1. Designating Beneficiaries to Avoid Probate. (MT199901HR) (2025)(PDF Version) (HTML Version-ADA Accessible)[Order Online]  Learn about transferring your assets through contractual arrangements, such as beneficiary designations commonly found in insurance policies, IRAs, employee benefits, payable on death accounts and transfer on death accounts.

  2. Dying Without a Will in Montana: Who Receives Your Property? (MT198908HR) (2025) (PDF Version) (HTML Version-ADA Accessible) [Order Online]  Includes legal terms and detailed examples of possible scenarios for distribution of property should a person die before writing a will in Montana. 

  3. Estate Planning in Montana: Getting Started. (MT199508HR) (2022)  (PDF Version) (HTML Version-ADA Accessible) [Order Online]
    Explains how--and why---to arrange for the future distribution of your property in Montana. 

  4.  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).

  5. Common Law Marriage & Estate Planning in Montana. (MT201408HR) (2024) (PDF Version) (HTML Version-ADA Accessible) [Order Online]
    Explore 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.
  6. Property Ownership. (MT198907HR) (2025) (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.