Montana: Trustee Notice to Beneficiaries Requirements

Requirements one by one

Montana uses two default 60-day notices

Montana Code Annotated § 72-38-813(2)(b) starts the acceptance clock when the
trustee accepts the trusteeship. That notice states the acceptance and gives the
trustee's name, address, and telephone number.

Subsection (2)(c) starts the other clock when the trustee acquires knowledge that an
irrevocable trust was created or that a formerly revocable trust became irrevocable,
whether by the settlor's death or otherwise. That notice identifies the trust and
settlor and states the rights to request affected portions of the trust instrument and
a trustee's report.

The recipient class reaches three distribution horizons

Section 72-38-103(16) includes a beneficiary eligible to receive income or principal
now, one who would become eligible if the current distributees' interests ended
without terminating the trust, and one who would become eligible if the trust
terminated on the determination date.

Notice can operate through statutory representation. Section 72-38-301(1) gives
notice to an authorized representative the same effect as direct notice to the person
represented.

The trust instrument may limit or waive the requirements

Section 72-38-813 opens by requiring compliance unless the trust instrument
specifically limits or waives any of the section's requirements. Montana therefore
makes both initial notices default rules and states the modification rule in the same
section as the notices.

That trust-instrument rule is separate from a recipient's personal waiver under
§ 72-38-109(3) and a qualified beneficiary's waiver of reports or other information
under § 72-38-813(4).

A requested instrument copy is limited to affected portions

The irrevocability notice does not promise the entire trust instrument. It states the
right under § 72-38-813(2)(a) to request the portions that describe or affect the
requesting beneficiary's interest.

The annual-report rule is also recipient-specific. Distributees and permissible
distributees receive reports, while other qualified beneficiaries receive them upon
request.

Delivery turns on likely receipt

Section 72-38-109(1) requires a reasonably suitable method likely to result in
receipt. It lists first-class mail, personal delivery, delivery to the last-known
residence or business, and a properly directed electronic message.

Subsection (2) excuses notice to a person whose identity or location is unknown and
not reasonably ascertainable. The cited initial-notice and delivery provisions state
no newspaper-publication substitute.

What trips people up

• The general 30-day presumption does not replace the two 60-day clocks. Section
  72-38-109(1)(c) addresses advance notice before an event unless the chapter
  specifically provides otherwise; § 72-38-813(2)(b)–(c) expressly governs these
  post-acceptance and post-knowledge notices.
• The full trust instrument is not the statutory promise. The beneficiary may
  request only the portions that describe or affect that beneficiary's interest.
• Not every qualified beneficiary automatically receives every annual report.
  Section 72-38-813(3) distinguishes distributees and permissible distributees from
  other qualified beneficiaries who request a report.
• The cutoff date is event-specific. The notices exclude a pre-October 1, 2013
  acceptance, irrevocable trust, or revocable trust that became irrevocable before
  that date.

Common questions

Must the notice use certified mail?

No. Section 72-38-109(1)(b) lists first-class mail, personal and last-known-address
delivery, and a properly directed electronic message as examples. The controlling
standard is a method reasonably suitable and likely to result in receipt.

Who receives duties while the trust is revocable?

Section 72-38-603(2) makes the beneficiaries' rights subject to the settlor's control
and makes the trustee's duties, expressly including notice, run exclusively to the
settlor. A withdrawal-power holder has the settlor's rights for the affected property
during the exercise period.

Does the notice need a trustee signature or sworn proof of service?

The cited initial-notice and delivery provisions require neither. They state the
contents and delivery standard without adding a signature, notarization, adult-server,
penalty-of-perjury declaration, or proof-of-service certificate.

Statutes and sources

• Mont. Code Ann. § 72-38-813(1)-(5) — default compliance rule, two notices,
  contents, reports, waiver, and legacy exclusions. Montana
  Legislature
  (accessed 2026-07-31).
• Mont. Code Ann. § 72-38-103(16) — three-horizon qualified-beneficiary
  definition. Montana
  Legislature
  (accessed 2026-07-31).
• Mont. Code Ann. § 72-38-109(1)-(4) — delivery, general advance-notice
  presumption, unknown recipients, and waiver. Montana
  Legislature
  (accessed 2026-07-31).
• Mont. Code Ann. § 72-38-301(1)-(2) — representation effect. Montana
  Legislature
  (accessed 2026-07-31).
• Mont. Code Ann. § 72-38-603(1)-(3) — revocable-settlor and withdrawal-power
  rules. Montana
  Legislature
  (accessed 2026-07-31).