Montana Beneficiary Deed

Montana Beneficiary Deed Information

A beneficiary deed must be lawfully executed and recorded during the owner's life or it has no effect.

The Montana Legislature enacted the state's beneficiary deed law, found at Montana Code Annotated Section 72-6-121. All following parenthetical references identify the part of that section which contains additional information.

Beneficiary deeds are nontestamentary documents (11) that convey a potential future interest in real property, but they only become effective when the owner dies. Until that point, the owner retains absolute title to, control over, and use of the property, including the freedom to change or revoke the beneficiary designation, or to sell the property to someone else (6). If an owner executes and records more than one beneficiary deed concerning the same real property, the document recorded closest to the owner's death is the effective beneficiary deed (8).

Note that if the real estate is held as joint tenancy with the right of survivorship, all co-owners should sign the deed or the future transfer might be voided. Review the statute carefully and contact an attorney with questions before executing a beneficiary deed for jointly-held property (4).

Grantee beneficiaries are the declared recipients of the real estate, but they have no rights to or interest in it until the owner's death. They gain title according to the owner's instructions as stated on the recorded deed. By accepting the transfer, beneficiaries become bound to fulfill any obligations, including mortgages or financial agreements associated with the land during the owner's life (1). These obligations may also include a claim against the property by the state for Medicaid benefit reimbursement (7). The signature, consent, or agreement of, or notice to, a grantee beneficiary of a beneficiary deed is not required for any purpose during the lifetime of the owner (10).

Two or more grantee beneficiaries may hold title as tenants in common, joint tenants, or any other form of ownership allowed by Montana laws (2). Owners may also specify one or more successor beneficiaries in case the primary ones are unable or unwilling to accept the transfer after the owner's death (3).

Beneficiary deeds are convenient, flexible tools to include in an overall estate plan, but they may not be appropriate for everyone. Contact an attorney with specific questions or for complex situations.

Deeds.com Montana Beneficiary Deed Forms Have Been Updated as Recently as Wednesday March 8, 2023

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A. S. said: First, I am glad that you gave a blank copy, an example copy, and a 'guide'. It made it much easier to do. Overall I was very happy with your products and organization... however, things got pretty confusing and I have a pretty 'serious' law background in Real Estate and Civil law. With that said, I spent about 10+ hours getting my work done, using the Deed of Trust and Promissory note from you and there were a few problems: First, it would be FANTASTIC if you actually aligned your guide to actually match the Deed or Promissory Note. What I mean is that if the Deed says 'section (E)' then your guide shouldn't be 'randomly' numbered as 1,2,3, for advice/instructions, but should EXACTLY match 'section (E)'. Some places you have to 'hunt' for what you are looking for, and if you did it based on my suggestion, you wouldn't need to 'hunt' and it would avoid confusion. 2nd: This one really 'hurt'... you had something called the 'Deed of Trust Master Form' yet you had basically no information on what it was or how to use it. The only information you had was a small section at the top of the 'Short Form Deed of Trust Guide'. Holy Cow, was that 'section' super confusing. I still don't know if I did it correctly, but your guide says only put a return address on it and leave the rest of the 16 or so page Deed of Trust beneath it blank... and then include your 'Deed of Trust' (I had to assume the short form deed that I had just created) as part of it. I had to assume that I had to print off the entire 17 page or so title page and blank deed. I also had to assume that the promissory note was supposed to be EXHIBIT A or B on the Short Form Deed. It would be great if someone would take a serious look at that short section in your 'Short Form Deed of Trust Guide' and realize that those of us using your products are seriously turning this into a county clerk to file and that most of us, probably already have a property that has an existing Deed... or at least can find one in the county records if necessary... and make sure that you make a distinction between the Deed for the property that already exists, versus the Deed of Trust and Promissory note that we are trying to file. Thanks.

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Thomas M. said: The process of finding exactly what was needed was pretty painless.

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LIDIA M. said: excellent

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Monte J. said: Very helpful.

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