54) "Testator" includes an individual of either sex, as defined in 1-1-201 .

(55) "Trust" includes an express trust, private or charitable, with additions to the trust, wherever and however created. The term also includes a trust created or determined by judgment or decree under which the trust is to be administered in the manner of an express trust. The term excludes other constructive trusts and excludes resulting trusts; conservatorships; personal representatives; trust accounts as defined in 72-6-111 and Title 72, chapter 6, parts 2 and 3; custodial arrangements pursuant to chapter 26; business trusts providing for certificates to be issued to beneficiaries; common trust funds; voting trusts; security arrangements; liquidation trusts; trusts for the primary purpose of paying debts, dividends, interest, salaries, wages, profits, pensions, or employee benefits of any kind; and any arrangement under which a person is nominee or escrowee for another.

(56) "Trustee" includes an original, additional, or successor trustee, whether or not appointed or confirmed by court.

(57) "Verification" has the meaning provided in 25-4-203 and may be proved by an unsworn written verification in accordance with 1-6-105 .

(58) "Ward" means an individual described in 72-5-101 .

(59) "Will" includes codicil and any testamentary instrument that merely appoints an executor, revokes or revises another will, nominates a guardian, or expressly excludes or limits the right of an individual or class to succeed to property of the decedent passing by intestate succession.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-38-205 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 38 / Part 2 / Section 72-38-205
72-38-205 Venue
Status: in_force

72-38-205 . Venue. (1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (2), venue for a judicial proceeding involving a trust is in the county of this state in which the trust's principal place of administration is or will be located and, if the trust is created by will and the estate is not yet closed, in the county in which the decedent's estate is being administered.

(2) If a trust has no trustee, venue for a judicial proceeding for the appointment of a trustee is in a county of this state in which a beneficiary resides, in a county in which any trust property is located, and if the trust is created by will, in the county in which the decedent's estate was or is being administered.

(3) Except as otherwise provided in subsections (1) and (2), the proper county for commencement of a proceeding pursuant to this chapter is determined by the rules applicable to civil actions generally.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-7-311 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 7 / Part 3 / Section 72-7-311
72-7-311 Disposition of unappointed property under released or unexercised nongeneral power
Status: in_force

72-7-311 . Disposition of unappointed property under released or unexercised nongeneral power. To the extent a powerholder releases, ineffectively exercises, or fails to exercise a nongeneral power of appointment:

(1) the gift-in-default clause controls the disposition of the unappointed property; or

(2) if there is no gift-in-default clause or to the extent the clause is ineffective, the unappointed property:

(a) passes to the permissible appointees if:

(i) the permissible appointees are defined and limited; and

(ii) the terms of the instrument creating the power do not manifest a contrary intent; or

(b) if there is no taker under subsection (2)(a), passes under a reversionary interest to the donor or the donor's transferee or successor in interest.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-5-303 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 5 / Part 3 / Section 72-5-303
72-5-303 Recognition of appointment of guardian by foreign will
Status: in_force

72-5-303 . Recognition of appointment of guardian by foreign will. An appointment effected by filing the guardian's acceptance under a will probated in the state of the decedent's domicile is effective in this state.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-524 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 3 / Part 5 / Section 72-3-524
72-3-524 Termination of appointment -- closing of estate
Status: in_force

72-3-524 . Termination of appointment -- closing of estate. (1) An appointment of a personal representative terminates, as provided in 72-3-1004 , 1 year after the filing of a closing statement.

(2) An order closing an estate as provided in 72-3-1001 , 72-3-1002 , or 72-3-1003 terminates an appointment of a personal representative.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-11-101 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 11 / Part 1 / Section 72-11-101
72-11-101 Degrees of kinship -- how computed
Status: in_force

72-11-101 . Degrees of kinship -- how computed. The degree of kinship is established by the number of generations, and each generation is called a degree.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-14-203 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 14 / Part 2 / Section 72-14-203
72-14-203 Investment of deposited moneys pending proceedings
Status: in_force

72-14-203 . Investment of deposited moneys pending proceedings. The moneys thus deposited may, upon order of the court or judge, be invested pending the proceedings in securities of the United States or of this state, when such investment is for the best interests of the estate.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-34-452 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 34 / Part 4 / Section 72-34-452
72-34-452 Payment of taxes
Status: in_force

72-34-452 . Payment of taxes. (1) A tax required to be paid by a trustee based on receipts allocated to income must be paid from income.

(2) A tax required to be paid by a trustee based on receipts allocated to principal must be paid from principal, even if the tax is called an income tax by the taxing authority.

(3) A tax required to be paid by a trustee on the trust's share of an entity's taxable income must be paid:

(a) from income to the extent that receipts from the entity are allocated only to income;

(b) from principal to the extent that receipts from the entity are allocated only to principal;

(c) proportionately from principal and income to the extent that receipts from the entity are allocated to both income and principal; and

(d) from principal to the extent that the tax exceeds the total receipts from the entity.

