Temporary or Special Probate Administrator Requirements in Montana

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Montana separates informal and formal special administration

Mont. Code Ann. § 72-1-103 defines an informal proceeding as a district- court-clerk process without notice and a formal proceeding as a judge-led process with notice to interested persons. It also makes a special administrator a personal representative but excludes that office from the term general personal representative.

Under Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-701, any interested person may apply informally when protection is necessary before a general appointment or after a prior appointment ends through death or disability under § 72-3-522. A formal petition requires a finding, after notice and hearing, that appointment is necessary to preserve the estate or secure proper administration, including when a general fiduciary cannot or should not act. An emergency permits a formal order without notice.

While probate of a will is pending, § 72-3-702 requires appointment of the named executor if available and qualified. Otherwise, any proper person may serve. Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-501 requires the appointee to be at least 18 and not found unsuitable. Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-508 excludes ordinary priority rules from special-administrator selection.

Bond, acceptance, and letters depend on the appointment route

Under Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-512, the appointee files any required bond and a statement accepting the office before receiving letters. Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-513 makes an informally appointed special administrator an express exception to Montana's ordinary informal no-bond rule. For a formal appointee, the court may require bond; a will's bond relief applies unless an interested party requests bond and the court finds it desirable.

Under Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-515, unless the will, order, application, or petition fixes the amount, the qualifying person estimates the personal estate and the next year's expected income under oath. The court may excuse or change the requirement. Under Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-514, a person with an estate interest above $5,000 or a creditor with a claim above $5,000 may also demand bond; after notice of the demand, authority contracts to estate preservation until bond is filed or the requirement ends.

Informal and formal powers are materially different

Under Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-703, an informal special administrator collects and manages estate assets, preserves them, accounts for them, and delivers them when the general personal representative qualifies. The appointee receives only the personal-representative powers necessary for those duties.

A formally appointed special administrator instead receives a general personal representative's powers unless the order narrows them under Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-704. Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-606 and Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-613 include property possession and protection, management, insurance, sales, mortgages, business continuation, estate- protective litigation, administration expenses, claim settlement, and distribution under the Code. The order may limit the appointment to a stated time, particular acts, prescribed duties, or other terms. The special- administrator provisions state no separate remains-disposition power.

For the informal route, claims, expenses, sales, business action, litigation, or distribution cannot exceed what is necessary for collection, management, preservation, accounting, and delivery. For the formal route, the general power statutes and appointment order control.

The order, general appointment, or ordinary termination rules end the office

Under Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-705, the appointment ends under its order or when a general personal representative is appointed. Other cases use the ordinary termination provisions. Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-521 provides that termination ends ordinary office authority but permits necessary estate protection and delivery to a successor, while preserving liability for earlier acts and the duties to preserve, account for, and deliver controlled assets.

An interested person may petition for cause removal under § 72-3-526. The court sets a hearing, directs notice, and if removal is ordered, directs the disposition of remaining controlled assets.

Special administrators are exempt from the ordinary inventory but not account or liability

Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-607 expressly excludes a special administrator from the ordinary nine-month inventory duty. The informal route nevertheless requires an account and delivery, and the formal route carries the duties prescribed in the appointment order together with the general powers it grants.

Because § 72-1-103 includes a special administrator within personal representative, Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-616 applies liability for loss caused by improper exercise of estate power. Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-631 applies reasonable compensation, and Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-632 applies necessary expenses—including reasonable attorney fees—for good-faith estate litigation. The cited provisions state no special fixed final-account deadline, bond-release deadline, or surcharge formula.

What trips people up

• Without notice does not mean without bond. Informal appointment is a no- notice route, but an informal special administrator is ordinarily required to post bond and file acceptance before receiving letters.
• Route changes substantive authority. The informal appointee has only the powers necessary for the listed protective duties; the formal appointee starts with general powers unless the order limits them.
• Inventory and accounting are different duties. The nine-month inventory exclusion does not eliminate the express informal-account duty or the duties to account and deliver after termination.

Common questions

Does the surviving spouse automatically receive priority?

No. Ordinary personal-representative priority does not select a special administrator. While a will is pending, the named executor must be appointed if available and qualified; otherwise the statute permits any proper person.

Does every formal appointment require advance notice?

No. Notice and hearing are the ordinary formal route, but an emergency permits the court to appoint without notice. The special-administrator provisions do not state a fixed later-hearing deadline.

May a special administrator settle claims or distribute property?

That depends on the route and order. Informal authority is limited to powers necessary for collection, management, preservation, accounting, and delivery. A formal appointee has general authority—including claim-settlement and distribution authority under the Code—unless the appointment order limits it.

Statutes and sources

• Mont. Code Ann. § 72-1-103 — district court and clerk, formal and informal proceedings, interested persons, and special-administrator status. Official current statute (accessed 2026-08-29).
• Mont. Code Ann. §§ 72-3-501, -508, -512 to -515, -521, and -526 — qualification, special-selection rule, acceptance, letters, bond, continuing duties, and removal. Official current Part 5 (accessed 2026-08-29).
• Mont. Code Ann. §§ 72-3-606 to -607, -613, -616, and -631 to -632 — property protection, inventory exclusion, general powers, liability, compensation, and litigation expenses. Official current Part 6 (accessed 2026-08-29).
• Mont. Code Ann. §§ 72-3-701 to -705 — appointment routes, nominee rule, powers, order limits, accounting, delivery, and termination. Official current Part 7 (accessed 2026-08-29).