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Montana source record

Every source behind the Montana guide

4 primary records, quoted verbatim and checked against 12 named presence or absence conditions that must pass against the live government text. Open the record, read the words the publishing body actually used, and confirm the current rule for yourself.

Last full re-fetch October 3, 2026

What each source establishes

The Montana guide rests on the source-backed rules this site can verify for the state: which simplified procedure exists and what it limits, what the court charges, how the person administering the estate may be paid, and the statutory creditor-deadline clocks the official text states.Every published rule below is quoted in the publisher’s own words rather than summarised.

Simplified-procedure rule

Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-1101

Montana Legislature (Legislative Services Division) · Montana Code Annotated 2025 · Verified August 9, 2026

(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

What was published from this source

  • MT Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-1101

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • threshold $100,000 net of liens, 30 days
  • section identity 72-3-1101
  • section identity

Response digest c49eadd93fc87e2c… · HTTP 200

Executor compensation rule

Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-631

Montana Legislature (Legislative Services Division) · Montana Code Annotated 2025 · Verified August 9, 2026

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

What this means: The cohort brief speculated Montana had a 3%/2% statutory percentage schedule; the harvested primary text refutes that — § 72-3-631 sets only a reasonable-compensation standard. Primary text governs.

What was published from this source

  • MT Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-631

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • reasonable compensation standard
  • section identity 72-3-631
  • section identity

Response digest 93f4c80c890762de… · HTTP 200

Court cost rule

Mont. Code Ann. § 25-1-201(1)(m)

Montana Legislature (Legislative Services Division) · Montana Code Annotated 2025 · Verified August 9, 2026

on the filing of an application for informal, formal, or supervised probate or for the appointment of a personal representative or the filing of a petition for the appointment of a guardian or conservator, from the applicant or petitioner, $70, which includes the fee for filing a will for probate

What this means: The prior draft cited the general $90 civil-commencement fee in § 25-1-201(1)(a). Subsection (1)(m) is probate-specific and controls: it fixes a $70 fee on the filing of an application for informal, formal, or supervised probate or for the appointment of a personal representative, and states the fee includes filing a will for probate. The specific provision governs over the general.

What was published from this source

  • MT Mont. Code Ann. § 25-1-201(1)(m)

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • probate application fee $70
  • section identity 25-1-201
  • section identity

Response digest d7b402db05e1826c… · HTTP 200

Creditor deadline rule

Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-803(1)(a)

Montana Legislature (Legislative Services Division) · Montana Code Annotated 2025 · Verified August 9, 2026

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.

What was published from this source

  • MT Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-803(1)(a)

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • outer nonclaim 1 year
  • section identity 72-3-803
  • section identity

Response digest 0a75e8c5878f0002… · HTTP 200

Statutes read in full for Montana

Read on the enacting state’s own site, with the date each was read.

CitationWhat reading it establishedRead on
MCA § 25-1-201Montana charges a general district-court filing fee, not a probate-specific one — court and filing cost note2026-09-17
MCA § 72-3-803Montana bars most claims one year after death, and binds nonprobate transferees too — creditor deadline note2026-09-17
MCA § 72-3-1101Montana’s $100,000 ceiling has a carve-out that ignores the size of the estate — small estate route note2026-09-17
MCA § 72-3-631Montana’s fee statute is the uniform text, so the renunciation timing is what decides outcomes — representative pay note2026-09-17

What Montana courts publish

Every link is probed before each release.

Limits on court 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.

Checking these Montana records against the publishers

Every citation above links to the body that publishes it, and every quoted sentence is reproduced exactly, so a text search on the publisher’s own page should land on it. Where the publisher’s current wording differs from what is recorded here, the publisher governs and this page is wrong; naming the citation and the language you see maps the difference onto a specific condition rather than a general complaint. The full procedure, including how a source qualifies in the first place and what disqualifies one, is set out once on the methodology page instead of being restated on each of the267 state records.

These records cover the cost and route questions this site answers for Montana. They do not cover intestate succession shares, spousal and family allowances, creditor priority, tax filing obligations, real-property transfer mechanics, or contested proceedings. Where an answer would require one of those, the site says so rather than estimating.

Return to the Montana estate guide ·All 267 records ·Dataset overview and citation ·How sources are selected