(4) After applying subsections (1) through (3), the trustee shall adjust income or principal receipts to the extent that the trust's taxes are reduced because the trust receives a deduction for payments made to a beneficiary.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-38-1007 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 38 / Part 10 / Section 72-38-1007
72-38-1007 Event affecting administration or distribution
Status: in_force

72-38-1007 . Event affecting administration or distribution. If the happening of an event, including marriage, divorce, performance of educational requirements, or death, affects the administration or distribution of a trust, a trustee who has exercised reasonable care to ascertain the happening of the event is not liable for a loss resulting from the trustee's lack of knowledge.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-903 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 3 / Part 9 / Section 72-3-903
72-3-903 Proposal for distribution -- delivery -- objection
Status: in_force

72-3-903 . Proposal for distribution -- delivery -- objection. (1) After the probable charges against the estate are known, the personal representative may mail or deliver a proposal for distribution to all persons who have a right to object to the proposed distribution.

(2) The right of any distributee to object to the proposed distribution on the basis of the kind or value of asset the distributee is to receive, if not waived earlier in writing, terminates if the distributee fails to object in writing received by the personal representative within 30 days after mailing or delivery of the proposal.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-918 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 3 / Part 9 / Section 72-3-918
72-3-918 Disposition of unclaimed assets -- escheat
Status: in_force

72-3-918 . Disposition of unclaimed assets -- escheat. (1) If an heir, devisee, or claimant cannot be found, the personal representative shall distribute the missing person's share to the person's conservator, if any, otherwise to the department of revenue to be deposited in the state escheat fund as provided in Title 72, chapter 14.

(2) A person having any claim to a share deposited in the state escheat fund under the provisions of this code shall follow the procedures set out in Title 72, chapter 14, concerning escheated estates, to claim the share.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-38-802 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 38 / Part 8 / Section 72-38-802
72-38-802 Duty of loyalty
Status: in_force

72-38-802 . Duty of loyalty. (1) A trustee shall administer the trust solely in the interests of the beneficiaries.

(2) Subject to the rights of persons dealing with or assisting the trustee as provided in 72-38-1012 , a sale, encumbrance, or other transaction involving the investment or management of trust property entered into by the trustee for the trustee's own personal account or that is otherwise affected by a conflict between the trustee's fiduciary and personal interests is voidable by a beneficiary affected by the transaction unless:

(a) the transaction was authorized by the terms of the trust;

(b) the transaction was approved by the court;

(c) the beneficiary did not commence a judicial proceeding within the time allowed by 72-38-1005 ;

(d) the beneficiary consented to the trustee's conduct, ratified the transaction, or released the trustee in compliance with 72-38-1009 ; or

(e) the transaction involves a contract entered into or claim acquired by the trustee before the person became or contemplated becoming trustee.

(3) A sale, encumbrance, or other transaction involving the investment or management of trust property is presumed to be affected by a conflict between personal and fiduciary interests if it is entered into by the trustee with:

(a) the trustee's spouse;

(b) the trustee's descendants, siblings, parents, or their spouses;

(c) an agent or attorney of the trustee; or

(d) a corporation or other person or enterprise in which the trustee, or a person who owns a significant interest in the trustee, has an interest that might affect the trustee's best judgment.

(4) A transaction between a trustee and a beneficiary that does not concern trust property but that occurs during the existence of the trust or while the trustee retains significant influence over the beneficiary and from which the trustee obtains an advantage is voidable by the beneficiary unless the trustee establishes that the transaction was fair to the beneficiary. However, a beneficiary's gift to charity or to a trust for a charity's benefit is not voidable by this subsection even though the charity may be, or may have been, serving as trustee of a trust created for the benefit of the beneficiary.

(5) A transaction not concerning trust property in which the trustee engages in the trustee's individual capacity involves a conflict between personal and fiduciary interests if the transaction concerns an opportunity properly belonging to the trust.

(6) An investment by a trustee in securities of an investment company or investment trust to which the trustee or its affiliate provides services in a capacity other than as trustee is not presumed to be affected by a conflict between personal and fiduciary interests if the investment otherwise complies with the prudent investor rule of Title 72, chapter 38, part 9. In addition to its compensation for acting as trustee, the trustee may be compensated by the investment company or investment trust for providing those services out of fees charged to the trust. If the trustee receives compensation from the investment company or investment trust for providing investment advisory or investment management services, the trustee must at least annually notify the persons entitled under 72-38-813 to receive a copy of the trustee's annual report of the rate and method by which that compensation was determined.

(7) In voting shares of stock or in exercising powers of control over similar interests in other forms of enterprise, the trustee shall act in the best interests of the beneficiaries. If the trust is the sole owner of a corporation or other form of enterprise, the trustee shall elect or appoint directors or other managers who will manage the corporation or enterprise in the best interests of the beneficiaries.

