How Do I Get Appointed as Executor in Montana?

In Montana, the District Court appoints the personal representative and the Clerk of the district court issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration; an informal (registrar) track is available.

State

Document Type

Getting appointed in Montana

Personal Representative (executor if testate, administrator if intestate)

The form that opens the estate

No statewide fill-in form

Attorney-drafted pleading

Start this petition for Montana — the builder fills it with your answers. You review, sign, and file it with the court.

Where you file

District Court (the clerk of the district court decides informal applications; a district judge hears formal proceedings)

What the court issues (with a will)

Letters Testamentary

issued by Clerk of the district court

Letters are an output — the court issues them after granting the petition.

At a glance

UPC adoptedInformal trackE-filing (self-represented)Self-represented filingLocal/county forms

E-filing is the attorney channel and is explicitly unavailable to self-represented litigants. The Judiciary’s e-filing page states "E-filing is not available to self-represented litigants at this time," and its Court Policy (as of July 30, 2026) states "E-Filing is not yet enabled for use by self-represented litigants at any court." Participation is voluntary even for attorneys (Montana Temporary Electronic Filing Rules § 2(b): "Use of the electronic filing system is voluntary"), and Probate (DP) is an enabled case type at the participating district courts. Pro se filers submit paper documents to the clerk of district court; under Mont. R. Civ. P. 5(d)(4) the clerk "must not refuse to file a paper solely because it is not in the form prescribed by these rules or by a local rule or practice."

Montana has no mandatory statewide Judicial Council appointment forms. Self-represented filers must contact the local clerk of district court for the application/letters packet; the only statewide fillable artifacts are the small-estate collection-by-affidavit PDF and MSU Extension templates, plus the Word-document templates (application, Statement of Informal Probate, Letters of Authority) inside the courts.mt.gov small-estate packet, which is limited to informal administration of estates of roughly $100,000 or less. Document contents are dictated by statute (Mont. Code Ann. §§ 72-3-202, 72-3-301), not by a numbered form.

Bond

Required before Letters: No
Waivable by will: Yes
Waivable by beneficiaries: No

What to file with the petition

Copy of the death certificate, attached to the application (a plain copy — Montana’s own application form does not ask for a certified copy, and accepts alternative documentation of the decedent’s death if no certificate is available)
Original will and any codicils, if the decedent left a will (Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-211, informal probate of will)
Verified Application for Informal Appointment of Personal Representative (and Informal Probate of Will) (Mont. Code Ann. §§ 72-3-201 to 72-3-203)
Statement of acceptance of the appointment by the personal representative (Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-512)
Acknowledgment of Fiduciary Relationship and Obligations (Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-109)
Renunciations / nominations from any persons with equal or higher priority, if applicable (Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-504)
Bond only if required (Mont. Code Ann. §§ 72-3-513 to 72-3-515)

Small-estate alternative

Bypasses full Letters: Yes
Form name: Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property of the Decedent

State-specific notes

The clerk may not appoint on an informal application until at least 120 hours (5 days) have elapsed since the decedent’s death, and if the decedent was a nonresident the clerk delays the order of appointment until 30 days have elapsed since death, unless the domiciliary personal representative is the applicant or the will directs Montana law (Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-225(1)). Notice of an informal application/appointment goes only to persons who demanded notice under § 72-3-106, any personal representative whose appointment has not been terminated, and any person with a prior or equal right to appointment not waived in writing (§§ 72-3-211, 72-3-221) — no other notice is required. Every applicant for appointment must sign and verify the fiduciary-acknowledgment statement (Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-109; courts.mt.gov publishes it as the "Fiduciary Statement" PDF). Within 30 days after appointment the personal representative must give information of the appointment to the heirs and devisees (Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-603). Small estates may avoid appointment entirely via collection by affidavit 30 days after death when the probate estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $100,000 (§ 72-3-1101(1)(a)); a summary administration procedure also exists (§ 72-3-1103).

General information about how a personal representative is appointed, not legal advice. Consult a licensed attorney for legal questions. Data verified Aug 24, 2026

Montana has no single statewide fill-in petition; the opening document is prepared to statute and filed with the District Court. Clerk of the district court issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration after the court grants the petition.

Along with the petition, Montana generally requires: Copy of the death certificate, attached to the application (a plain copy — Montana’s own application form does not ask for a certified copy, and accepts alternative documentation of the decedent’s death if no certificate is available); Original will and any codicils, if the decedent left a will (Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-211, informal probate of will); Verified Application for Informal Appointment of Personal Representative (and Informal Probate of Will) (Mont. Code Ann. §§ 72-3-201 to 72-3-203). The court's own checklist runs longer for particular cases.

Montana does not require a bond by default before Letters issue, though the court can order one.

Montana permits a self-represented person to open an estate. E-filing is attorneys only. The Montana self-file probate assessment sets self-filing against attorney costs.

Yes. A revocable living trust passes its assets to the beneficiaries without a court appointment in Montana: no petition, no Letters, no bond. A revocable trust built with SimplyTrust takes about fifteen minutes.

Getting Appointed in Montana

In Montana, a personal representative is appointed by the District Court. Clerk of the district court issues the Letters that prove authority over the estate — Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (no will). Montana has adopted the Uniform Probate Code.

Montana publishes no single statewide fill-in petition; the opening document is prepared to statute and filed with the court. The court filing fee runs $100, and Montana offers an informal (registrar) appointment track for qualifying estates.

Montana does not require a bond by default before Letters issue, though the court can order one where it is needed to protect creditors or heirs.

Estates under $100,000 in Montana may qualify for a simplified procedure that avoids a full appointment entirely. The self-file probate assessment carries a Montana cost comparison.

SimplyTrust Editorial·Updated September 8, 2026

Legal Sources

Data sourced from Montana statutes and official state code. How we research.

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