Affidavit of Surviving Joint Tenant - Montana

AFFIDAVIT OF SURVIVING JOINT TENANT — MONTANA

ACKNOWLEDGED STATEMENT OF DEATH AND TERMINATION OF JOINT-TENANCY INTEREST

Recording requested by: [NAME], [ADDRESS]

After recording return to: [NAME], [ADDRESS]

Property address: [________________________________]

Geocode / parcel number: [________________________________]

ELIGIBILITY GATE — COMPLETE BEFORE SIGNING

This document uses Mont. Code Ann. §§ 72-16-502 and 72-16-503. Under § 72-16-502, the deceased holder must have died leaving no property that requires appointment of a personal representative and must have held either a life estate terminating at death or property with another person as joint tenants with right of survivorship and not as tenants in common.

☐ Montana probate counsel confirms the Decedent left no property requiring appointment of a personal representative.

☐ The recorded vesting instrument expressly created joint tenancy with right of survivorship and not tenancy in common.

☐ No deed, agreement, partition, divorce order, creditor process, or other event severed or changed the joint tenancy before death.

☐ The title company confirms this statement is the correct record-clearing instrument for this title.

If any box cannot be confirmed, stop and obtain a transaction-specific probate and title analysis.

1. PERSON MAKING STATEMENT

I, [FULL LEGAL NAME], whose mailing address is [ADDRESS], state from personal knowledge as follows.

I am:

☐ The surviving joint tenant.

☐ Another person with an interest in the real property described below, specifically: [________________________________].

2. DECEASED HOLDER

[DECEDENT'S FULL LEGAL NAME] ("Decedent") died on [DATE OF DEATH] in [PLACE OF DEATH].

Decedent is the same person named as [NAME AS SHOWN IN VESTING INSTRUMENT] in the vesting instrument identified below.

3. VESTING INSTRUMENT AND SURVIVORSHIP

The Property was held under:

Quote the survivorship vesting language exactly:

[________________________________]

[________________________________]

Mont. Code Ann. § 70-1-307 defines a joint interest as equal-share ownership created by one will or transfer and expressly declared to be joint tenancy. Section 70-20-310 provides that when a real-property conveyance made in joint tenancy contains the right of survivorship in the grant, that right exists by virtue of the grant.

4. DEATH AND TERMINATION STATEMENT

Decedent has died. Decedent's joint-tenancy interest in the Property is terminated.

This is the death-and-termination statement required by Mont. Code Ann. § 7-4-2613(1)(c)(i).

5. LEGAL DESCRIPTION

The affected real property is situated in [COUNTY] County, Montana, and is legally described in Exhibit A, incorporated into this statement.

This supplies the legal description required by Mont. Code Ann. § 7-4-2613(1)(c)(ii).

6. COUNTY FILING

Mont. Code Ann. § 72-16-503 requires a person with an interest in qualifying real property owned by a decedent as § 72-16-502 defines that term to record the required document with the clerk and recorder of every county in which the property or any part of it is located.

I request recording of this acknowledged statement in [COUNTY] County, Montana.

7. SUPPORTING RECORDS

The following are submitted or retained as the receiving county and title company direct:

☐ Certified death certificate

☐ Copy of recorded vesting instrument

☐ Title-company instruction or commitment

☐ Probate counsel eligibility confirmation

☐ Other: [________________________________]

Section 7-4-2613(1)(c) states the minimum contents of the acknowledged statement; it does not itself say that a death certificate must be attached. Confirm the evidence and indexing package required by the receiving county and title company.

8. SIGNATURE

I state that the factual statements above are true and correct to the best of my personal knowledge.

Signature: ____________________________________

Printed name: [________________________________]

Date: [________________________________]

9. INDIVIDUAL-CAPACITY ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The short form below tracks Mont. Code Ann. § 1-5-610(1). The notarial officer must complete all information and affix the required official stamp.

State of [________________]

County of [________________]

This record was acknowledged before me on [DATE] by [NAME OF INDIVIDUAL].

Signature of notarial officer: ______________________________

Printed name and title: [___________________________________]

[OFFICIAL STAMP]

EXHIBIT A — LEGAL DESCRIPTION

Insert the complete legal description from the vesting instrument or a title-company-approved source. A street address or geocode alone is not a substitute.

[FULL LEGAL DESCRIPTION]

MONTANA SURVIVORSHIP-FILING CHECKLIST

• ☐ Eligibility confirmed first. Do not use §§ 72-16-502–503 merely because the title used survivorship words. Confirm the Decedent left no property requiring appointment of a personal representative.
• ☐ Recorded title reviewed. Verify the exact names, shares, survivorship language, legal description, and absence of a severance or intervening conveyance.
• ☐ Multiple survivors addressed. Identify every surviving joint tenant and obtain title-company instructions for the correct indexed statement and resulting vesting.
• ☐ Minimum statement content present. Section 7-4-2613(1)(c) requires an acknowledged statement that the holder died, the holder's nonprobate interest terminated, and the legal description.
• ☐ Evidence package confirmed. Ask the receiving county and title company whether to record or separately provide a certified death certificate, vesting deed copy, cover sheet, or other evidence. Do not label those items statutory requirements unless current law or county rules make them so.
• ☐ Every county covered. If the legal description crosses county lines, comply with § 72-16-503 in every affected county.
• ☐ Liens and taxes reviewed. Obtain advice about any lien, mortgage, estate claim, tax filing, or title-insurance condition. This template makes no no-tax or no-lien declaration.
• ☐ Current fees and formatting confirmed. Obtain the receiving county's current page, margin, indexing, electronic-recording, return-address, and fee requirements immediately before submission.

OFFICIAL SOURCES

• Mont. Code Ann. §§ 70-1-306 and 70-1-307 — ownership by several persons and joint interest
• Mont. Code Ann. § 70-20-310 — joint-tenancy survivorship
• Mont. Code Ann. § 72-16-502 — limited definition of decedent
• Mont. Code Ann. § 72-16-503 — required county filing
• Mont. Code Ann. § 7-4-2613 — documents subject to recording
• Mont. Code Ann. § 1-5-610 — short-form notarial certificates