Montana Crime Victim Compensation: What Surviving Families Can Claim After a Violent Death

When someone dies as a result of a violent crime — a homicide, a drunk driving crash, an assault — the grief comes layered with sudden, unexpected financial pressure. Funeral costs alone average several thousand dollars. Medical bills from the final hospitalization, lost income during the weeks of trauma and arrangements, counseling for surviving children and family members. Montana has a program specifically created to address these economic losses: the Montana Crime Victim Compensation Program, administered by the Department of Justice.

Most families who qualify never hear about it in time. The deadline is one year from the crime, and the program gets almost no public attention.

What the Program Covers

The Montana Crime Victims Compensation Program provides financial assistance to cover the direct economic losses resulting from a violent crime, including losses suffered by the immediate family of a homicide victim. Covered expenses include:

• Funeral and burial costs: The program pays reasonable funeral and burial expenses directly linked to the victim's death.
• Medical and hospital bills: Treatment costs arising from the crime itself — including any emergency care or hospitalization before death — are eligible.
• Mental health counseling: Surviving spouses, children, and other immediate family members can receive reimbursement for counseling and mental health treatment required as a result of the crime.
• Lost wages: If a surviving family member had to take time away from work to deal with the aftermath of the crime, or to care for minor children, lost wages may be compensable.
• Other pecuniary losses: Other direct economic losses tied to the crime may qualify on a case-by-case basis.

The total cap on pecuniary loss compensation is $25,000. That cap applies across all categories combined. Families dealing with both high funeral expenses and significant counseling costs should document every qualifying expense carefully and submit comprehensive documentation.

Who Is Eligible to File

Eligibility rests on two foundations: the nature of the crime, and the claimant's relationship to the victim.

Qualifying crimes are those that constitute a personal injury crime under Montana law. This includes:

• Homicide and murder in all degrees
• Vehicular homicide and deaths caused by a driver under the influence
• Assault causing death
• Domestic violence resulting in death
• Any other violent crime where physical injury — including death — was the direct and proximate result

The crime must have occurred within Montana, or the victim must have been a Montana resident at the time a crime occurred in another state that does not have its own compensation program covering the case.

Who can file: The surviving spouse, dependent children, parents, siblings, or other family members who incurred direct financial losses as a result of the crime may file a claim. The victim's estate may also be eligible if it incurred funeral or medical costs. You do not need to be a legal heir to file — you need to have suffered economic losses that the program covers.

Reporting requirement: The crime must have been reported to law enforcement — a police department, sheriff's office, or other law enforcement agency — within a reasonable time following the incident. Failure to report is the most common reason claims are denied. Report the crime even if the outcome of any criminal investigation or prosecution is uncertain. The program does not require a conviction to pay a claim.

What the Program Does Not Cover

The Crime Victims Compensation Program is explicitly a payer of last resort. It pays what is left after all other available sources of recovery have been applied. Other sources that must be exhausted first include:

• Life insurance proceeds
• Workers' compensation death benefits (if the death occurred in a work context)
• Civil judgments or settlements against the offender
• Any other insurance or benefits the family can access

The program does not cover pain and suffering, property damage or loss, or losses attributable to the claimant's own criminal conduct that contributed to the incident. If the victim is found to have contributed to their own death through criminal behavior, the claim may be reduced or denied entirely.

The Filing Deadline

Claims must be filed within one year of the crime. Not one year from the death — one year from when the crime occurred. If the victim was injured in the crime and died days or weeks later in a hospital, the clock still starts from the date of the incident.

The Montana Department of Justice has some discretion to accept late filings when good cause exists. Do not assume that discretion will apply to your situation. File as early as you can gather basic documentation — you can supplement the claim with additional documentation after filing.

How to File a Claim

Claims are filed with the Montana Department of Justice, Crime Victim Services Division. The process:

1. Obtain the Crime Victim Compensation application from the Crime Victim Services Division or through a local victim advocate
2. Include a copy of the law enforcement report documenting the crime
3. Attach documentation of your losses: funeral home invoices, medical bills, counseling receipts, and documentation of lost wages (pay stubs, employer letters, or similar)
4. Include a certified copy of the victim's death certificate
5. Submit any documentation of other benefits or insurance that has already paid or will pay toward these expenses

You do not need an attorney to file. Victim advocates at the Department of Justice can assist at no cost. To reach the Crime Victim Services Division, call (406) 444-3653.

County-level victim witness programs, typically housed within the County Attorney's Office, also provide free filing assistance and can help coordinate with law enforcement to obtain documentation of the crime.

What Happens After You File

Once a claim is submitted, the Crime Victim Services Division reviews the documentation and determines eligible losses. They may contact you for additional information. Claims are not always paid in a lump sum — some expenses are paid directly to providers (such as funeral homes or counseling practices) rather than reimbursed to the family.

The program may pay partial claims while a full investigation continues, and claims can be supplemented as additional eligible expenses are incurred and documented. Counseling expenses, for instance, may extend over months or years following the death — the program can cover ongoing treatment costs as long as the claim remains open and within program limits.

How Crime Victim Compensation Fits With Other Benefits

Crime victim compensation covers one specific category of the financial impact from a violent death. It does not replace or interact with:

• Social Security survivor benefits, which are based on the victim's work record and are claimed through the SSA
• Life insurance, which passes outside of this program entirely
• Workers' compensation death benefits, if the death occurred in a workplace context — those provide up to 66.67% of the deceased's weekly wages for 500 weeks for a surviving spouse
• Montana statutory allowances under the Uniform Probate Code, which protect up to $64,500 from the estate against unsecured creditors

If the violent death resulted from a workplace incident, workers' compensation may provide benefits through an entirely separate system. Both claims can be filed simultaneously — they are independent programs administered by different agencies.

The full picture of what Montana survivor benefits are available after a violent death, how to sequence the claims, and which deadlines to watch across multiple agencies is covered in the Montana Survivor Benefits Navigator.

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