Montana Executor and Estate Kit: the $100,000 Small Estate Route After 30 Days, First Month Checklist and Estate Ledger

Who it is for

Whoever is settling the estate of someone who lived in Montana. Handed to the bank or other holder. Presented to whoever owes the debt or holds the property; no court filing.

Not the right fit if

The person didn't live in or own property in Montana, or a will contest or family dispute means you need an estate attorney. Not a form preparation or legal service.

Why it is different

• Sources, checked November 2026: MCA 72-3-1101, Collection of personal property by affidavit (Montana Legislature); Montana Judicial Branch: Wills, trusts, estate planning and probate forms; Nolo (secondary source): Probate Shortcuts in Montana (Nolo, updated 5/01/2024); Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property (Beaverhead County, Montana, citing MCA 72-3-1101); MCA 72-3-1101, Collection of personal property by affidavit (Montana Legislature) (official form); Justia (statute text) (secondary source): MCA 72-2-522, Execution; witnessed wills; holographic wills (2022 Montana Code Annotated, Justia); Nolo (secondary source): How to Make a Will in Montana (Nolo); Justia (statute text) (secondary source): MCA 72-2-521, Who may make a will (2021 Montana Code Annotated, Justia).
• All 11 Montana facts are confirmed: on an official page, or where none could be read, on a vetted secondary source marked as such.

What is inside

• Montana small estate route. The probate estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, up to $100,000 (amended 2023). The section covers personal property only; it doesn't transfer real estate. Real estate isn't counted, and the affidavit doesn't transfer it; it needs its own route. 30 days. Thirty days after the death. Signed before a notary. Sworn and notarized, as Nolo's summary of MCA 72-3-1101 and 72-3-1102 describes it. Handed to the bank or other holder. Presented to whoever owes the debt or holds the property; no court filing. Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property packet. Listed on the Judicial Branch's end-of-life forms page, with a separate small estate packet. Summary administration: As Nolo's summary describes it: when the estate, less liens, is no more than the homestead, exempt property and family allowances plus administration, funeral and last-illness costs, the personal representative distributes right away without notice to creditors and files a closing statement.
• How a Montana will had to be signed. Signed by at least two individuals, each of whom signs within a reasonable time after seeing the signing or the testator's acknowledgment (MCA 72-2-522, 2022 code text on Justia). Allowed. Per Nolo (citing MCA 72-2-524), the testator and witnesses sign an affidavit before a notary. A notary isn't needed for the will itself. Recognized, with or without witnesses, if the signature and material portions are in the testator's handwriting. An interested witness may sign; Nolo's summary of MCA 72-2-525 still advises using witnesses who don't inherit.
• Montana estate ledger (Excel). Assets, debts, payments and distributions; it compares the countable assets with $100,000, dates day 30 after the death and leaves real estate out of the count.
• First 30 days, tracker and letters. The first month in order with day 30 marked, a documents and accounts tracker, and plain letters to a bank, a utility and Social Security.