What is the small estate limit in Montana?

The 2025 text of MCA 72-3-1101 states $100,000 for the probate estate less liens and encumbrances, while many secondary guides still report $50,000. Confirm the current figure with the clerk of court.

How long do I have to wait in Montana?

Thirty days after the death, as stated in the statute itself. At least one published guide claims five days, which does not match the statutory text.

What if a bank refuses the Montana affidavit?

Under MCA 72-3-1102 the property may be recovered, or payment compelled, in a proceeding brought for that purpose on proof of the successor's right.

Is there a second Montana route?

Yes. A separate summary administration procedure covers larger estates, and where the estate does not exceed the allowances and expenses listed in the statute, the personal representative may distribute immediately and file a closing statement without notifying creditors.

Montana Small Estate Affidavit: Which Limit Is Current

General information, not legal advice. Published sources disagree on Montana's current threshold and waiting period. Confirm both with the clerk of court in the decedent's county before preparing anything.

Montana's number is in transition: the current code text of 72-3-1101 gives $100,000 for the probate estate less liens, while a good many 2026 guides still print $50,000. If your estate falls between the two, that gap decides your case. The waiting period is thirty days, whatever one widely-copied guide says about five.

Check where you fall ↓

Which figure applies to you?

The 2025 Montana Code Annotated text of 72-3-1101 requires the affidavit to state that the value of the probate estate, wherever located and less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $100,000. Older versions of the same section, and a range of secondary summaries published as recently as this year, give $50,000 and describe it as the value of the entire estate. Both figures are in wide circulation. For an estate under $50,000 the distinction is academic; between the two numbers it is everything, and the clerk of court in the decedent's county is the authority rather than any article, including this one.

Thirty days, not five

One more piece of misinformation deserves naming, because it circulates in guides that otherwise look authoritative. At least one published Montana probate guide states that the small estate affidavit can be used just five days after death, calling it one of the shortest waiting periods in the country. The statute itself opens with the words thirty days after the death of a decedent, and every version of 72-3-1101 in circulation, old and new, says the same. Presenting an affidavit at day six on the strength of a blog post is how a holder rejects it and a family loses time. Count thirty.

The holder is protected, and can be compelled

Montana pairs the two halves that make an affidavit system work. Under 72-3-1102, the person paying, delivering, transferring or issuing property pursuant to the affidavit is discharged and released to the same extent as if they had dealt with a personal representative, and is not required to inquire into the truth of any statement in it. And if a holder refuses anyway, the property may be recovered, or its payment compelled, in a proceeding brought for that purpose on proof of the successor's right. The balance runs the other way too: the recipient is answerable and accountable for the property to any personal representative later appointed, or to anyone with a superior right.

The other Montana track

Beyond the affidavit, 72-3-1103 provides a summary administration procedure for larger small estates. It carries a distinctive rule worth knowing: where it appears from the inventory and appraisal that the value of the entire estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed the homestead allowance, exempt property, family allowance, costs and expenses of administration, reasonable funeral expenses and the reasonable and necessary medical and hospital expenses of the last illness, the personal representative may, without giving notice to creditors, immediately disburse and distribute the estate and file a closing statement. In other words, when the allowances swallow the estate, Montana lets the family move without waiting on creditors.

Montana small estate questions

What is the limit?: The 2025 text of MCA 72-3-1101 states $100,000 less liens, while many guides still report $50,000. Confirm with the clerk of court.
How long do I wait?: Thirty days, as the statute says. A published guide claiming five days does not match the statutory text.
What if a bank refuses?: Under 72-3-1102 the property may be recovered, or payment compelled, in a proceeding brought for that purpose.
Is there a second route?: Yes, summary administration, and where allowances and expenses consume the estate the representative may distribute immediately without notifying creditors.
What does the recipient take on?: Accountability for the property to any personal representative later appointed or anyone with a superior right.

Written by the Trámites Notariales US editorial team, based on MCA 72-3-1101 through 72-3-1104. Published figures conflict; verify with the clerk of court.