Clear Money Guide
What this state guide covers
A quick view of the questions, practical details and source notes below.
Updated August 3, 2026. Quick answer: Montana adopted the Uniform Act in 2019 — recent enough that guides written earlier may still list Montana as a state without this instrument. It sits in title 72, chapter 6, part 4.
Deeding a home to a family member while you are alive? What Montana requires, from its own documents: Montana quitclaim deed requirements.
The securities and vehicle version of the same decision is covered here: transfer-on-death registration in Montana.
Montana transfer on death deed form: what the statute requires
Each line is a short extract quoted from the Montana statute itself; the section has the exceptions.
- Signing and formalities. Mont. Code Ann. § 72-6-408(1): “…essential elements and formalities of a properly recordable inter vivos deed…”
- Recording. Mont. Code Ann. § 72-6-408(3): “…must be recorded before the transferor’s death in the public records…”
- Revocation. Mont. Code Ann. § 72-6-405: “…is revocable even if the deed or another instrument contains a contrary…”
- Statutory form. Mont. Code Ann. § 72-6-415: “…form may be used to create a transfer on death deed…”
- Capacity. Mont. Code Ann. § 72-6-407: “…same as the capacity required to make a will…”
What the estate would cost without one is a separate question: Montana probate costs.
The requirements
A transfer on death deed: (1) except as otherwise provided in subsection (2), must contain the essential elements and formalities of a properly recordable inter vivos deed; (2) must state that the transfer to the designated beneficiary is to occur at the transferor’s death; and (3) must be recorded before the transferor’s death in the public records in the office of the county clerk and recorder of the county where the property is located.
— Mont. Code Ann. 72-6-401 et seq. (Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act) (subsections joined for readability; no words added)
Revocation by act is not permitted
Section 72-6-410 is headed “Revocation by instrument authorized — revocation by act not permitted.” Destroying the deed, or writing on it, does not revoke it. Only a further recorded instrument does — a revocation, or a new transfer on death deed.
This is the opposite of the rule most people know for wills, and it is the single most likely way someone in Montana believes they have undone a deed when they have not.
Capacity is will capacity
Section 72-6-407: the capacity required to make or revoke a transfer on death deed is the same as the capacity required to make a will — a lower bar than contractual capacity, which matters for an older owner.
A beneficiary can disclaim
Section 72-6-413 lets a beneficiary disclaim all or part of their interest under Montana’s Uniform Disclaimer of Property Interests Act (72-2-817 to 72-2-833). Useful where the property carries more debt or obligation than it is worth.
Montana has only had this since 2019
Title 72, chapter 6, part 4 carries the Uniform Act requirements quoted above, and they are recent enough that guides written earlier still list Montana as a state without this instrument. LawDepot builds a Montana transfer on death deed. It has to be recorded before death, and revocation by act is not permitted, so keep the recording in mind as the step that counts.
LawDepot prices a single document at $7.50 to $119, and its category subscriptions start at $107.88 a year, with the all-documents plan at $155.88 a year (LawDepot pricing page, read 2026-09-02).
Create a transfer on death deed
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What a transfer on death deed does not do
- It moves one parcel, not an estate. It avoids probate on that property; everything else is untouched, so it is not a substitute for a will.
- It does not take effect until death — the owner keeps full control and can sell, mortgage or revoke without the beneficiary’s agreement.
- It does not clear debts. A mortgage, lien or judgment passes with it.
- It does not override how the property is titled. Joint ownership and survivorship rights generally come first.
Honest gaps
We have quoted 72-6-408 and read 72-6-404, 72-6-407, 72-6-410 and 72-6-413 from the Montana Code Annotated 2025. The full revocation mechanics, the creditor-liability provision and the effect-at-death section are not reproduced here. This is the statute, not legal advice. Deed drafting, title and recording practice vary by county, and a property with a mortgage, co-owners or a disputed title is one to take to a lawyer in the state.
Source note. Read from https://archive.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0720/chapter_0060/part_0040/sections_index.html on 2026-08-04.
Related: transfer on death deeds by state · how it compares with a living trust · what it actually avoids.
General information drawn from state statutes and official state or court forms, not legal advice. These instruments are governed by the law of the state where the property sits or the document is signed, and formalities differ from state to state — execution, witnessing and recording requirements are the parts that void a document when they are missed. Your own state’s current statute governs.
A transfer-on-death deed keeps one asset out of probate; whether the rest of the estate has to go through it is a separate test, and the answer is on when probate is required in Montana, which gives Montana’s qualifying value for the small-estate route and what that route does not reach.