Title
Wills and Estate Planning
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
Learn about how your property will pass to family and friends if you die without a will in Montana.
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.
Parents with children who are minors or who are young adults with special needs have specific estate planning concerns. Learn more about legal ways to address those concerns.
Learn about the six steps to getting started on estate planning. Download checklists to help you get started on writing your will.
Learn definitions for estate planning terms used in Montana.
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.
Information about life estates and how you can use them when writing a will.
Learn about life planning documents, like a Power of Attorney, Advanced Directive, and Wills, and find free write-in-the-blank forms.
Learn about your rights and responsibilities when you have a Power of Attorney for someone else. Find tips for spotting exploitation, avoiding scams, and finding help from federal agencies.
Under Montana law, you are free to make a will or not, as you choose. If you make a will, you may nominate the person to carry out your plan for the settlement of your estate. In Montana, the individual who performs this function is called a personal representative.
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.
This article was adapted from the Montana State University Extension Office MontGuide, "Probate in Montana," and is designed to explain some aspects of probate.
Information about the benefits, shortfalls, costs, and tax consequences of living trusts.
Learn about wills in Montana, including legal terms you will need to know and things to think about when writing a will.
Who Gets Grandma's Yellow Pie Plate? Transferring Non-Titled Property
Common Questions
Learn about your rights when you have a Power of Attorney.
Legal Forms
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.
Download a Health Care Power of Attorney form that lets you appoint a health care agent to help you and make health care decisions for you.
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
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
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.