(8) This section does not preclude the following transactions, if fair to the beneficiaries:

(a) an agreement between a trustee and a beneficiary relating to the appointment or compensation of the trustee;

(b) payment of reasonable compensation to the trustee;

(c) a transaction between a trust and another trust, decedent's estate, or conservatorship of which the trustee is a fiduciary or in which a beneficiary has an interest;

(d) a deposit of trust money in a regulated financial-service institution operated by the trustee; or

(e) an advance by the trustee of money for the protection of the trust.

(9) The court may appoint a special fiduciary to make a decision with respect to any proposed transaction that might violate this section if entered into by the trustee.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-2-113 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 2 / Part 1 / Section 72-2-113
72-2-113 Share of heirs other than surviving spouse
Status: in_force

72-2-113 . Share of heirs other than surviving spouse. (1) Any part of the intestate estate not passing to the decedent's surviving spouse under 72-2-112 , or the entire intestate estate if there is no surviving spouse, passes in the following order to the individuals designated below who survive the decedent:

(a) to the decedent's descendants by representation;

(b) if there is no surviving descendant, to the decedent's parents equally if both survive or to the surviving parent;

(c) if there is no surviving descendant or parent, to the descendants of the decedent's parents or either of them by representation;

(d) if there is no surviving descendant, parent, or descendant of a parent and the decedent is:

(i) survived by one or more grandparents or descendants of grandparents:

(A) one-half to:

(I) the decedent's paternal grandparents equally if both survive;

(II) the surviving paternal grandparent; or

(III) the descendants of the decedent's paternal grandparents or either of them if both are deceased, the descendants taking by representation; and

(B) the other one-half to the decedent's maternal relatives in the same manner; or

(ii) not survived by a grandparent or descendant of a grandparent on either the paternal or the maternal side, the entire estate to the decedent's relatives on the other side in the same manner as the half;

(e) if there is no surviving descendant, grandparent, or descendant of a grandparent, to the person of the closest degree of kinship with the decedent. Except as provided in subsection (2), if more than one person is of that closest degree, those persons share equally.

(2) If more than one person is of the closest degree as provided in subsection (1)(e) but they claim through different ancestors, those who claim through the nearer ancestor must receive to the exclusion of those claiming through a more remote ancestor.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-5-406 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 5 / Part 4 / Section 72-5-406
72-5-406 Consent to jurisdiction by acceptance of appointment as conservator
Status: in_force

72-5-406 . Consent to jurisdiction by acceptance of appointment as conservator. (1) By accepting appointment, a conservator submits personally to the jurisdiction of the court in any proceeding relating to the estate that may be instituted by any interested person.

(2) Notice of any proceeding must be delivered to the conservator or mailed to the conservator by certified mail at the conservator's address as listed in the petition for appointment or as reported to the court and to the conservator's address as then known to the petitioner.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-38-215 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 38 / Part 2 / Section 72-38-215
72-38-215 Dismissal of petition
Status: in_force

72-38-215 . Dismissal of petition. The court may dismiss a petition if it appears that the proceeding is not reasonably necessary for the protection of the interests of the trustee or beneficiary.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-2-716 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 2 / Part 7 / Section 72-2-716
72-2-716 Life insurance -- retirement plan -- account with POD designation -- transfer-on-death registration -- deceased beneficiary
Status: in_force

72-2-716 . Life insurance -- retirement plan -- account with POD designation -- transfer-on-death registration -- deceased beneficiary. (1) As used in this section, the following definitions apply:

(a) "Alternative beneficiary designation" means a beneficiary designation that is expressly created by the governing instrument and that under the terms of the governing instrument may take effect instead of another beneficiary designation on the happening of one or more events, including survival of the decedent or failure to survive the decedent, whether an event is expressed in condition-precedent, condition-subsequent, or any other form.

(b) "Beneficiary" means the beneficiary of a beneficiary designation under which the beneficiary must survive the decedent and includes:

(i) a class member if the beneficiary designation is in the form of a class gift; and

(ii) an individual or class member who was deceased at the time the beneficiary designation was executed as well as an individual or class member who was then living but who failed to survive the decedent, but excludes a joint tenant of a joint tenancy with the right of survivorship and a party to a joint and survivorship account.

(c) "Beneficiary designation" includes an alternative beneficiary designation and a beneficiary designation in the form of a class gift.

(d) "Class member" includes an individual who fails to survive the decedent but who would have taken under a beneficiary designation in the form of a class gift had the individual survived the decedent.

(e) "Descendant of a grandparent", as used in subsection (2), means an individual who qualifies as a descendant of a grandparent of the decedent under the:

(i) rules of construction applicable to a class gift created in the decedent's beneficiary designation if the beneficiary designation is in the form of a class gift; or

(ii) rules for intestate succession if the beneficiary designation is not in the form of a class gift.

(f) "Descendants", as used in the phrase "surviving descendants" of a deceased beneficiary or class member in subsections (2)(a) and (2)(b), mean the descendants of a deceased beneficiary or class member who would take under a class gift created in the beneficiary designation.

