Estate and trust administration in Montana

What the firm handles

The firm represents the person responsible for settling an estate or administering a trust, and carries out the process with them.

• Determining whether an estate requires probate, qualifies for a small-estate procedure, or passes outside probate entirely
• Application for informal probate and appointment of the personal representative, filed with the clerk without a hearing
• Notices to heirs, beneficiaries and creditors
• Inventory and valuation of estate or trust assets, including real estate, business interests, mineral interests and accounts
• Payment of debts, expenses and taxes, and the estate's final income tax filings in coordination with the family's accountant
• Transfer of real estate, business interests and accounts to the people entitled to them
• Accountings to beneficiaries and the closing statement or trust termination
• For trustees: notices, administration, distributions and records under Montana's Uniform Trust Code

Fee

Informal probate and trust administration are handled for a fixed fee, quoted in writing after the firm reviews the will or trust and the assets involved. The fee is paid from the estate or trust, not by the personal representative personally. Where an estate becomes contested, the firm refers the dispute to litigation counsel and continues the administration where that remains appropriate.

Who this is for

Anyone named personal representative in a will or successor trustee of a trust, a surviving spouse or adult child handling a parent's estate, and families with Montana property, a business or land to transfer after a death, including those living out of state.

The firm

Clearstone Law is a Montana corporate, commercial and private wealth firm based in Billings, serving clients across the state. Estate and trust administration is handled alongside the firm's planning, business law and private client work, so a business or land in the estate is transferred by the same firm that advises on it.

Beneficiaries who receive an inheritance may engage the firm for their own planning.