Montana estate inventory: why Form 15.1 is not a court form
Montana requires an inventory of probate property under MCA 72-3-607. Montana publishes no statewide form for the inventory or the account, and the statutes are the whole specification. A document called Form 15.1 that circulates through commercial legal-form sites is not a Montana court form. Here is what the statute requires, when it is due, and how to have every number ready.
Section 1 of 5.What the statute requires, and who files it
Montana administers decedents' estates under Title 72, Chapter 3 of the Montana Code Annotated, through the district court in the county where the estate is opened. Montana publishes no statewide form for the inventory or the account, and the statutes are the whole specification.
The statute itself, MCA 72-3-607, sets the requirements. It asks for one flat list of the estate's property, real and personal together, with reasonable detail and the fair market value of each item as of the date of death, and the type and amount of any encumbrance on that item.
The personal representative has a choice after preparing the inventory: either send copies to heirs, devisees, and creditors with allowed claims who ask, without filing, or file the original with the court and send copies to interested persons generally who ask, a wider group. The route chosen decides who is entitled to a copy.
Section 2 of 5.When the inventory is due
Under Mont. Code Ann. §72-3-607, the personal representative generally must prepare an inventory of probate property within 9 months after appointment, listing each item's date-of-death fair market value and any encumbrances, and then either send copies to heirs, devisees, and unpaid creditors who request one or file the original with the court; confirm the deadline and the delivery route with your attorney.
Property found later, or a value or description later found wrong or misleading, goes on a supplemental inventory under MCA 72-3-609, with no fixed deadline. It follows whichever route the original inventory took: filed with the court if the original was filed, or sent to the people interested in the new information if the original was not.
Section 3 of 5.What goes in it, part by part
MCA 72-3-607(1) asks for reasonable detail, the fair market value of each item as of the date of death, and the type and amount of any encumbrance on that item. That is a gross value with the encumbrance shown separately, never netted against it. Real property goes on the same one list as everything else. Montana names no classification scheme, so there is no separate real-property schedule to keep straight from the rest.
MCA 72-3-607(2) requires the name and address of any appraiser to appear on the inventory beside the items that appraiser valued. Appraisal itself is optional, used only for an asset whose value may be subject to reasonable doubt.
Section 4 of 5.From your records to the Montana inventory
Recording is free for as long as the estate takes: every receipt and disbursement with its date and description, distributions per beneficiary, and a balance that checks itself as you go. ExecutorLedger builds Montana-style documents from those records, an inventory laid out as MCA 72-3-607's single list and a cash account laid out the way MCA 72-3-1005 names it, ready to transcribe or attach when you file or furnish one. Neither is a court form, since Montana publishes none for either document, and your attorney should review them before anything is signed or filed. Usually less than one attorney hour, and typically reimbursable by the estate.
Section 5 of 5.Questions about the Montana inventory
Is there a court form for Montana's inventory or account?
No. courts.mt.gov's probate offerings are the Affidavit of Death, the small-estate collection-by-affidavit forms, and the Fiduciary Statement, which is an acceptance of duty under MCA 72-3-109, not an inventory or an account. A document called Form 15.1 circulating through commercial legal-form sites is not a Montana court form. MCA 72-3-607 and MCA 72-3-1005 say what the documents must contain, and that is the whole requirement.
Does the Montana inventory have to be filed with the court?
It is a choice. MCA 72-3-607(3) lets the personal representative either send copies to heirs, devisees, and creditors with allowed unsatisfied claims who ask, without filing, or file the original with the court and send copies to interested persons generally who ask, a wider group. The route chosen decides who is entitled to a copy.
When is the Montana inventory due?
Within 9 months after the personal representative's appointment, not from the date of death (MCA 72-3-607(1)). Property found later, or a value later found wrong, goes on a supplemental inventory with no fixed deadline, following whichever route the original inventory took (MCA 72-3-609).
The inventory is the first filing, not the last. The full Montana guide covers the accounting that follows it, every deadline with its statute, what the executor is paid, and how estates close.
This page describes Montana practice as our verified references state it; formats drift and estates differ, and none of this is legal advice. ExecutorLedger produces court-style documents for transcription. They are not official court forms. What your estate must file is a question for its attorney.