(g) "Stepchild" means a child of the decedent's surviving, deceased, or former spouse but not a child of the decedent.

(h) "Surviving" in the phrase or "surviving beneficiaries" or "surviving descendants", means beneficiaries or descendants who neither predeceased the decedent nor are deemed to have predeceased the decedent under 72-2-712 .

(2) If a beneficiary fails to survive the decedent and is a grandparent, a descendant of a grandparent, or a stepchild of the decedent, the following apply:

(a) Except as provided in subsection (2)(d), if the beneficiary designation is not in the form of a class gift and the deceased beneficiary leaves surviving descendants, a substitute gift is created in the beneficiary's surviving descendants. They take by representation the property to which the beneficiary would have been entitled had the beneficiary survived the decedent.

(b) Except as provided in subsection (2)(d), if the beneficiary designation is in the form of a class gift, other than a beneficiary designation to "issue", "descendants", "heirs of the body", "heirs", "next of kin", "relatives", or "family" or a class described by language of similar import, a substitute gift is created in the surviving descendants of any deceased beneficiary. The property to which the beneficiaries would have been entitled had all of them survived the decedent passes to the surviving beneficiaries and the surviving descendants of the deceased beneficiaries. Each surviving beneficiary takes the share to which the surviving beneficiary would have been entitled had the deceased beneficiaries survived the decedent. Each deceased beneficiary's surviving descendants who are substituted for the deceased beneficiary take by representation the share to which the deceased beneficiary would have been entitled had the deceased beneficiary survived the decedent. For purposes of this subsection (b), "deceased beneficiary" means a class member who failed to survive the decedent and left one or more surviving descendants.

(c) For the purposes of 72-2-711 , words of survivorship, such as in a beneficiary designation to an individual "if the individual survives me" or in a beneficiary designation to "my surviving children", are not, in the absence of additional evidence, a sufficient indication of an intent contrary to the application of this section.

(d) If a governing instrument creates an alternative beneficiary designation with respect to a beneficiary designation for which a substitute gift is created by subsection (2)(a) or (2)(b), the substitute gift is superseded by the alternative beneficiary designation if:

(i) the alternative beneficiary designation is in the form of a class gift and one or more members of the class is entitled to take; or

(ii) the alternative beneficiary designation is not in the form of a class gift and the expressly designated beneficiary of the alternative beneficiary designation is entitled to take.

(3) If, under subsection (2), substitute gifts are created and not superseded with respect to more than one beneficiary designation and the beneficiary designations are alternative beneficiary designations, one to the other, the determination of which of the substitute gifts takes effect is resolved as follows:

(a) Except as provided in subsection (3)(b), the property passes under the primary substitute gift.

(b) If there is a younger-generation beneficiary designation, the property passes under the younger-generation substitute gift and not under the primary substitute gift.

(c) As used in this subsection (3), the following definitions apply:

(i) "Primary beneficiary designation" means the beneficiary designation that would have taken effect had all the deceased beneficiaries of the alternative beneficiary designations who left surviving descendants survived the decedent.

(ii) "Primary substitute gift" means the substitute gift created with respect to the primary beneficiary designation.

(iii) "Younger-generation beneficiary designation" means a beneficiary designation that:

(A) is to a descendant of a beneficiary of the primary beneficiary designation;

(B) is an alternative beneficiary designation with respect to the primary beneficiary designation;

(C) is a beneficiary designation for which a substitute gift is created; and

(D) would have taken effect had all the deceased beneficiaries who left surviving descendants survived the decedent except the deceased beneficiary or beneficiaries of the primary beneficiary designation.

(iv) "Younger-generation substitute gift" means the substitute gift created with respect to the younger-generation beneficiary designation.

(4) (a) A payor is protected from liability in making payments under the terms of the beneficiary designation until the payor has received written notice of a claim to a substitute gift under this section. Payment made before the receipt of written notice of a claim to a substitute gift under this section discharges the payor, but not the recipient, from all claims for the amounts paid. A payor is liable for a payment made after the payor has received written notice of the claim. A recipient is liable for a payment received, whether or not written notice of the claim is given.

(b) The written notice of the claim must be mailed to the payor's main office or home by certified mail, return receipt requested, or served upon the payor in the same manner as a summons in a civil action. Upon receipt of written notice of the claim, a payor may pay any amount owed by it to the court having jurisdiction of the probate proceedings relating to the decedent's estate or, if no proceedings have been commenced, to the court having jurisdiction of probate proceedings relating to decedents' estates located in the county of the decedent's residence. The court shall hold the funds and, upon its determination under this section, shall order disbursement in accordance with the determination. Payment made to the court discharges the payor from all claims for the amounts paid.

(5) (a) A person who purchases property for value and without notice or who receives a payment or other item of property in partial or full satisfaction of a legally enforceable obligation is neither obligated under this section to return the payment, item of property, or benefit nor liable under this section for the amount of the payment or the value of the item of property or benefit. However, a person who, not for value, receives a payment, item of property, or other benefit to which the person is not entitled under this section is obligated to return the payment, item of property, or benefit, or is personally liable for the amount of the payment or the value of the item of property or benefit, to the person who is entitled to it under this section.

