2023 Montana Code Annotated › Title 35. Corporations, Partnerships, and Associations › Chapter 3. Religious Corporations Sole › Part 2. Formation and Operation › 35-3-205. Powers of corporation sole

35-3-205. Powers of corporation sole.
Every corporation sole organized under the provisions of this chapter, for the purpose of the trust described in this section, has power:
(1) to continue to exist perpetually by its corporate name unless a limited period of duration is stated in its articles of incorporation;
(2) to sue and be sued, complain, and defend in its corporate name;
(3) to have a corporate seal that may be altered at pleasure and to use the seal by causing it or a facsimile to be impressed or affixed or in any other manner reproduced;
(4) to purchase, take, receive, lease, take by gift, devise, or bequest or otherwise acquire, own, hold, improve, use, and otherwise deal in and with real or personal property or any interest in real or personal property, wherever situated, provided that all property must be in trust for the use, purpose, and benefit of the religious denomination, society, or church for which and in whose behalf the corporation sole is organized;
(5) to sell, convey, mortgage, pledge, lease, exchange, transfer, and otherwise dispose of all or any part of its property and assets;
(6) to lend money to its employees other than its officers and otherwise assist its employees and officers;
(7) to purchase, take, receive, subscribe for, or otherwise acquire, own, hold, vote, use, employ, sell, mortgage, lend, pledge, or otherwise dispose of and otherwise use and deal in and with shares or other interests in or obligations of other domestic or foreign corporations, whether for profit or not for profit, associations, partnerships, or individuals or direct or indirect obligations of the United States or of any other government, state, territory, tribe, governmental district, or municipality or of any instrumentality of a governmental entity;
(8) to make contracts and incur liabilities, borrow money at rates of interest that the corporation may determine, issue its notes, bonds, and other obligations, and secure any of its obligations by mortgage or pledge of all or any of its property, franchises, and income;
(9) to lend money for its corporate purposes, invest and reinvest its funds, and take and hold real and personal property as security for the payment of funds loaned or invested;
(10) to conduct its affairs, carry on its operations, and have offices and exercise the powers granted by this chapter in any state, territory, district, or possession of the United States or in any foreign country;
(11) to elect or appoint officers and agents of the corporation, including attorneys-in-fact, and to define their duties and fix their compensation;
(12) to make and alter bylaws, not inconsistent with its articles of incorporation or with the laws of this state, for the administration and regulation of the affairs of the corporation;
(13) unless otherwise provided in the articles of incorporation, to make donations for the public welfare or for charitable, religious, scientific, or educational purposes;
(14) to indemnify any officer or agent or any person who may have served at its request as an officer or agent or as a director or officer of another corporation in which it owns shares of capital stock or of which it is a creditor against claims, liabilities, expenses, and costs necessarily incurred by the person in connection with the defense, compromise, or settlement of any action, suit, or proceeding, civil or criminal, in which the person is made a party by reason of being or having been a director or officer, except in relation to matters as to which the person is adjudged in the action, suit, or proceeding to be liable for negligence or misconduct in the performance of duty to the corporation, and to make any other indemnification that is authorized by the articles of incorporation or by any bylaw or resolution promulgated by the incorporator or the incorporator's successor;
(15) to pay pensions and retirement benefits and establish pension plans, pension trusts, insurance plans, and incentive plans for all or any of its officers and employees;
(16) to cease its corporate activities and surrender its corporate franchise;
(17) to have and exercise all powers necessary or convenient to effect any or all of the purposes for which the corporation is organized.
History: En. Sec. 6, Ch. 301, L. 1967; R.C.M. 1947, 15-2406; amd. Sec. 1290, Ch. 56, L. 2009; amd. Sec. 15, Ch. 280, L. 2015.