Free Montana Petition for Probate

How to open probate in Montana: petition the District Court and request Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration. Mont. Code Ann. §§ 72-3-201 to 72-3-225.

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You & the Will

Montana has no statewide fillable form; we draft the petition from Mont. Code Ann. §§ 72-3-201 to 72-3-225.

Opening probate?The whole estate, start to finish.

State Where the Estate Will Be Probated*

The state where the decedent was domiciled. Only states where a self-represented filer can prepare this document are listed.

Did the decedent leave a will?*

Yes — there is a will (request Letters Testamentary)No — there is no will (request Letters of Administration)

Your First Name*

Middle Name

Your Last Name*

Your Relationship to the Decedent*

How you are related to the person who died. Being named executor in the will is asked separately.

Your Street Address*

City*

ZIP Code*

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Frequently Asked Questions About Montana Probate Petitions

In Montana, you file a petition with District Court to open probate. Clerk of the district court issues Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (no will) once the court grants the appointment. See how appointment works in Montana.

You cannot fill out Letters — they are issued by the court. The document you prepare and file is the petition (or application) for probate and for Letters. This tool prepares that petition for Montana.

No. Montana has no statewide fillable petition form, so the petition is drafted to the contents required by Mont. Code Ann. §§ 72-3-201 to 72-3-225. After downloading, review and sign it, then file it with District Court.

Not as a self-represented filer. Montana has probate e-filing, but it is not open to self-represented litigants — you file on paper with the court. E-filing is the attorney channel and is explicitly unavailable to self-represented litigants ("E-filing is not available to self-represented litigants at this time"). Pro se filers submit paper documents to the clerk of district court; a clerk may not refuse a self-represented filer’s paper solely for non-conformance with formatting rules.

Along with the petition, Montana typically requires: Certified copy of the death certificate; Original will and any codicils, if the decedent left a will; Verified Application for Informal Appointment of Personal Representative; Statement of acceptance of the appointment by the personal representative; Acknowledgment of Fiduciary Relationship and Obligations.

Opening Probate in Montana

Before anyone can act for a Montana estate, District Court must appoint a personal representative and issue Letters. Letters are the court's output — you can't fill them out. The document you file is the petition for probate and for Letters (Mont. Code Ann. §§ 72-3-201 to 72-3-225).

Montana has no statewide fillable petition form, so the petition is drafted to the contents the statute requires (Mont. Code Ann. §§ 72-3-201 to 72-3-225). This tool assembles those required allegations and the verification into a petition you can review, sign, and file with the court in the county where the decedent lived.

You file the petition together with the supporting documents the court requires — typically a certified death certificate and, where there is a will, the original will. Montana does not require a bond by default before Letters issue. The court reviews the petition and, if it is in order, grants it and directs that Letters issue.