Free Montana Last Will and Testament
Build a complete Montana will in minutes — free, no account. Fill in your details and download a ready-to-sign PDF with the protective clauses built in and Montana's correct signing requirements.
A free, ready-to-sign will — but not legal advice.
This builds a complete Montana will with the protective clauses most templates skip (survivorship period, residuary, minor's trust, executor powers). It becomes legally valid only when you sign it correctly (see the signing steps below). For a large or blended estate, have an attorney review it. RecordingLaw.com is not a law firm.
About you
Children
Name all your children, even any you are not leaving anything to — naming them prevents an 'omitted child' claim.
Who inherits everything else (your residuary estate)
The catch-all gift of everything not specifically given. Shares should total 100%.
Specific gifts (optional)
Particular items or sums to particular people.
Executor (the person who carries out your will)
Options
Naming them states the omission is intentional. Note: you generally cannot fully disinherit a spouse (see the warnings).
Before you sign — Montana notes
Choose 2 witnesses who are adults and who do NOT inherit under this Will. A beneficiary (or a beneficiary's spouse) should never witness your Will.
Add at least one residuary beneficiary with a share above 0%. Without a residuary gift, everything not specifically given would pass by intestacy (state default rules), defeating the point of the Will.
To make this Will valid in Montana: Type the will, sign it (or direct another to sign in your conscious presence) and have at least two witnesses sign within a reasonable time after watching you sign or acknowledge the will. Interested witnesses do not void their gifts. To make it self-proving, you and both witnesses also sign a notarized affidavit (MCA 72-2-524) before an officer authorized to administer oaths. Montana also recognizes holographic (handwritten, unwitnessed) wills.
This is a do-it-yourself Will for a straightforward estate. If you have a large or blended estate, business interests, tax concerns, a special-needs beneficiary, or want to disinherit close family, have an attorney review it. This is not legal advice and RecordingLaw.com is not a law firm.
Or email yourself a copy (PDF)
Last Will and Testament of [YOUR FULL NAME]
ARTICLE I — DECLARATION
I, [YOUR FULL NAME], a resident of [CITY], [COUNTY] County, Montana, being of full legal age to make a will and of sound mind and memory, declare this to be my Last Will and Testament, and I revoke all wills and codicils I have previously made.
ARTICLE II — FAMILY
I am not married.
If I have not named or provided for a child or other descendant in this Will, that omission is intentional and not the result of accident or mistake.
ARTICLE III — PAYMENT OF DEBTS, EXPENSES, AND TAXES
I direct my Executor to pay my legally enforceable debts, the expenses of my last illness and funeral, the costs of administering my estate, and any estate or inheritance taxes payable by reason of my death, out of the residue of my estate, without apportionment.
ARTICLE IV — TANGIBLE PERSONAL PROPERTY
I give my tangible personal property (household goods, furniture, vehicles, jewelry, collections, and personal effects not otherwise specifically given) to my residuary beneficiaries as they agree, or as my Executor determines if they cannot agree.
I may leave a separate written memorandum, signed and dated by me, disposing of items of tangible personal property. Montana law allows such a memorandum to be given effect, and I direct my Executor to honor the most recent such memorandum I leave.
ARTICLE V — RESIDUARY ESTATE
I give all the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate to [RESIDUARY BENEFICIARY].
If no beneficiary named in this article survives me, my residuary estate shall pass to my heirs at law under the intestacy laws of my state.
ARTICLE VI — SURVIVORSHIP
Except as otherwise provided, a beneficiary must survive me by 30 days to receive any gift under this Will. A beneficiary who does not survive me by 30 days shall be treated as having predeceased me. This protects my estate from passing through the estate of a beneficiary who dies shortly after me.
ARTICLE VII — APPOINTMENT OF EXECUTOR
I nominate [EXECUTOR NAME] as Executor of this Will.
I direct that my Executor serve without bond and, to the fullest extent allowed by law, without court supervision (independent administration). My Executor shall have all powers granted to executors and personal representatives under the law of my state, including the power to sell, lease, invest, and distribute estate property, to pay debts and taxes, and to settle claims, all without prior court approval, as my Executor deems to be in the best interest of my estate.
ARTICLE VIII — DIGITAL ASSETS
I authorize my Executor to access, manage, distribute, and dispose of my digital assets and electronic communications, and to act as my fiduciary under the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (or its equivalent in my state), with full authority to consent to a custodian's disclosure of the content and records of my electronic communications and accounts.
ARTICLE IX — SIMULTANEOUS DEATH
If any beneficiary and I die under circumstances in which the order of our deaths cannot be established, that beneficiary shall be deemed to have predeceased me. If my spouse and I die under such circumstances, my spouse shall be deemed to have predeceased me.
ARTICLE X — GENERAL PROVISIONS
This Will shall be governed by the laws of the State of Montana.
If any provision of this Will is held invalid, the remaining provisions shall remain in full effect. Words of one gender include the other, and the singular includes the plural, as the context requires. The headings are for convenience only and do not affect the meaning of this Will.
