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Montana timeline

Montana probate timeline: the 30-day wait and creditor deadlines

The simplified route starts 30 days after death.

That clock is one condition among several, and it is not the whole estate timeline. The deadlines that carry the most risk are creditor deadlines, and in Montana they are set out below against the event each one runs from.

Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch September 15, 2026.

The one date this page can source

The collection of personal property by affidavit (mca § 72-3-1101) route requires 30 days to elapse from the date of death. This is a precondition: the affidavit or petition cannot be presented before it runs, regardless of how straightforward the estate is.

(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 decedentMont. Code Ann. § 72-3-1101 — Montana Legislature (Legislative Services Division); Montana Code Annotated 2025.

Creditor deadlines

Montana does not run one creditor clock. Separate periods start from separate events, and the date that actually bars a claim is the one the applicable period produces. They are listed here against the event that starts each, because a period attached to the wrong starting event is how a deadline gets missed by weeks.

From publication of notice to creditors
Within 4 months after the date of the first publication of the notice to creditors (MCA § 72-3-801(1)).
From actual notice to a known creditor
Within 4 months from the published notice, or within 30 days from mailing/delivery of written notice, whichever is later (MCA § 72-3-801(2)).
Outer limit, running from death
Within 1 year after the decedent's death, whichever is earlier (MCA § 72-3-803(1)(a)).

How these combine. Montana runs multiple independently-triggered claim deadlines that cannot honestly collapse into one number: a four-month bar from first publication of the notice to creditors (§ 72-3-801(1)); an actual-notice period of four months from published notice or 30 days from mailing, whichever is later (§ 72-3-801(2)); and an outer nonclaim bar of one year after death (§ 72-3-803(1)(a)). Publishing a single figure would mislead.

within 1 year after the decedent's death; or (b) within the time provided by 72-3-801 (2) for creditors who are given actual notice and within the time provided in 72-3-801 (1) for all creditors barred by publication.Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-803(1)(a) — Montana Legislature (Legislative Services Division); Montana Code Annotated 2025.

Publishing notice starts a period after which most claims are barred. Missing a required notice can extend the estate’s exposure and, in some circumstances, the personal exposure of the person administering it. Confirm the dates that apply to this estate with the District Court before relying on them, because a specific case can carry deadlines these general provisions do not reach.

Montana bars most claims one year after death, and binds nonprobate transferees too

MCA § 72-3-803 is a nonclaim statute, which is a stronger thing than a limitation period: it extinguishes claims rather than merely giving a defence to them. Claims that arose before death are barred unless presented within the earlier of two dates — within one year after the decedent’s death, or within the time set by § 72-3-801(2) for creditors given actual notice and § 72-3-801(1) for creditors barred by publication.

The one-year outer limit is the shortest of the neighbouring uniform states. North Dakota’s equivalent runs three years where notice was never published and mailed, Idaho’s runs three years, and Arizona’s runs two years plus whatever remains of the notice period. A Montana estate reaches finality against unknown creditors materially sooner than an estate a state line away.

Montana also reaches further in whom it binds. The bar operates “against the estate, the personal representative, and the heirs and devisees and nonprobate transferees of the decedent.” Assets that passed outside probate — by beneficiary designation or survivorship — are covered by the same bar. Arizona’s § 14-3803 and Idaho’s § 15-3-803 list only the estate, the representative, and the heirs and devisees.

Claims arising at or after death run on their own clock: a claim based on a contract with the personal representative must be presented within four months after the representative’s performance is due, and any other such claim within the later of four months after it arises or one year after death. The section does not disturb proceedings to enforce a mortgage, pledge or other lien on estate property, nor — to the limits of the insurance only — proceedings to establish the decedent’s or representative’s liability.

Source: MCA § 72-3-803, read from the enacting state’s own published code 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.

Montana timeline decision map

What must be established before the Montana clock matters

The Montana waiting period is only one condition. Use this map to separate the route clock from creditor deadlines, asset scope, court costs, and the documents needed to move from screening to filing.

QuestionRecorded Montana answerCarry into the case
What route is being screened?Collection of personal property by affidavit (MCA § 72-3-1101)Confirm that the will, prior appointment, family facts, and asset titles fit this route.
What property and basis count?personal probate property only; net of enforceable liens and encumbrances.Keep real property, liens, beneficiary transfers, and survivorship transfers classified separately.
What is the amount screen?$100,000Use the counted property, not a bank-balance shortcut.
What is the time or deadline record?30 days after death; Montana runs multiple independently-triggered claim deadlines that cannot honestly collapse into one number: a four-month bar from first publication of the notice to creditors (§ 72-3-801(1)); an actual-notice period of four months from published notice or 30 days from mailing, whichever is later (§ 72-3-801(2)); and an outer nonclaim bar of one year after death (§ 72-3-803(1)(a)). Publishing a single figure would mislead.Keep the event that starts each clock with the date; do not combine separate periods into one number.
What does the cost record establish?$70 is the recorded statewide amount.Ask the District Court about local surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings.
What does compensation use?MCA § 72-3-631(1) entitles a personal representative to "reasonable compensation for services." Contrary to a common assumption, Montana's Uniform Probate Code enactment does NOT set a statutory percentage schedule (the harvested § 72-3-631 text states only a reasonable-compensation standard). A will may fix compensation, but the personal representative may renounce that provision before qualifying and take reasonable compensation instead. The relevant base is the estate accounting.Keep the will, task log, receipts, and accounting base together; extraordinary work is separate.

