Montana route screening
Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Sources rechecked October 3, 2026. This page last revised .
Montana allows collection of a decedent's personal property by affidavit under MCA § 72-3-1101 when "the value of the probate estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $100,000", 30 days have elapsed since death, and no application or petition for appointment of a personal representative is pending or has been granted. (Unclaimed property of $5,000 or less may be refunded by the Department of Revenue regardless of estate value.)
Where the limit comes from
$100,000 is the limit in Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-1101 as it read on October 3, 2026; confirm it with the probate court before you file.
Controlling citation: Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-1101, MCA § 72-3-1101 — Collection of personal property by affidavit (Montana Legislature (Legislative Services Division); Montana Code Annotated 2025).
(a) the value of the probate estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $100,000, except as provided in subsection (2); (b) 30 days have elapsed since the death of the decedent
| Procedure | Collection of personal property by affidavit (MCA § 72-3-1101) |
|---|---|
| What counts | Personal property only; real property is outside this route |
| Value basis | Value less enforceable liens and encumbrances |
| Waiting period | 30 days after death |
What a small-estate screen can and cannot decide, and which assets never enter it, is explained once in small-estate affidavit or probate and what counts as a probate asset.
The main rule is familiar: under MCA § 72-3-1101(1), thirty days after death a successor may collect personal property on affidavit where “the value of the probate estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $100,000,” no appointment is pending or granted in any jurisdiction, and the successor is entitled to the property.
The exception is the part worth knowing. Subsection (1)(a) qualifies the ceiling with the words “except as provided in subsection (2),” and subsection (2) provides that the Department of Revenue may refund unclaimed property to a successor of the decedent under Title 70, chapter 9, part 8, where the value of the unclaimed property is $5,000 or less — “regardless of the value of the estate.”
That matters because unclaimed property is exactly what turns up late. A Montana estate far above $100,000, already administered and closed, can still have a forgotten deposit or uncashed cheque recovered through the Department of Revenue without reopening anything, so long as the unclaimed item itself is $5,000 or less. The ceiling screens the affidavit route; it does not screen that refund.
The section has been amended repeatedly — most recently by Ch. 453, Laws 2023 — so a figure quoted from an older secondary summary of Montana law is worth re-checking against the current code rather than assumed.
Source: MCA § 72-3-1101, read from the enacting state’s own official publication on 2026-09-17. Quoted wording is the statute’s; the surrounding explanation is this site’s reading of it and is not legal advice.
MCA § 72-3-1101 — Collection of personal property by affidavit
(a) the value of the probate estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $100,000, except as provided in subsection (2); (b) 30 days have elapsed since the death of the decedent
Sources rechecked October 3, 2026: Montana source list · how sources are checked · report a correction