(b) If this section or any part of this section is preempted by federal law with respect to a payment, an item of property, or any other benefit covered by this section, a person who, not for value, receives the payment, item of property, or other benefit to which the person is not entitled under this section is obligated to return the payment, item of property, or benefit, or is personally liable for the amount of the payment or the value of the item of property or benefit, to the person who would have been entitled to it were this section or part of this section not preempted.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-12-403 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 12 / Part 4 / Section 72-12-403
72-12-403 Clerk to mail will to expert -- notice
Status: in_force

72-12-403 . Clerk to mail will to expert -- notice. If the court grants the petition for delivery of the original will to a qualified handwriting expert residing and having a place of business outside the county or state, the clerk of court shall make at least two photocopies of the original will, which photocopies must remain in the custody of the clerk of court. The clerk shall mail the original will by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the handwriting expert specified in the order and shall give notice of the mailing by mailing copies of the order to each of the parties to the proceeding and to the handwriting expert.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-511 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 3 / Part 5 / Section 72-3-511
72-3-511 Acceptance of appointment -- consent to jurisdiction
Status: in_force

72-3-511 . Acceptance of appointment -- consent to jurisdiction. By accepting appointment, a personal representative submits personally to the jurisdiction of the court in any proceeding relating to the estate that may be instituted by any interested person. Notice of any proceeding must be delivered to the personal representative or mailed to the personal representative by ordinary first-class mail at the address as listed in the application or petition for appointment or as reported to the court and to the personal representative's address as then known to the petitioner.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-902 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 3 / Part 9 / Section 72-3-902
72-3-902 Distribution in kind preferred -- method -- valuation
Status: in_force

72-3-902 . Distribution in kind preferred -- method -- valuation. Unless a contrary intention is indicated by the will, the distributable assets of a decedent's estate must be distributed in kind to the extent possible through application of the following provisions:

(1) A specific devisee is entitled to distribution of the thing devised to that devisee, and a spouse or child who has selected particular assets of an estate as provided in 72-2-413 must receive the items selected.

(2) Any homestead or family allowance or devise of a stated sum of money may be satisfied in kind if:

(a) the person entitled to the payment has not demanded payment in cash;

(b) the property distributed in kind is valued at fair market value as of the date of its distribution; and

(c) no residuary devisee has requested that the asset in question remain a part of the residue of the estate.

(3) For the purpose of valuation under subsection (2), any security regularly traded on a recognized exchange, if distributed in kind, is valued at the price for the last sale of like securities traded on the business day prior to distribution or, if there was no sale on that day, at the median between amounts bid and asked at the close of that day. An asset consisting of a sum owed the decedent or the estate by a solvent debtor as to which there is no known dispute or defense is valued at the sum due with accrued interest or discounted to the date of distribution. For an asset that has no readily ascertainable value, a valuation as of a date not more than 30 days prior to the date of distribution, if otherwise reasonable, controls. For purposes of facilitating distribution, the personal representative may ascertain the value of any asset as of the time of the proposed distribution in any reasonable way, including the employment of qualified appraisers, even if the asset may have been previously appraised.

(4) The residuary estate must be distributed in any equitable manner.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-2-910 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 2 / Part 9 / Section 72-2-910
72-2-910 Source and construction
Status: in_force

72-2-910 . Source and construction. Sections 72-2-901 through 72-2-907 derive from the Annex to Convention of October 26, 1973, Providing a Uniform Law on the Form of an International Will. In interpreting and applying this part, regard must be given to its international origin and to the need for uniformity in its interpretation.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-1-107 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 1 / Part 1 / Section 72-1-107
72-1-107 Effective date -- applicability
Status: in_force

72-1-107 . Effective date -- applicability. (1) This code takes effect on July 1, 1975.

(2) Except as provided elsewhere in this code, on July 1, 1975:

(a) the code applies to any wills of decedents dying thereafter;

(b) the code applies to any proceedings in court then pending or thereafter commenced regardless of the time of the death of decedent, except to the extent that in the opinion of the court the former procedure should be made applicable in a particular case in the interest of justice or because of infeasibility of application of the procedure of this code;

(c) every personal representative, including a person administering an estate of a minor or incompetent holding an appointment on that date, continues to hold the appointment but has only the powers conferred by this code and is subject to the duties imposed with respect to any act occurring or done thereafter;

(d) an act done before July 1, 1975, in any proceeding and any accrued right are not impaired by this code. If a right is acquired, extinguished, or barred upon the expiration of a prescribed period of time which has commenced to run by the provisions of any statute before July 1, 1975, the provisions shall remain in force with respect to that right.

