Montana Small Estate Affidavit: Eligibility, Process, and Limits

A Montana small estate affidavit lets an heir collect a deceased person’s personal property, such as bank accounts, investments, and belongings, without opening probate, as long as the entire probate estate is worth $100,000 or less after debts and liens are subtracted.¹ Real estate cannot pass this way. For a modest estate, the affidavit replaces the cost and delay of appointing a personal representative and opening a court case.

Who Can Use It

Only a “successor” of the deceased qualifies, meaning someone entitled to the property under the will or, if there was no will, under Montana’s intestacy rules.² Creditors do not qualify.

Four conditions all have to be true before you can proceed:

The total probate estate, wherever located, is $100,000 or less after subtracting liens and encumbrances.¹
At least 30 days have passed since the date of death.
No one has applied for or been granted appointment as a personal representative anywhere.
You are entitled to the specific property you are claiming.

One narrow exception sits on top of the $100,000 cap. The Montana Department of Revenue can release unclaimed property to a successor if the unclaimed property itself is worth $5,000 or less, no matter the total estate value.¹

What the Affidavit Reaches

The affidavit works for personal property and financial instruments: bank accounts, brokerage accounts, stocks, wages or other money owed to the deceased, and physical items like furniture, tools, or jewelry. Transfer agents for securities must change registered ownership from the deceased to the successor when they receive a valid affidavit.¹

Real estate is outside the process. A house, a parcel of land, or any other real property cannot pass through the affidavit. That is the single most common misunderstanding, and using the affidavit will not put a home in your name. Transferring real property requires formal probate or, in certain situations, Montana’s summary administration procedure.

How To Use the Affidavit

Fill Out and Notarize the Form

Montana’s court system publishes a fill-in-the-blank affidavit for this purpose. It asks for the deceased person’s full name, date of death, and a description of the property you are claiming, and it requires you to state that the four eligibility conditions are met. You sign in front of a notary public, swearing under oath that everything in the document is true, including the pre-printed portions you did not write yourself.³

Present It to Whoever Holds the Property

Once notarized, hand a copy of the affidavit to each bank, brokerage, employer, or other person holding the deceased’s property.³ Bring a certified death certificate, since most institutions will ask for one. Some will also want your photo ID or proof of your relationship to the deceased.

An institution may ask you to sign a hold-harmless agreement stating that it is not liable if the property should not have been released to you. Read that carefully. If another heir later proves the release was improper, you could be personally responsible.³

If Someone Refuses To Release the Property

Start with a conversation. The person at the counter may simply be unfamiliar with the affidavit process, and showing them the statute often resolves the standoff.³ If it does not, Montana law lets you bring a legal proceeding to compel release upon proof of your right to the property.⁴

Vehicles Follow a Separate Track

Motor vehicles, trailers, motorboats, and snowmobiles are handled under a different statute that piggybacks on the same $100,000 threshold. Under Montana Code 61-3-222, a surviving spouse or heir can transfer title if the estate value stays within the small estate ceiling, the deceased left no other property that requires formal probate, and the will did not specifically leave the vehicle to someone else.⁵

You file an affidavit with the Montana Department of Justice Motor Vehicle Division stating the fact of survivorship, the names and addresses of any other heirs, and any other facts the department requires. If everything checks out, the department issues a new title in your name, subject to any security interests already on record.⁵

What You Remain Responsible For

Collecting property through the affidavit does not wipe out the deceased person’s debts, and it does not extinguish other heirs’ rights. You are answerable to any personal representative later appointed for the estate and to any person with a superior right to the property.⁴ If a creditor surfaces or a previously unknown heir comes forward, you may have to return or pay for what you took. Skipping heirs you know about is the fastest route to that outcome.

Institutions, by contrast, get strong legal cover. A bank or other holder that releases property in reliance on a valid affidavit is discharged as if it had dealt with a court-appointed personal representative, and it has no duty to investigate the truth of your statements or to police how you use the property.⁴ That protection is why institutions are willing to release accounts without a court order.

Costs and Documents To Gather

The affidavit is among the cheapest ways to settle an estate. The out-of-pocket costs are small:

Notary fees, capped by Montana law at $10 per notarial act.⁶
Certified death certificates from Montana’s Office of Vital Records at $16 each. Order at least two, because multiple property holders may each want their own.⁷

Before you start, pull together a certified death certificate, the completed and notarized affidavit, your photo ID, and any records showing the deceased owned what you are claiming, such as bank statements, account numbers, or stock certificates. Having it all in one folder avoids repeat trips.

Taxes Are Still Owed

The affidavit handles the transfer of property. It does not handle taxes. Someone still has to file the deceased person’s final federal income tax return covering January 1 through the date of death, and the normal April 15 deadline applies for the year of death.⁸

If that final return produces a refund and you are not a surviving spouse on a joint return or a court-appointed representative with a court certificate, you claim it with IRS Form 1310. Check Line C as an “other claimant,” complete Part II, and keep the death certificate in your records in case the IRS asks.⁹

Federal estate tax is not in play at this size. The 2026 federal exemption is $15 million per individual, well above the $100,000 affidavit ceiling.¹⁰

1
Montana State Legislature. Montana Code 72-3-1101 – Collection of Personal Property by Affidavit
2
Montana State Legislature. Montana Code 72-1-103 – General Definitions
3
Montana Courts. How to Settle a Small Estate with an Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property
4
Montana State Legislature. Montana Code 72-3-1102 – Effect of Affidavit
5
Montana State Legislature. Montana Code 61-3-222 – Surviving Spouse or Heir, Small Estates
6
Montana State Legislature. Montana Code 1-5-626 – Fees for Notarial Acts, Collection of Fees
7
Montana DPHHS. Office of Vital Records Fee Schedule
8
Internal Revenue Service. IRS Opens 2026 Filing Season
9
Internal Revenue Service. Form 1310 – Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer
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Internal Revenue Service. What’s New – Estate and Gift Tax