What to Do When Someone Dies in Montana: First Steps

The first hours after a death are disorienting. Decisions need to be made quickly, agencies will start sending mail, and well-meaning relatives will offer conflicting advice. Most of it can wait. A few things genuinely cannot.

This guide gives you the right sequence for the first 72 hours and the first 30 days — what to handle immediately, what to delay until you have more information, and the specific Montana rules that change how the estate settlement process works here.

Do Not Pay Any Bills Yet

This is the most important instruction for the first 48 hours. Well-meaning family members who start paying the deceased's utility bills, credit card balances, or medical debts out of pocket are making a costly mistake.

Montana law establishes a strict priority order for paying a decedent's debts. Unsecured creditors — credit cards, medical bills, personal loans — are last in line. They get paid from estate assets after administration costs, funeral expenses, and taxes. And if the estate does not have enough to cover them, those debts are simply not paid. Heirs are not personally responsible for a deceased person's unsecured debts just because they are family.

Before paying anything, get a full picture of the estate. Then pay in the legally required order. Paying debts out of the wrong account or in the wrong sequence can create liability for the person managing the estate.

The exception: ongoing costs required to preserve estate assets. Utility bills on a property that needs to stay heated, insurance premiums on a vehicle, mortgage payments on real estate — these may need to continue to prevent asset loss. But discretionary payments to unsecured creditors? Wait.

The First 72 Hours: What Must Happen

Authorize the disposition of remains. Montana's Right of Disposition Act (MCA 37-19-901) establishes who has legal authority to direct funeral arrangements. The hierarchy is: the decedent's own prior directive (in a prepaid contract or written direction), then the surviving spouse, then a majority of adult children, then parents, then siblings. If family members are in dispute, do not pressure the funeral home to act — they can petition the District Court for a binding order.

Obtain the death certificate. In Montana, death certificates are issued by the DPHHS Office of Vital Records or local county registrars, at $16 per certified copy. Order 8 to 10 certified copies. You will need them for banks, life insurance, the Motor Vehicle Division, real estate transfers, and probate court. Under-ordering is far more costly — in time — than ordering extra.

Secure the decedent's property. Change locks or retrieve keys to the home. Ensure vehicles are secured. In rural Montana, this includes livestock and farm equipment. Mail should be redirected to prevent theft or bill accumulation.

Check the Montana End of Life Registry. The Office of the Attorney General maintains a centralized registry of advance healthcare directives. Healthcare providers can access it 24/7. If there are questions about organ donation preferences or end-of-life instructions, the treating healthcare team can look up what was registered.

Notify Social Security. Montana funeral homes typically notify the Social Security Administration of a death. Confirm with the funeral director whether they are handling this. If not, call 1-800-772-1213. Any Social Security payment deposited after the month of death must be returned — do not spend it.

Do not cancel utilities or accounts immediately. The estate will need to pay ongoing bills on property being administered. Canceling utilities on a home can lead to frozen pipes, loss of insurance coverage, or property damage.

The First 30 Days: Getting the Estate Organized

Locate the will. Check safe deposit boxes, home filing cabinets, and the attorney who drafted any estate planning documents. If there is no will, the estate is intestate and Montana's statutory succession rules determine who inherits.

Categorize assets as probate vs. non-probate. This single step determines what path the estate takes.

Non-probate assets transfer automatically to named beneficiaries — no court involvement required:

• Life insurance with a named living beneficiary
• Bank accounts with a Payable on Death (POD) designation
• Investment accounts with a Transfer on Death (TOD) designation
• IRAs, 401(k)s, and retirement accounts with living named beneficiaries
• Real estate held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship
• Property transferred by a Transfer on Death deed (beneficiary deed)
• Assets in a living trust

Probate assets are everything owned solely in the decedent's name with no beneficiary designation. These require either the small estate affidavit procedure or formal probate through the District Court.

Determine if the small estate affidavit applies. If the total value of probate assets (non-probate assets do not count) is $100,000 or less, the estate may qualify for the Collection of Personal Property by Affidavit under MCA 72-3-1101. This procedure bypasses the District Court entirely. However, it cannot be used until 30 days after the date of death. For estates under the threshold, this is typically the fastest and cheapest path.

If probate is required, identify who will serve as Personal Representative. Under Montana law, the nominated Personal Representative cannot file an application for informal probate until at least 120 hours (five days) after the death. Montana's priority hierarchy for who can serve: the person named in the will, then the surviving spouse if a devisee, then other devisees, then the surviving spouse in intestate situations, then other heirs.

Notify benefit providers. MPERA (Montana Public Employee Retirement Administration), TRS (Teachers' Retirement System), life insurance companies, VA benefits, and any pension plans need notification. Each has its own survivor benefit claims process with specific deadlines.

Begin collecting income and account information. The Personal Representative will need a complete picture of the estate: all bank accounts, investment accounts, retirement accounts, real estate holdings, vehicles, business interests, and debts. This inventory is a formal legal requirement in probate (due within nine months of appointment) and a practical necessity in any estate.

The Key Montana Rules That Change the Process

Montana has adopted the Uniform Probate Code, which makes the state's probate process significantly more efficient than most states. But several Montana-specific rules catch families by surprise:

The $100,000 small estate threshold was increased from $50,000 to $100,000 in 2023. Non-probate assets are excluded from this calculation. Many families who assume they need probate do not.

Montana uses expanded Medicaid estate recovery. If the decedent received Montana Medicaid benefits at age 55 or older, or was institutionalized at any age, DPHHS can file a claim against the estate — including non-probate assets like TOD deed property and joint tenancy accounts. This is one of the most common misconceptions in Montana estate settlement: that using a TOD deed to avoid probate also avoids Medicaid recovery. It does not.

The statutory allowances for surviving spouses and dependents (up to $64,500 total in homestead, family, and exempt property allowances) have priority over unsecured creditors. These allowances protect the surviving family from being left without resources while the estate is being settled.

Informal probate requires no court hearings for routine administration. The Clerk of the District Court processes the application and issues Letters of Authority administratively. The Personal Representative then manages the estate independently unless a dispute arises.

What Comes After the First 30 Days

Once the estate is categorized and the appropriate administrative path is determined, the remaining steps follow in sequence:

• Open probate (if required) and obtain Letters of Authority
• Publish the Notice to Creditors (starts a four-month creditor claims window)
• File the estate inventory within nine months of appointment
• Pay creditor claims in the statutory priority order
• File the decedent's final income tax return and any required fiduciary income tax returns
• Distribute assets to beneficiaries
• Formally close the estate

For most straightforward Montana estates, this process takes six to twelve months from the date of death through final distribution.

If you want the complete step-by-step sequence for settling a Montana estate — with the exact forms, agency contacts, and statutory deadlines for each phase — the Montana Estate Settlement Guide covers the entire process from the first 48 hours through final closing.

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