Quick answer: no real property, personal property at or under $100,000, 30 days passed — the small estate affidavit. Total estate (including real property) at or under $100,000 — Summary Administration. Anything larger or contested — full probate. Check your own numbers with the Montana small estate checker.
Summary Administration can include the house
How Montana defines a "small estate" for allowances
A small estate is one in which the fair market value of the property doesn't exceed the sum of the homestead allowance ($22,500), the exempt property allowance ($15,000), the costs and expenses of administering the estate, and reasonable funeral and last-illness medical expenses.
Medicaid recovery is worth checking early
If there's any uncertainty about whether the deceased received Montana Medicaid long-term care benefits, contacting DPHHS directly to request a recovery determination before closing the estate can avoid a costly surprise later.
What skips probate before any threshold matters
A Transfer on Death deed, joint survivorship titling, and assets held in a living trust all pass outside of probate entirely.
The decision, in order
- Is the asset covered by a TOD deed, joint survivorship, or a living trust? → Skips probate entirely.
- No real property, personal property at or under $100,000, 30 days passed? → Small estate affidavit.
- Total estate (including real property) at or under $100,000? → Summary Administration.
- None of the above fits → Full informal or formal probate.
A local probate attorney can review your estate — many offer a free consultation.
Whichever track applies, filing happens with the District Court in the decedent's own Montana county.