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Montana Transfer on Death Deed

A Montana transfer on death deed names a beneficiary to receive your real property without probate. It must be notarized and recorded with the county clerk and recorder before your death. Attorney review available.

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Introduction

Montana lets any owner who has the capacity to make a will sign a transfer on death deed, which is a deed you record while you are alive that names a beneficiary to receive your real property automatically at your death, without probate. Montana authorizes it under the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act (MCA Title 72, chapter 6, part 4). To be valid, the deed must contain the essential elements and formalities of a properly recordable deed, meaning it is signed and acknowledged before a notary, and it must state that the transfer to the designated beneficiary is to occur at your death (MCA 72-6-408). Montana does not require witnesses for the deed. The deed must be recorded before your death in the office of the county clerk and recorder of the county where the property is located (MCA 72-6-408). There is no fixed number of days to record, but recording before death is required. The deed is effective without notice to, delivery to, or acceptance by the beneficiary, and without consideration (MCA 72-6-409), so during your life it has no effect on your ownership: you keep full control and can sell, mortgage, or revoke it, and the beneficiary has no interest until you die. The deed is revocable only by a recorded instrument, a later transfer on death deed, an instrument of revocation, or an inter vivos deed, acknowledged after the deed being revoked and recorded before your death; a recorded deed cannot be revoked by an act on the deed itself, and an inter vivos transfer of the property revokes it (MCA 72-6-410). A will cannot revoke it. The deed avoids probate for the property, but the beneficiary takes it subject to any mortgages and liens against it. DocDraft builds your Montana transfer on death deed from your facts, with attorney review available before you sign.

Key Things to Know

  1. 1

    In Montana a transfer on death deed is a deed you record while alive that names a beneficiary to receive your real property automatically at your death, without probate. Montana authorizes it under the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act (MCA Title 72, chapter 6, part 4).

  2. 2

    During your life the deed has no effect on your ownership. You keep full control and can sell, mortgage, or revoke it, and the beneficiary has no interest until you die (MCA 72-6-409).

  3. 3

    The deed must contain the formalities of a properly recordable deed, meaning it is signed and acknowledged before a notary. Montana does not require witnesses for the deed (MCA 72-6-408).

  4. 4

    The deed must state that the transfer to the designated beneficiary is to occur at your death (MCA 72-6-408).

  5. 5

    The deed must be recorded before your death in the office of the county clerk and recorder of the county where the property is located (MCA 72-6-408). There is no fixed day deadline, but recording before death is required.

  6. 6

    The deed is revocable only by a recorded instrument, a later transfer on death deed, an instrument of revocation, or an inter vivos deed, acknowledged and recorded before death. It cannot be revoked by an act on the deed, and a will cannot revoke it (MCA 72-6-410).

  7. 7

    The deed avoids probate for the property, but the beneficiary takes it subject to any mortgages and liens against it at your death.

Key decisions before you file

Before you file a Transfer on Death Deed in Montana, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Transfer on Death Deed guide walks through them.

Open the Transfer on Death Deed guide

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TRANSFER ON DEATH DEED (Montana Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act, MCA Title 72, chapter 6, part 4)

Recording requested by: [YOUR NAME] When recorded, return to: [NAME], [ADDRESS] Geocode or parcel number: [PARCEL NUMBER]

Important notice: Under MCA 72-6-408, this deed must be recorded before the death of the transferor in the office of the county clerk and recorder of the county where the real property is located, or it does not transfer the property. The transfer to the beneficiary occurs at the death of the transferor.

  1. Transferor. The transferor is [OWNER FULL NAME], residing at [OWNER ADDRESS], who owns the real property described below in [COUNTY] County, Montana.

  2. Property. The real property is legally described as: [FULL LEGAL DESCRIPTION FROM THE CURRENT DEED], commonly known as [STREET ADDRESS], geocode or parcel number [PARCEL NUMBER]. A street address alone is not enough to record this deed.

  3. Transfer effective at death. I designate the following beneficiary to receive my interest in the property described above, and I state that the transfer to the beneficiary is to occur at my death: [BENEFICIARY FULL NAME]. If I name more than one beneficiary, they take in equal shares unless I state otherwise here: [SHARES]. If a beneficiary does not survive me, I name this alternate beneficiary: [ALTERNATE BENEFICIARY FULL NAME].

  4. Revocability and effect during life. This deed is effective without notice to, delivery to, or acceptance by the beneficiary, and without consideration (MCA 72-6-409). It has no effect on my ownership while I am alive; I keep full control and may sell, mortgage, lease, or revoke it without the beneficiary consenting. I may revoke this deed only by recording a later transfer on death deed, an instrument of revocation, or an inter vivos deed, acknowledged after this deed and recorded before my death (MCA 72-6-410). A recorded deed cannot be revoked by an act on the deed, and a will cannot revoke it.

  5. Interests taken subject to claims. The beneficiary takes the property subject to all mortgages, liens, and encumbrances on it at my death. A mortgage, tax lien, or judgment on the property stays with the property after my death.

Signature. I sign this deed on [DATE].

