Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: in Montana, dying without a will does not mean the state keeps the estate; it means Montana’s intestacy statute (Mont. Code Ann. §§ 72-2-112 (share of spouse), 72-2-113 (share of heirs other than surviving spouse), 72-2-117 (half blood)) decides who gets it, and the surviving spouse usually does not take everything. The single most common misunderstanding on this page: a stepchild or a child from an earlier relationship can cut the spouse’s share sharply below what most people assume.
What this guide covers
Who inherits from Montana residents who die without a will is set by statute, not custom: Mont. Code Ann. §§ 72-2-112 (share of spouse), 72-2-113 (share of heirs other than surviving spouse), 72-2-117 (half blood) and the sections around it. It governs only the probate estate: what is left after retirement accounts and life insurance with a living named beneficiary, payable-on-death accounts, property in joint tenancy with survivorship, and anything already in a funded trust have already passed outside it. This page covers the spouse’s share, who inherits if there is no spouse, and the rules that can change the answer: half-blood relatives.
The spouse’s share
When the spouse takes everything: Spouse takes the entire intestate estate if either: (a) no descendant or parent of the decedent survives the decedent; or (b) all of the decedent’s surviving descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse AND the surviving spouse has no other surviving descendant. Section 72-2-112(1).
When it is less than everything: Section 72-2-112: (1) entire estate under the two conditions above; (2) first $300,000 plus three-fourths of any balance if no descendant of the decedent survives but a parent does; (3) first $225,000 plus one-half of any balance if all the decedent’s surviving descendants are also the spouse’s descendants BUT the spouse has one or more OTHER surviving descendants not shared with the decedent (blended family via the spouse’s side); (4) first $150,000 plus one-half of any balance if one or more of the decedent’s surviving descendants are NOT descendants of the surviving spouse (blended family via the decedent’s side, the classic case of a decedent with children from another relationship). This is a full four-tier UPC-style dollar-plus-fraction blended-family reduction.
The intestate share of a decedent’s surviving spouse is: (1) the entire intestate estate if: (a) no descendant or parent of the decedent survives the decedent; or (b) all of the decedent’s surviving descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse and there is no other descendant of the surviving spouse who survives the decedent; (2) the first $300,000, plus three-fourths of any balance of the intestate estate, if no descendant of the decedent survives the decedent but a parent of the decedent survives the decedent; (3) the first $225,000, plus one-half of any balance of the intestate estate, if all of the decedent’s surviving descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse and the surviving spouse has one or more surviving descendants who are not descendants of the decedent; (4) the first $150,000, plus one-half of any balance of the intestate estate, if one or more of the decedent’s surviving descendants are not descendants of the surviving spouse.
Source: Mont. Code Ann. §§ 72-2-112 (share of spouse), 72-2-113 (share of heirs other than surviving spouse), 72-2-117 (half blood)
If a DIY will fits your situation in Montana
In Montana, a surviving spouse can end up sharing the estate with a stepchild or a child from an earlier relationship under the default rules above; a will is what lets you decide that instead of the statute. LawDepot builds a state-specific last will and testament.
LawDepot pays us a commission if you buy through this link; it costs you nothing extra. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice. Affiliate Disclosure.
Who inherits if there is no spouse
Section 72-2-113(1): (a) to the decedent’s descendants by representation; (b) if none, to the surviving parent or parents equally; (c) if none, to the descendants of the decedent’s parents (siblings and their descendants) by representation; (d) if none, half to the paternal grandparents/their descendants and half to the maternal grandparents/their descendants (all to one side if the other has none); (e) if none, to the person(s) of the closest degree of kinship. Section 72-2-113(2): among equally-related collateral heirs claiming through different ancestors, those who claim through the nearer ancestor take to the exclusion of those claiming through a more remote ancestor.
Rules that change the outcome
Half-blood relatives: FULL share, no reduction. Section 72-2-117: ‘Relatives of the half blood inherit the same share they would inherit if they were of the whole blood.’
What a will changes
A will does not just skip the statute above; it lets you choose who gets Montana property that the intestacy rules would send somewhere else: a spouse who would otherwise share the estate with a stepchild, a partner who is not married and inherits nothing under intestacy at all, or specific people the statute’s ladder never reaches. It also lets you name an executor rather than leaving the court to appoint one. What it does not change: assets that already pass outside probate: a will has no effect on a beneficiary designation, a payable-on-death account, or property held in joint tenancy.
General information drawn from state intestate-succession statutes, not legal advice. Who inherits without a will is STATE law and differs in every state; the spouse’s share, the order of inheritance, and how half-blood and community-property rules apply all change, and every figure here is sourced and dated. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice.