What Factors Decide Who Receives Your Property After You Die?
Resources
January 27, 2023
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- Designating Beneficiaries through Contractual Arrangements
MSU Extension MontGuide
(PDF Version) (HTML Version-ADA Accessible) [Order Online]
Focuses on transferring assets through contractual arrangements, such as those commonly found with insurance policies, individual retirement accounts and employee benefit plans. - Dying Without a Will in Montana: Who Receives Your Property?
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Includes legal terms and detailed examples of possible scenarios for distribution of property should a person die before writing a will in Montana. - Estate Planning: Getting Started
MSU Extension MontGuide
(PDF Version) (HTML Version-ADA Accessible) [Order Online] - Dying Without a Will in Montana Interactive Website
Who receives your property if you pass away without a written will? Use this website to discover how your property will be distributed under Montana law if you are a Montana resident and if you pass away without a written will (as do 7 out of 10 Americans).
- Montana Common Law Marriage & Estate Planning
(MSU Extension MontGuide)
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Explores Montana common law marriages from an estate planning perspective. Topics include: The definition of common law marriage, what establishes a common law marriage, what documentation is necessary for a common law marriage, and what amount the surviving spouse of a common law marriage inherits.- Affidavit of Common Law Marriage Form (Montana Judicial Branch) (PDF)
- Declaration of Marriage Form (Montana Department of Health and Human Services) (PDF)
- Property Ownership
MSU Extension MontGuide
(PDF Version) (HTML Version-ADA Accessible) [Order Online]
Describes the three main forms of property ownership in Montana, plus real-life examples of estate settlement for each.
Estate Planning Website
For further information, visit the Estate Planning website at www.montana.edu/estateplanning.
This website provides current information about estate planning for Montanans who
are interested in learning by attending webinars, in-person workshops, viewing MSU
Extension MontGuides and other bulletins, and other information.