EXECUTION
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I sign this Will, consisting of the foregoing pages, on this _____ day of ____________, 20____, at [CITY], Montana.
____________________________________
[YOUR FULL NAME], Testator
ATTESTATION — The foregoing instrument was signed by the Testator and declared to be the Testator's Will in our presence, and we, at the Testator's request and in the Testator's presence and in the presence of each other, sign below as witnesses, believing the Testator to be of sound mind and under no constraint or undue influence.
Witness 1: ____________________________ Address: ____________________________
Witness 2: ____________________________ Address: ____________________________
SELF-PROVING AFFIDAVIT (Mont. Code Ann. § 72-2-524) — sign this part before a notary to make probate easier:
STATE OF ________ COUNTY OF ________
I, [TESTATOR NAME], the testator, sign my name to this instrument this [DAY] day of [MONTH], [YEAR], and being first duly sworn, do hereby declare to the undersigned authority that I sign and execute this instrument as my will and that I sign it willingly (or willingly direct another to sign for me), that I execute it as my free and voluntary act for the purposes therein expressed, and that I am 18 years of age or older, of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence.
_______________________ Testator
We, [WITNESS 1], [WITNESS 2], the witnesses, sign our names to this instrument, being first duly sworn, and do hereby declare to the undersigned authority that the testator signs and executes this instrument as the testator's will and that the testator signs it willingly (or willingly directs another to sign for the testator), and that each of us, in the presence and hearing of the testator, signs this will as witness to the testator's signing, and that to the best of our knowledge the testator is 18 years of age or older, of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence.
_______________________ Witness
_______________________ Witness
Subscribed, sworn to, and acknowledged before me by [TESTATOR NAME], the testator, and subscribed and sworn to before me by [WITNESS 1] and [WITNESS 2], witnesses, this [DAY] day of [MONTH], [YEAR].
(SEAL) (Signed) _______________________
_______________________ (Official capacity of officer)
How to Sign Your Will in Montana
Type the will, sign it (or direct another to sign in your conscious presence) and have at least two witnesses sign within a reasonable time after watching you sign or acknowledge the will. Interested witnesses do not void their gifts. To make it self-proving, you and both witnesses also sign a notarized affidavit (MCA 72-2-524) before an officer authorized to administer oaths. Montana also recognizes holographic (handwritten, unwitnessed) wills.
Montana requires 2 witnesses: Signed by at least two individuals, each of whom signed within a reasonable time after witnessing either the signing of the will or the testator's acknowledgment of that signature or of the will. A will or any provision is not invalid because it is signed by an interested witness (MCA 72-2-523).. Your will does not need to be notarized to be valid.
Choose witnesses who are adults and who do not inherit under your will. A beneficiary should never witness your will. Then sign the self-proving affidavit (Mont. Code Ann. § 72-2-524) in front of a notary. That sworn statement lets the court accept your will without tracking down your witnesses later, which speeds up probate.
Can You Use a Handwritten (Holographic) Will in Montana?
Valid as a holographic will, whether or not witnessed, if the signature and material portions of the document are in the testator's handwriting (MCA 72-2-522(2)). Even so, a typed will signed in front of witnesses is far less likely to be challenged, because handwritten wills are easy to get wrong (unclear gifts, no date, no witnesses) and invite disputes.
Spousal and Family Protections in Montana
Can you disinherit your spouse? You cannot fully disinherit a spouse. Montana follows the UPC sliding-scale elective share tied to length of marriage: the surviving spouse may elect a percentage of the 'augmented estate' that rises with years married (3% at 1 year up to 50% at 15+ years), plus a $50,000 supplemental floor. Election must be filed within 9 months of death or 6 months after probate.
Children born after your will: After-born/after-adopted child omitted from the will takes an intestate-type share unless (a) the omission was intentional and appears from the will, or (b) the testator provided for the child outside the will, or (c) the testator had other children and left substantially everything to the omitted child's other parent. MCA 72-2-332. This is why the generator has you name your children and states that any omission is intentional.
If a beneficiary dies before you: If a devisee who is a grandparent, a descendant of a grandparent, or a stepchild of the testator predeceases, the gift passes to that devisee's surviving descendants by representation instead of lapsing, unless the will provides otherwise. The generator's "per stirpes" option and survivorship clause work alongside this rule.
Survivorship, No-Contest, and Digital Assets
Survivorship: 120-hour (5-day) survival rule adopted (Uniform Simultaneous Death Act / UPC 2-702). A beneficiary who does not survive the testator by 120 hours is treated as having predeceased, unless the will states otherwise. The generator builds in a 30-to-60-day survivorship period regardless.
No-contest clauses: A no-contest (in terrorem) clause is unenforceable if probable cause exists for instituting the proceeding (UPC rule). Otherwise enforced.
Digital assets: Montana has adopted the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, so your executor can manage your online accounts and digital property — the generator includes a clause granting that authority.
Personal-property list: Montana lets you leave a separate signed list (a "memorandum") giving away specific personal items, so you can update who gets what without rewriting your will.
