Transfer on death deed in Montana

Montana at a glance

TOD deed for real estate

Yes

Name in Montana law

Transfer on death deed (TODD)

Law

Mont. Code Ann. §§ 72-6-401 to 72-6-418 (Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act)

Notary

Required

Witnesses

None

When to record

Before the death

Where to record

County clerk and recorder of each county where the property is located

After-death document

Affidavit of death (MSU Extension form: 'Acknowledged Statement of Death for Montana Transfer on Death Deeds') plus a Realty Transfer Certificate (Form 488)

Notice to heirs

Not required

Official form

Yes

Your checklist

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Making a valid TOD deed in Montana

• What the law does. An individual can record a revocable deed that passes Montana real property to named beneficiaries at death, without probate.
• Signing. The owner signs a deed with the elements and formalities of a recordable deed, stating that the transfer occurs at death. It must be acknowledged before a notary (statutory form). No witnesses are required. The owner needs the same mental capacity as for making a will.
• Recording. The deed must be recorded with the county clerk and recorder before the owner's death, or it has no effect. There is no deadline in days after signing. No Realty Transfer Certificate is needed when the TOD deed itself is recorded.
• Payment, delivery, acceptance. No payment is needed. The beneficiary does not have to be told, receive the deed, or accept it during the owner's life.
• Form. Optional statutory forms in § 72-6-415 (Revocable Transfer on Death Deed) and § 72-6-416 (revocation). MSU Extension also offers fillable TODD, revocation, and death-statement forms at montana.edu/estateplanning/eppublications.html.

Changing it, and who you can name

• Revoking or changing. Revoke with a later TOD deed, a revocation instrument, or a regular deed that expressly revokes it. It must be acknowledged after the original and recorded with the county clerk and recorder before death. A will cannot revoke it, and tearing up a recorded deed does nothing. Selling the property during life also defeats it. When joint owners sign one TOD deed, all living joint owners must revoke it.
• Beneficiaries. Any person can be named, including individuals, trusts, and entities, plus an optional alternate. A beneficiary must survive the owner, or that share lapses (subject to the anti-lapse and divorce rules the statute cross-references). Co-beneficiaries take equal shares with no survivorship, and a lapsed share goes to the others. If a joint owner dies first, the property goes to the surviving joint owner.

After the owner dies

• Document. Affidavit of death (MSU Extension form: 'Acknowledged Statement of Death for Montana Transfer on Death Deeds') plus a Realty Transfer Certificate (Form 488)
• Where. County clerk and recorder of the county where the property is located
• Steps. Title passes at death. The Department of Revenue requires the beneficiary to file a Realty Transfer Certificate with a copy of the recorded TOD deed and a certified death certificate. MSU Extension says to record a notarized affidavit of death with the clerk and recorder to show title. If water rights pass with the land, file DNRC Form 608. The owner's homeowner's insurance covers the beneficiary for up to 45 days after death. No statutory deadline.

Debts, Medicaid and the spouse

• Creditors and Medicaid. The beneficiary takes the property subject to all mortgages, liens, and other interests at death. If the probate estate is insufficient, the beneficiary is liable for allowed claims and for statutory allowances to the spouse and children, up to the value received. Such proceedings must start within 1 year after death. Montana DPHHS can claim Medicaid paid, up to the property's value, against a person who received a deceased recipient's property 'by distribution or survival'. That action must be brought within 3 years of the later of death or the estate's closing.
• Surviving spouse. The transfer is subject to the surviving spouse's elective-share rules (Title 72, ch. 2, part 2) and to statutory allowances (homestead, exempt property, family allowance), which can be collected from the beneficiary.

Good to know in Montana

• The 2019 law (Ch. 313) replaced the former 'beneficiary deed' (§ 72-6-121). A beneficiary deed signed and recorded before October 1, 2019 under the old law is treated as a TOD deed (§ 72-6-417).
• The deed carries no warranty of title (§ 72-6-412(4)).
• MSU Extension notes that some title companies will not insure against creditor claims until 1 year after death.

Official pages

• Montana TOD deed form
• Montana statute
• Montana self-help page
• No TOD deed or other plan? How Montana handles a small estate without probate →

Sources

• MCA Title 72, ch. 6, part 4 - Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act (index) (read October 28, 2026)
• MCA 72-6-407 Capacity (read October 28, 2026)
• MCA 72-6-408 Requirements (read October 28, 2026)
• MCA 72-6-409 Notice/consideration not required (read October 28, 2026)
• MCA 72-6-410 Revocation (read October 28, 2026)
• MCA 72-6-412 Effect at death (read October 28, 2026)
• MCA 72-6-414 Creditor claims (read October 28, 2026)
• MCA 72-6-415 Optional form (read October 28, 2026)
• MCA 72-6-417 Prior beneficiary deeds (read October 28, 2026)
• MCA 72-6-112 Liability of nonprobate transferees (read October 28, 2026)
• MCA 53-6-167 Medicaid recovery after death (read October 28, 2026)
• Montana Department of Revenue - Realty Transfer Certificates (read October 28, 2026)
• MSU Extension MontGuide - Transfer on Death Deeds in Montana (read October 28, 2026)
• MSU Extension Estate Planning publications and TODD forms (read October 28, 2026)

Legal information from the official sources above, not legal advice. A TOD deed can affect Medicaid, taxes, creditors and co-owners; for a decision about your own property, ask the county recorder, a legal aid office or a lawyer. How we check: methodology.