(e) any rule of construction or presumption provided in this code applies to instruments executed and multiple-party accounts opened before July 1, 1975, unless there is a clear indication of a contrary intent.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-2-526 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 2 / Part 5 / Section 72-2-526
72-2-526 Choice of law as to execution
Status: in_force

72-2-526 . Choice of law as to execution. A written will is valid if executed in compliance with 72-2-522 or 72-2-523 or if its execution complies with the law at the time of execution of the place where the will is executed or of the law of the place where at the time of execution or at the time of death the testator is domiciled, has a place of abode, or is a national.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-4-201 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 4 / Part 2 / Section 72-4-201
72-4-201 Jurisdiction by act of foreign personal representative
Status: in_force

72-4-201 . Jurisdiction by act of foreign personal representative. (1) A foreign personal representative submits personally to the jurisdiction of the courts of this state in any proceeding relating to the estate by:

(a) filing authenticated copies of the foreign personal representative's appointment as provided in 72-4-309 ;

(b) receiving payment of money or taking delivery of personal property under 72-4-306 ; or

(c) doing any act as a personal representative in this state that would have given the state jurisdiction over the foreign personal representative as an individual.

(2) Jurisdiction under subsection (1)(b) is limited to the money or value of personal property collected.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-38-1103 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 38 / Part 11 / Section 72-38-1103
72-38-1103 Limit on charitable trust requirement
Status: in_force

72-38-1103 . Limit on charitable trust requirement. (1) Except as provided in subsections (2) and (3), a state agency or state official may not impose any annual filing or reporting requirements on a charitable trust that are more stringent, restrictive, or expansive than the requirements authorized under Montana law.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to state grants and contracts, fraud investigations, or enforcement actions against specific charitable trusts.

(3) Subsection (1) may not be construed to impact the authority of the attorney general to act as a qualified beneficiary for a charitable trust pursuant to 72-38-221 .
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-14-101 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 14 / Part 1 / Section 72-14-101
72-14-101 Short title
Status: in_force

72-14-101 . Short title. Parts 1 through 3 of this chapter are to be known as the "Escheated Estates Act".
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-2-614 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 2 / Part 6 / Section 72-2-614
72-2-614 Failure of testamentary provision
Status: in_force

72-2-614 . Failure of testamentary provision. (1) Except as provided in 72-2-613 , a devise, other than a residuary devise, that fails for any reason becomes a part of the residue.

(2) Except as provided in 72-2-613 , if the residue is devised to two or more persons, the share of a residuary devisee that fails for any reason passes to the other residuary devisee or to other residuary devisees in proportion to the interest of each in the remaining part of the residue.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-39-301 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 39 / Part 3 / Section 72-39-301
72-39-301 Uniformity of application and construction
Status: in_force

72-39-301 . Uniformity of application and construction. In applying and construing this uniform act, consideration must be given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among states that enact it.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-39-211 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 39 / Part 2 / Section 72-39-211
72-39-211 Trust limitation on decanting
Status: in_force

72-39-211 . Trust limitation on decanting. (1) An authorized fiduciary may not exercise the decanting power to the extent the first-trust instrument expressly prohibits exercise of:

(a) the decanting power; or

(b) a power granted by state law to the fiduciary to distribute part or all of the principal of the trust to another trust or to modify the trust.

(2) Exercise of the decanting power is subject to any restriction in the first-trust instrument that expressly applies to exercise of:

(a) the decanting power; or

(b) a power granted by state law to a fiduciary to distribute part or all of the principal of the trust to another trust or to modify the trust.

(3) A general prohibition of the amendment or revocation of a first trust, a spendthrift clause, or a clause restraining the voluntary or involuntary transfer of a beneficiary's interest does not preclude exercise of the decanting power.

(4) Subject to subsections (1) and (2), an authorized fiduciary may exercise the decanting power under this chapter even if the first-trust instrument permits the authorized fiduciary or another person to modify the first-trust instrument or to distribute part or all of the principal of the first trust to another trust.

(5) If a first-trust instrument contains an express prohibition described in subsection (1) or an express restriction described in subsection (2), the provision must be included in the second-trust instrument.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-26-703 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 26 / Part 7 / Section 72-26-703
72-26-703 Use of custodial property
Status: in_force

72-26-703 . Use of custodial property. (1) A custodian may deliver or pay to the minor or expend for the minor's benefit so much of the custodial property as the custodian considers advisable for the use and benefit of the minor, without court order and without regard to:

(a) the duty or ability of the custodian personally or of any other person to support the minor; or

(b) any other income or property of the minor which may be applicable or available for that purpose.

(2) On petition of an interested person or the minor if the minor has attained the age of 14 years, the court may order the custodian to deliver or pay to the minor or expend for the minor's benefit so much of the custodial property as the court considers advisable for the use and benefit of the minor.

(3) A delivery, payment, or expenditure under this section is in addition to, not in substitution for, and does not affect any obligation of a person to support the minor.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-31-346 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 31 / Part 3 / Section 72-31-346
72-31-346 Estates, trusts, and other beneficial interests
Status: in_force

72-31-346 . Estates, trusts, and other beneficial interests. (1) In this section, "estate, trust, or other beneficial interest" means a trust, probate estate, guardianship, conservatorship, escrow, or custodianship or a fund from which the principal is, may become, or claims to be entitled to a share or payment.

