Most people have a mental picture of what they want to happen to their property after they die. The house goes to a spouse. Certain items go to specific children. A grandchild gets a portion of savings. Whether those wishes are actually carried out depends entirely on whether they’re documented in a valid will. When there’s no will, Montana law steps in and distributes the estate according to a fixed statutory formula that may or may not match what the deceased person would have wanted.
How Montana’s Intestate Succession Law Works
Montana follows the Uniform Probate Code for intestate succession, codified at Montana Code Annotated § 72-2-112 et seq. The distribution formula is based on the decedent’s surviving family members and their relationship to the decedent.
The general framework operates as follows:
- If the decedent is survived by a spouse but no descendants or parents, the spouse inherits everything
- If the decedent is survived by a spouse and descendants who are also descendants of the surviving spouse, the spouse inherits everything
- If the decedent is survived by a spouse and descendants from a prior relationship, the spouse receives a specific portion and the descendants share the remainder
- If there’s no surviving spouse, descendants inherit in equal shares per stirpes
- If there are no descendants, surviving parents inherit
- If no parents survive, siblings and their descendants inherit
The formula continues down the family tree until an eligible heir is found. When no qualifying relatives exist, the estate escheats to the state of Montana.
Where the Formula Produces Unexpected Results
Montana’s intestate succession rules work reasonably well for traditional family structures where everyone agrees on the outcome. They produce problems in several common situations:
Blended families. When a surviving spouse has stepchildren who aren’t biological children of the decedent, those stepchildren don’t inherit under Montana intestate law. And depending on the family structure, the decedent’s biological children from a prior relationship may receive a share that reduces what the surviving spouse gets, regardless of the circumstances.
Long-term unmarried partners. A partner who lived with the decedent for decades but wasn’t legally married receives nothing under Montana intestate succession. The relationship has no legal standing in the distribution formula regardless of its duration or depth.
Estranged family members. Montana intestate law has no mechanism for disinheriting a relative. A biological child who had no relationship with the decedent inherits the same share as a child who was deeply involved in the parent’s life.
Friends and non-relatives. A person outside the family tree who was deeply important to the decedent receives nothing, because intestate succession doesn’t recognize non-family relationships.
How a Will Solves These Problems
A valid Montana will allows the testator to specify exactly who receives what, in what proportions, and under what conditions. It can include a partner who isn’t a spouse, exclude an estranged relative, leave a specific item to a specific person, and establish trusts for minor children. None of that is possible when the estate is governed by the intestacy formula.
Silverman Law Office, PLLC works with Anaconda and Deer Lodge County residents on wills that reflect their actual wishes rather than the state’s default rules. If you don’t have a will in place, or if your family situation has changed since you last reviewed one, reach out to Anaconda wills lawyers at Silverman Law Office to discuss what a will should say for your specific family and asset picture.
