Updated October 8, 2026. Quick answer: Yes, for securities and vehicles. Montana’s Uniform TOD Security Registration Act, Montana Code Annotated sections 72-6-301 to 72-6-311, lets an owner register a security in beneficiary form, and the owner may cancel or change it “without the consent of the beneficiary”. Section 61-3-226 separately lets a vehicle owner name a beneficiary on the title application.
How Montana handles transfer-on-death registration
| Item | What the state documents say |
|---|---|
| Brokerage and securities accounts | Montana’s Uniform TOD Security Registration Act is Part 3 of Chapter 6 of Title 72 of the Montana Code Annotated, sections 72-6-301 to 72-6-311. It defines beneficiary form as a registration of a security that shows the present owner and who becomes owner when the owner dies, and it counts a securities account with a broker as a security. Registration may be shown by the words transfer on death or the abbreviation TOD, or by pay on death or POD, after the owner’s name. |
| Effect on the will and probate | A transfer on death from a registration in beneficiary form takes effect through the contract between the owner and the registering entity and the Act, not through a will. On the death of the last owner, ownership passes to the beneficiaries who survive all owners. If no beneficiary survives, the statute says the security belongs to the estate of the last owner. |
| Changing the beneficiary | The designation has no effect on ownership until the owner’s death, and the sole owner or all surviving owners may cancel or change the registration at any time. The beneficiary has no say while the owner is alive. |
| Vehicle titles | Montana law lets the owner or joint owners of a vehicle or vessel arrange for the title to pass to a named beneficiary at death by completing the beneficiary designation on the application for certificate of title prescribed by the Motor Vehicle Division. The source says: “nonprobate transfer of the vehicle’s or vessel’s title”. The designation is perfected when it is submitted with an application for certificate of title and carries the required signatures, and a will does not invalidate a perfected designation. |
| Changing a vehicle beneficiary | An owner may revoke a perfected vehicle designation by transferring the vehicle before death or by submitting a new beneficiary designation with an application for certificate of title. After the owner’s death, the beneficiary presents proof of death and identification to the department, the county treasurer’s office, or an authorized agent. The statute adds that the beneficiary holds no interest in the vehicle until a replacement title is issued or the transfer is completed, and that a lienholder’s rights are not limited. |
A $250,000 brokerage account split
An owner holds a brokerage account worth $250,000 and registers it in beneficiary form to two named beneficiaries, with each to receive half. Each share is computed as $250,000 x 50% = $125,000. The 50/50 split is the owner’s illustration, not a rule of the state: the owner names the beneficiaries and, where the form allows it, the shares.
Real estate, probate and estate tax
A transfer on death deed is a different instrument for real property: see Montana transfer on death deed. For what probate costs in Montana, see Montana probate cost, and for Montana’s own estate or inheritance tax, see Montana estate and inheritance tax. Which of these your account or vehicle falls under depends on how it is titled.
What changed recently
The 2025 Montana Code Annotated shows section 61-3-226, the vehicle transfer on death provision, amended by Chapter 47 of the 2025 session laws.
Related: Montana probate cost, how Montana taxes retirement income, Montana estate and inheritance tax, Montana transfer on death deed, and car titles after a death, by state.
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Answer againSources
- Montana Code Annotated 2025, Title 72, Chapter 6, Part 3, Uniform TOD Security Registration Act, sections 72-6-301 to 72-6-311: https://archive.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0720/chapter_0060/part_0030/sections_index.html
- Montana Code Annotated 2025, section 61-3-226, Certificate of title, transfer on death: https://archive.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0610/chapter_0030/part_0020/section_0260/0610-0030-0020-0260.html
Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 8, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the plan administrator or the agency itself is the right place to confirm anything consequential.