Title

Planning Ahead

Description
Find information and legal forms to get started on estate planning, including writing a will, advanced directive, and power of attorney.
Topic Layout
Robust

Information

Acting As Someone's Agent

By: Montana Legal Services Association (MLSA)

Learn about the situations where you might decide to make someone else your agent for financial matters or communicating with medical providers.

End-of-Life Registry Service

By: State of Montana Department of Justice

Montana's End-of-Life Registry stores advance health care directives (instructions for doctors and family members about the level of health care individuals want or do not want in the event that they become seriously ill and unable to speak for themselves). The Registry is secure and provides this service free of charge.

Estate Planning in Montana: Getting Started

By: Montana State University Extension

Learn about the six steps to getting started on estate planning. Download checklists to help you get started on writing your will.

Letter of Last Instructions

By: Montana State University Extension

By writing a letter of last instructions we can provide essential information needed to relieve our survivors (spouse, children or other family members) of needless hours of frustration and anguish as they search for needed important documents during a time of sadness and grief over our passing.

Life Planning Documents

By: Montana Legal Services Association (MLSA)

Learn about how to plan for your needs in case you become unable to take care of yourself or your property, including the need for legal documents.

Power of Attorney in Montana (financial)

By: Montana State University Extension

There are Montanans who, because of their circumstances, could benefit from having a Power of Attorney (POA). A POA is a document in which one person gives another person the power to conduct certain actions on his or her behalf.

Common Questions

Advance Directive

By: Montana Supreme Court Commission on Self Represented Litigants

This Advance Directive can tell your family and health care providers your decisions if you get ill and cannot tell them yourself. Write-in-the-blank forms allow you to print out a form, then write your information into the form with a pen.

Life Planning Documents (write-in-the-blank forms)

By: Agency on Aging Legal Services Developer

Find free life planning write-in-the-blank legal forms from the Agency on Aging Legal Service Developer.

Available forms include:
- Declaration of Homestead
- Declaration of Living Will
- Financial Power of Attorney
- Health Care Power of Attorney
- Wills
- Transfer on Death Deed
- Affidavit of Death
- Affidavit for Termination of Joint Tenancy
- Affidavit for the Collection of Personal Property of the Decedent

Will-in-a-Box (Do-It-Yourself Indian Will for Native Americans)

By: Montana Legal Services Association (MLSA)

You can use the free interactive Will-in-a-Box to create an Indian Will that will say who should get your personal property, real estate, and Indian trust land after you pass. The interactive program fills out an Indian Will based on the answers you give in an online interview. The Will is only valid once you properly sign it.

Videos

You can use the interactive Will-in-a-Box to create a free Indian Will that will say who should get your personal property, real estate, Individual Indian Money (IIM) Account, and Indian trust land after you pass. Watch this video to learn how to fill out the interactive Will-in-a-Box form.