(2) Unless the power of attorney otherwise provides, language in a power of attorney granting general authority with respect to an estate, trust, or other beneficial interest authorizes the agent to:

(a) accept, receive, receipt for, sell, assign, pledge, or exchange a share in or payment from the fund;

(b) demand or obtain money or another thing of value to which the principal is, may become, or claims to be entitled by reason of the fund, by litigation or otherwise;

(c) exercise for the benefit of the principal a presently exercisable general power of appointment held by the principal;

(d) initiate, participate in, submit to alternative dispute resolution, settle, oppose, or propose or accept a compromise with respect to litigation to ascertain the meaning, validity, or effect of a deed, will, declaration of trust, or other instrument or transaction affecting the interest of the principal;

(e) initiate, participate in, submit to alternative dispute resolution, settle, oppose, or propose or accept a compromise with respect to litigation to remove, substitute, or surcharge a fiduciary;

(f) conserve, invest, disburse, or use anything received for an authorized purpose; and

(g) transfer an interest of the principal in real property, stocks and bonds, accounts with financial institutions or securities intermediaries, insurance, annuities, and other property to the trustee of a revocable trust created by the principal as settlor.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-2-116 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 2 / Part 1 / Section 72-2-116
72-2-116 Representation
Status: in_force

72-2-116 . Representation. (1) As used in this section, the following definitions apply:

(a) "Deceased descendant", "deceased parent", or "deceased grandparent" means a descendant, parent, or grandparent who either predeceased the decedent or is deemed to have predeceased the decedent under 72-2-114 .

(b) "Surviving descendant" means a descendant who neither predeceased the decedent nor is deemed to have predeceased the decedent under 72-2-114 .

(2) (a) If, under 72-2-113 (1)(a), a decedent's intestate estate or a part of the intestate estate passes by representation to the decedent's descendants, the estate or part of the estate is divided into as many equal shares as there are:

(i) surviving descendants in the generation nearest to the decedent that contains one or more surviving descendants; and

(ii) deceased descendants in the same generation who left surviving descendants, if any.

(b) Each surviving descendant in the nearest generation is allocated one share. The share of each deceased descendant in the same generation as the surviving descendant is divided in the same manner, with the subdivision repeating at each succeeding generation until the property is fully allocated among surviving descendants.

(3) (a) If, under 72-2-113 (1)(c) or (1)(d), a decedent's intestate estate or a part of the intestate estate passes by representation to the descendants of the decedent's deceased parents or either of them or to the descendants of the decedent's deceased paternal or maternal grandparents or either of them, the estate or part of the estate is divided into as many equal shares as there are:

(i) surviving descendants in the generation nearest the deceased parents or either of them or nearest the deceased grandparents or either of them that contains one or more surviving descendants; and

(ii) deceased descendants in the same generation who left surviving descendants, if any.

(b) Each surviving descendant in the nearest generation is allocated one share. The share of each deceased descendant in the same generation as the surviving descendant is divided in the same manner, with the subdivision repeating at each succeeding generation until the property is fully allocated among surviving descendants.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-14-201 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 14 / Part 2 / Section 72-14-201
72-14-201 Discovery to determine existence of escheatable property
Status: in_force

72-14-201 . Discovery to determine existence of escheatable property. In order to ascertain if any person has knowledge of or is in possession of any escheatable property, it is lawful for the attorney general or the attorney general's assistant to obtain discovery on motion in the district court requiring any person or persons to divulge any information they may have concerning the possession or location of any property subject to escheat or any other information pertinent to the recovery of property by the state of Montana or information that may lead to the discovery of the escheatable property.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-26-606 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 26 / Part 6 / Section 72-26-606
72-26-606 Other transfer by fiduciary
Status: in_force

72-26-606 . Other transfer by fiduciary. (1) Subject to subsection (3), a personal representative or trustee may make an irrevocable transfer to another adult or trust company as custodian for the benefit of a minor pursuant to 72-26-603 , in the absence of a will or under a will or trust that does not contain an authorization to do so.

(2) Subject to subsection (3), a conservator may make an irrevocable transfer to another adult or trust company as custodian for the benefit of the minor pursuant to 72-26-603 .

(3) A transfer under subsection (1) or (2) may be made only if:

(a) the personal representative, trustee, or conservator considers the transfer to be in the best interest of the minor;

(b) the transfer is not prohibited by or inconsistent with provisions of the applicable will, trust agreement, or other governing instrument; and

(c) the transfer is authorized by the court if it exceeds $10,000 in value.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-5-433 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 5 / Part 4 / Section 72-5-433
72-5-433 Claims against protected person -- presentment, allowance, and payment -- priorities
Status: in_force

72-5-433 . Claims against protected person -- presentment, allowance, and payment -- priorities. (1) A conservator shall pay from the estate all just claims against the estate and against the protected person arising before or after the conservatorship upon their presentation and allowance. A claim may be presented by either of the following methods:

(a) The claimant may deliver or mail to the conservator a written statement of the claim indicating its basis, the name and address of the claimant, and the amount claimed.