What Happens If You Die Without a Will in Montana?
Montana follows the modern Uniform Probate Code. A surviving spouse inherits everything if the couple had no children or only shared children (and the spouse has no other children). The spouse's share is reduced to a first-dollar amount plus half the balance when the decedent left a parent ($300,000) or stepchildren ($150,000), with the rest going to those relatives.
- Spouse, no children: Entire estate. If no descendant and no parent of the decedent survives, the surviving spouse takes the whole intestate estate (72-2-112(1)).
- Spouse and shared children: Entire estate to the spouse if all of the decedent's surviving descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse and the spouse has no other descendants (72-2-112(1)(b)). If the spouse has other descendants of their own, the spouse takes the first $225,000 plus one-half of the balance (72-2-112(3)).
- Spouse and a child from another relationship: If one or more of the decedent's surviving descendants are NOT descendants of the surviving spouse, the spouse takes the first $150,000 plus one-half of the balance; the descendants split the rest by representation (72-2-112(4)).
- Children, no spouse: If no spouse, the entire estate passes to the decedent's descendants by representation (72-2-113(1)).
- No spouse or children: Parents equally (or surviving parent); then descendants of parents (siblings/their issue) by representation; then split between paternal and maternal grandparents and their descendants; then to the closest kin; ultimately escheat to the state (72-2-113).
Unmarried partners, friends, and stepchildren you have not adopted generally receive nothing under intestacy. A will is how you override these defaults. Source: Mont. Code Ann. §§ 72-2-112 to 72-2-113.
Updating, Revoking, and Storing Your Will
Review your will after any big life change — marriage, divorce, a birth, a death, or a move to a new state. To change it, either sign a new will that revokes the old one (the cleanest option, and what this generator produces) or add a witnessed "codicil." Do not cross things out on a signed will — handwritten edits can invalidate it. Store the signed original somewhere safe and tell your executor where it is; a will that cannot be found is presumed revoked.
Common mistakes to avoid: using a beneficiary as a witness; forgetting a residuary clause (so part of the estate passes by intestacy); leaving a young child a lump sum outright at 18 instead of in trust; not naming a backup executor or guardian; and never actually signing the document. The generator above is built to avoid each of these.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a will made online valid in Montana?
Yes, if you sign it correctly. Montana requires 2 witnesses. The document this tool creates is a standard typed will; it becomes legally valid when you sign it following the steps above.
Does my Montana will need to be notarized?
No. Montana does not require your will to be notarized to be valid. Notarizing the separate self-proving affidavit is optional but makes probate easier.
How many witnesses does a Montana will need?
2 witnesses. Signed by at least two individuals, each of whom signed within a reasonable time after witnessing either the signing of the will or the testator's acknowledgment of that signature or of the will. A will or any provision is not invalid because it is signed by an interested witness (MCA 72-2-523). They should be adults who do not inherit under the will.
Can I leave my spouse out of my Montana will?
You cannot fully disinherit a spouse. Montana follows the UPC sliding-scale elective share tied to length of marriage: the surviving spouse may elect a percentage of the 'augmented estate' that rises with years married (3% at 1 year up to 50% at 15+ years), plus a $50,000 supplemental floor. Election must be filed within 9 months of death or 6 months after probate.
What happens if I die without a will in Montana?
Montana follows the modern Uniform Probate Code. A surviving spouse inherits everything if the couple had no children or only shared children (and the spouse has no other children). The spouse's share is reduced to a first-dollar amount plus half the balance when the decedent left a parent ($300,000) or stepchildren ($150,000), with the rest going to those relatives.
Does a Montana will avoid probate?
No. A will still goes through probate — it directs how your estate is distributed and names your executor, but the court still supervises (often a simplified, independent administration). To avoid probate entirely, people use living trusts and beneficiary designations in addition to a will.
How old do I have to be to make a will in Montana?
Generally 18. An individual 18 or more years of age who is of sound mind may make a will (MCA 72-2-521). No married/military exception. You must also be of sound mind.
Can I write my will by hand in Montana?
Montana recognizes handwritten (holographic) wills, but they are easy to get wrong and easy to challenge. A typed, witnessed will is much safer.
Do I need a lawyer to make a will in Montana?
Not for a straightforward estate — a properly signed will is valid whether or not a lawyer drafts it. See an attorney if you have a large or blended estate, business interests, tax concerns, a special-needs beneficiary, or want to disinherit close family.
Is this really free?
Yes. The generator is free, requires no account, and runs entirely in your browser — your answers are not sent to a server. It is not legal advice and RecordingLaw.com is not a law firm.
Disclaimer
This generator produces a general-purpose will for a straightforward estate and is not legal advice or a substitute for an attorney. Will and probate law changes; the Montana requirements here are current as of 2026-06-03. A will is only valid if signed and witnessed correctly. For a large, blended, or complex estate, tax planning, a special-needs beneficiary, or to disinherit close family, consult a Montana estate-planning attorney. RecordingLaw.com is not a law firm.
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