[OWNER FULL NAME], Transferor

Notary acknowledgment. [Montana notary acknowledgment block. The transferor signature must be acknowledged before a notary, as a recordable Montana deed requires. Montana does not require witnesses for this deed.]

What the beneficiary does at my death. To claim the property, the beneficiary records proof of my death with the county clerk and recorder of the county where the property is located. Until the beneficiary records that proof, the public records continue to show me as the owner.

Note: This Montana deed follows the requirements in MCA 72-6-408 and must be recorded with the county clerk and recorder before the transferor death. For the generic template and other states, see the Transfer on Death Deed hub.

Once your Transfer on Death Deed is ready, you can check whether it needs to be notarized in Montana in about a minute, and notarize it online through DocDraft if it does.

Montana Requirements for Transfer on Death Deed

Meet the Montana TOD Deed Requirements

Montana authorizes the deed under the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act (MCA Title 72, chapter 6, part 4). The deed must name a beneficiary and state that the transfer to the beneficiary is to occur at the death of the transferor (MCA 72-6-408).

Legal Description and Parcel Number

The full legal description of the property from the current recorded deed, plus the street address and the geocode or parcel number. A street address alone is not enough to record the deed with the county clerk and recorder.

Name the Beneficiary and an Alternate

The full legal name of the beneficiary who will receive the property at the transferor death, and an alternate beneficiary if the first does not survive. Naming a backup keeps the property out of probate if the first beneficiary dies first.

State That the Transfer Occurs at Death

The deed must state that the transfer to the designated beneficiary is to occur at the death of the transferor (MCA 72-6-408). Without that statement the document does not work as a transfer on death deed.

Notarize the Signature; No Witnesses

The deed must have the formalities of a recordable deed, so the transferor must sign it and have the signature acknowledged before a notary. Montana does not require witnesses for the deed (MCA 72-6-408).

Record With the County Clerk Before Death

The deed must be recorded before the transferor death in the office of the county clerk and recorder of the county where the property is located (MCA 72-6-408). There is no fixed day deadline, so record promptly after signing.

Revocation Only by Recorded Instrument

The deed is revocable only by a recorded later transfer on death deed, an instrument of revocation, or an inter vivos deed, acknowledged and recorded before death (MCA 72-6-410). It cannot be revoked by an act on the deed, and a will cannot revoke it.

Property Passes Subject to Claims

The deed avoids probate for the property, but the beneficiary takes it subject to any mortgages and liens on it at the transferor death. A mortgage, tax lien, or judgment on the property stays with the property.

Does your Transfer on Death Deed need to be notarized in Montana?

Whether a Transfer on Death Deed needs to be notarized depends on your state. Upload yours, pick your state, and get the current rule with the official source behind it, free and with no account. If yours does need a notary, online notarization is part of your DocDraft plan.

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Frequently Asked Questions

In Montana it is a deed you sign and record while you are alive that names a beneficiary to receive your real property automatically when you die, without probate. Montana authorizes it under the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act (MCA Title 72, chapter 6, part 4). During your lifetime it has no effect on your ownership: you keep full control and can sell or revoke it, and the beneficiary has no interest until you die.

A Montana will directs who inherits your property, but the property still passes through probate, the court process that can take many months. A Montana transfer on death deed passes the specific real property it names directly to the beneficiary at your death, outside probate. The will covers your whole estate; the transfer on death deed covers only the real property it describes. Many people use both, so the deed handles the home and the will handles everything else.

The deed must contain the essential elements and formalities of a properly recordable deed, meaning it is signed and acknowledged before a notary, and it must state that the transfer to the beneficiary is to occur at your death (MCA 72-6-408). Montana does not require witnesses. You must then record the deed before your death in the office of the county clerk and recorder of the county where the property is located.

A Montana transfer on death deed must be recorded before your death in the office of the county clerk and recorder of the county where the property is located (MCA 72-6-408). There is no fixed number of days after signing, but the deed does nothing if it is not recorded before you die. Recording promptly after you sign is the safest approach in Montana.

No. A Montana transfer on death deed must have the formalities of a recordable deed, which means it is signed and acknowledged before a notary, but Montana does not require witnesses for it (MCA 72-6-408). The signing requirement is acknowledgment before a notary, not attestation by witnesses. This is different from a Montana will, which does have witness requirements.

Yes, but only by a recorded instrument. You can revoke it by recording a later transfer on death deed, an instrument of revocation, or an inter vivos deed, acknowledged after the deed being revoked and recorded before your death (MCA 72-6-410). A recorded deed cannot be revoked by an act on the deed itself, and a will cannot revoke it. Transferring the property during your life also revokes a prior Montana transfer on death deed.

It avoids probate for the property it names, but it does not clear existing debts. The beneficiary takes the property subject to any mortgages and liens against it at your death. A mortgage, tax lien, or judgment on the property stays with it. You should account for those claims when you plan to use a Montana transfer on death deed.

No. A Montana transfer on death deed is effective without notice to, delivery to, or acceptance by the designated beneficiary during your life, and without consideration (MCA 72-6-409). You do not have to tell the beneficiary or give them anything. Because the deed does nothing until your death, you keep full control of the property and can change or revoke the deed while you are alive.