(b) The claimant may file a written statement of the claim, in the form prescribed by rule, with the clerk of the court and deliver or mail a copy of the statement to the conservator.

(2) A presented claim is allowed if it is not disallowed by written statement mailed by the conservator to the claimant within 60 days after its presentation. A claim is considered presented on the first to occur of receipt of the written statement of claim by the conservator or the filing of the claim with the court. The presentation of a claim tolls any statute of limitation relating to the claim until 30 days after its disallowance.

(3) A claimant whose claim has not been paid may petition the court for determination of the claim at any time before it is barred by the applicable statute of limitation and, upon due proof, procure an order for its allowance and payment from the estate. If a proceeding is pending against a protected person at the time of appointment of a conservator or is initiated against the protected person after the appointment, the moving party shall give notice of the proceeding to the conservator if the outcome is to constitute a claim against the estate.

(4) If it appears that the estate in conservatorship is likely to be exhausted before all existing claims are paid, preference must be given to prior claims for the care, maintenance, and education of the protected person or the protected person's dependents and existing claims for expenses of administration.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-38-102 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 38 / Part 1 / Section 72-38-102
72-38-102 Scope
Status: in_force

72-38-102 . Scope. This chapter applies to express trusts, charitable or noncharitable, and trusts created pursuant to a statute, judgment, or decree that requires the trust to be administered in the manner of an express trust. Other than 72-38-120 through 72-38-123 , nothing in this chapter affects the law relating to constructive or resulting trusts.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-2-241 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 2 / Part 2 / Section 72-2-241
72-2-241 Proceeding for elective share -- time limit
Status: in_force

72-2-241 . Proceeding for elective share -- time limit. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), the election must be made by filing in the court and mailing or delivering to the personal representative, if any, a petition for the elective share within 9 months after the date of the decedent's death or within 6 months after the probate of the decedent's will, whichever limitation later expires. The surviving spouse shall give notice of the time and place set for hearing to persons interested in the estate and to the distributees and recipients of portions of the augmented estate whose interests will be adversely affected by the taking of the elective share. Except as provided in subsection (2), the decedent's nonprobate transfers to others described in 72-2-235 , is not included within the augmented estate for the purpose of computing the elective share if the petition is filed more than 9 months after the decedent's death.

(2) Within 9 months after the decedent's death, the surviving spouse may petition the court for an extension of time for making an election. If, within 9 months after the decedent's death, the spouse gives notice of the petition to all persons interested in the decedent's nonprobate transfers to others the court for cause shown by the surviving spouse may extend the time for election. If the court grants the spouse's petition for an extension, the decedent's nonprobate transfers to others described in 72-2-235 , is not excluded from the augmented estate for the purpose of computing the elective-share and supplemental elective-share amounts if the spouse makes an election by filing in the court and mailing or delivering to the personal representative, if any, a petition for the elective share within the time allowed by the extension.

(3) The surviving spouse may withdraw a demand for an elective share at any time before entry of a final determination by the court.

(4) After notice and hearing, the court shall determine the elective-share and supplemental elective-share amounts and shall order its payment from the assets of the augmented estate or by contribution as appears appropriate under 72-2-239 . If it appears that a fund or property included in the augmented estate has not come into the possession of the personal representative or has been distributed by the personal representative, the court nevertheless shall fix the liability of any person who has any interest in the fund or property or who has possession thereof, whether as trustee or otherwise. The proceeding may be maintained against fewer than all persons against whom relief could be sought, but no person is subject to contribution in any greater amount than the person would have been under 72-2-239 if relief had been secured against all persons subject to contribution.

(5) The order or judgment of the court may be enforced as necessary in suit for contribution or payment in other courts of this state or other jurisdictions.
Mont. Code Ann. § 72-1-111 — MT Code / Title 72 / Chapter 1 / Part 1 / Section 72-1-111
72-1-111 Remedies for fraud -- statute of limitations
Status: in_force

72-1-111 . Remedies for fraud -- statute of limitations. (1) Whenever fraud has been perpetrated in connection with any proceeding or in any statement filed under this code or if fraud is used to avoid or circumvent the provisions or purposes of this code, a person injured by the fraud may obtain appropriate relief, including restitution against the perpetrator of the fraud or any person benefiting from the fraud, whether innocent or not, other than a bona fide purchaser for value and without notice.

(2) Any proceeding must be commenced within 2 years after the discovery of the fraud, but a proceeding may not be brought against one not a perpetrator of the fraud later than 5 years after the time of commission of the fraud.

(3) This section has no bearing on remedies relating to fraud practiced on a decedent during the decedent's lifetime that affects the succession of the decedent's estate.