Transfer on Death Deed for Carbon County, Montana

In Montana, a transfer on death deed is signed before a notary, then recorded with the county before the owner's death. In Carbon County, the County Clerk and Recorder records it for $20 for the first page plus $10 for each additional page.

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Your Information

Enter your information as the property owner (transferor). If the property is jointly owned, you’ll add the second owner below.

How is the property owned?*

Choose “Jointly owned” if two people are on the title (e.g. spouses as joint tenants or tenants by the entirety). Both owners must sign.

I am the sole ownerJointly owned with one other person

First Name*

Middle Name

Last Name*

Street Address*

City*

State*

ZIP Code*

State Where Property Is Located*

County Where Property Is Located*

Email Address*

Phone Number*

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Montana provides a statutory form, and a deed in substantially that form is accepted. The deed must state that the transfer to the designated beneficiary is to occur at the transferor's death (MCA 72-6-408(2)).

A Montana transfer on death deed is recorded with the County Clerk and Recorder for the county where the property sits and must be on record before the owner's death to take effect. The deed must be recorded in the office of the county clerk and recorder in the county where the property is located before the transferor's death. If any part of the property lies in more than one county, record the deed in each of those counties. MCA 72-6-408; MCA 72-6-415 form.

Co-owners may sign one deed together. A Montana homestead exists only where the owner has executed, acknowledged, and recorded a declaration of homestead with the county clerk in the county where the land is located (MCA 70-32-105; MCA 70-32-107).

Montana passes the share of a beneficiary who dies before the owner to that beneficiary's descendants under its antilapse rule. The deed can name a successor beneficiary to take in that case. A beneficiary must survive the transferor by at least 120 hours; a beneficiary who does not is treated as having predeceased the transferor (MCA 72-2-712).

The beneficiary takes the property subject to the mortgages, liens and other encumbrances on it at death. A transfer on death deed does not affect the transferor's or the beneficiary's eligibility for public assistance during the transferor's life (MCA 72-6-411(4)). The deed moves this parcel alone; a revocable living trust set up with SimplyTrust carries the rest of the estate.

Recording a Transfer on Death Deed in Carbon County

A transfer on death deed for Carbon County property is recorded with the County Clerk and Recorder at 17 West 11th Street, Red Lodge, MT 59068. Phone: 1-406-446-1220. Hours: Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-5:00 PM (except legal holidays).

Recording costs $20 for the first page plus $10 for each additional page; a 2-page TOD deed records for $30; no transfer tax applies to TOD deeds. Page count, cover sheets, and any local transfer-tax add-ons can change the final amount, so confirm the total with the County Clerk and Recorder before submitting. Carbon County accepts e-recording through Simplifile and CSC.

Before recording, a Montana transfer on death deed needs notary acknowledgment. The deed must be recorded before the owner's death to take effect.

If submitting by mail, use the office's mailing address: P.O. Box 887, Red Lodge, MT 59068. Include any required return envelope or recording cover sheet requested by the County Clerk and Recorder.

Legal Sources

(4)·Updated October 16, 2026

SimplyTrust Editorial

MCA 72-6-401 to 72-6-418
MCA 7-4-2637 (fees for recording documents); MCA 7-4-2636 (standards for recorded documents); House Bill 192, 69th Legislature (2025) — Ch. 480, L. 2025 — fee increase effective October 1, 2025
carbonmt.gov
simplifile.com

Data sourced from Montana statutes and official state code and County Clerk and Recorder primary sources (3 pages reviewed). How we research.

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Transfer on Death Deed for Carbon County, Montana

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Transfer on Death Deed for Carbon County, Montana

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