Clock ledger

Do not compress the Montana deadlines into one date

The Montana record names separate triggers. The description beside each trigger is the source-bound statement to carry into the estate calendar; the interaction rule explains which period controls when more than one applies.

Clock starts withRecorded periodSource
Publication of noticeWithin 4 months after the date of the first publication of the notice to creditors (MCA § 72-3-801(1)).Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-803(1)(a)
Actual notice to a known creditorWithin 4 months from the published notice, or within 30 days from mailing/delivery of written notice, whichever is later (MCA § 72-3-801(2)).Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-803(1)(a)
Outer limit from deathWithin 1 year after the decedent's death, whichever is earlier (MCA § 72-3-803(1)(a)).Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-803(1)(a)

How the periods combine: Montana runs multiple independently-triggered claim deadlines that cannot honestly collapse into one number: a four-month bar from first publication of the notice to creditors (§ 72-3-801(1)); an actual-notice period of four months from published notice or 30 days from mailing, whichever is later (§ 72-3-801(2)); and an outer nonclaim bar of one year after death (§ 72-3-803(1)(a)). Publishing a single figure would mislead.

Case-file context

Keep the Montana answer with its neighboring conditions

A route answer is easier to use when the facts that can change it stay in the same record. These are the reviewed Montana descriptions adjacent to this page\'s main question; they are not a substitute for the source quotations or the receiving court\'s instructions.

Route context

Montana is a Uniform Probate Code state. Personal property of a decedent whose probate estate (net of liens and encumbrances) does not exceed $100,000 can be collected by affidavit under MCA § 72-3-1101, 30 days after death, with no court filing. Probate proceedings are filed in the District Court, where the probate-specific opening fee is $70 under MCA § 25-1-201(1)(m). Personal representatives receive reasonable compensation under § 72-3-631 — Montana sets no statutory percentage schedule.

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.)

Cost context

MCA § 25-1-201(1)(m) sets a probate-specific fee: on the filing of an application for informal, formal, or supervised probate or for the appointment of a personal representative, the clerk of district court collects $70 from the applicant, "which includes the fee for filing a will for probate". This probate-specific subsection governs over the general civil-commencement fee in § 25-1-201(1)(a), so the opening fee for a probate proceeding is $70. The § 72-3-1101 affidavit route requires no court filing.

$70 is the recorded statewide amount.

Compensation context

MCA § 72-3-631(1) entitles a personal representative to "reasonable compensation for services." Contrary to a common assumption, Montana's Uniform Probate Code enactment does NOT set a statutory percentage schedule (the harvested § 72-3-631 text states only a reasonable-compensation standard). A will may fix compensation, but the personal representative may renounce that provision before qualifying and take reasonable compensation instead.

MCA § 72-3-631(1) entitles a personal representative to "reasonable compensation for services." Contrary to a common assumption, Montana's Uniform Probate Code enactment does NOT set a statutory percentage schedule (the harvested § 72-3-631 text states only a reasonable-compensation standard). A will may fix compensation, but the personal representative may renounce that provision before qualifying and take reasonable compensation instead. The relevant base is the estate accounting.

Court-material note: Probate in Montana is handled by the District Court. The Judicial Branch publishes statewide self-help resources and forms. The $70 probate fee is fixed statewide by MCA § 25-1-201(1)(m); the § 72-3-1101 affidavit is a private demand instrument, not a court filing.

Arithmetic illustration

See the Montana amount screen without mistaking it for a result

The recorded Montana ceiling is $100,000, and it is tested against personal probate property only, on a basis this site records as net of enforceable liens and encumbrances. Counted that way, $75,000 sits below the Montana figure and $125,000 sits above it. Both are comparisons to a published number rather than legal outcomes: two estates holding the same total can land on opposite sides of this line, because what Montana counts and how it values it are decided before the comparison is made.

Illustrative counted amountComparison to the Montana ceilingWhat it does not decide
$75,000Below $100,000Title, liens, waiting period, appointment, or creditor duties
$125,000Above $100,000Whether another statutory route or court process applies

Next evidence to collect

Calendar the verified gate, preserve the unresolved questions, and confirm the county filing path before distributing property.

  1. Record the date of death, the county, and the exact proceeding or affidavit being considered.
  2. Classify each asset by title, beneficiary, trust, real-property status, and the value basis shown above.
  3. Open the official court material below and keep its form or schedule with the estate record.
  4. Do not distribute property until the route, creditor position, and required approvals are resolved.

Official material

Probate in Montana is handled by the District Court. The Judicial Branch publishes statewide self-help resources and forms. The $70 probate fee is fixed statewide by MCA § 25-1-201(1)(m); the § 72-3-1101 affidavit is a private demand instrument, not a court filing.

Source trail

Records used by this Montana map

The general sequence

The order in which an estate is actually worked — secure property, confirm title and beneficiary designations, identify the court route, notify and account, then close — is the same everywhere and carries no citation, so it is set out once rather than repeated on each state’s page. Read it inthe executor’s first week, and seehow long probate takes for how the phases stretch in practice.

What is jurisdiction-specific is above: the Montana periods, the event each one runs from, and the source each was read in.

Use this as a starting point.

This is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Probate law varies by state and county and changes over time. Verify the current rule with the court or a licensed attorney in the relevant state.

Continue in Montana