Montana § 72-3-301 - Petition For Formal Testacy Or Appointment -- Contents -- Last Will

§ 72-3-301. Petition For Formal Testacy Or Appointment -- Contents -- Last Will

Petition for formal testacy or appointment -- contents -- last will. (1) Petitions for formal probate of a will or for adjudication of intestacy with or without request for appointment of a personal representative must be directed to the court, request a judicial order after notice and hearing, and contain further statements as indicated in this section. A petition for formal probate of a will: (a) requests an order as to the testacy of the decedent in relation to a particular instrument that may or may not have been informally probated and determining the heirs; (b) contains the statements required for informal applications as stated in 72-3-202 and the statements required by 72-3-203 (1)(b) and (1)(c); and (c) states whether the original of the last will of the decedent is in the possession of the court or accompanies the petition. If the original will is not in the possession of the court or does not accompany the petition, if an authenticated copy of a will probated in another jurisdiction does not accompany the petition, or if an authenticated copy of a will filed without probate in another jurisdiction and proved, as provided in 72-3-320 , does not accompany the petition, the petition also must state the contents of the will and indicate that it is lost, destroyed, or otherwise unavailable. (2) A petition for adjudication of intestacy and appointment of an administrator in intestacy must request a judicial finding and order that the decedent left no will and determining the heirs, contain the statements required by 72-3-202 and 72-3-204 , and indicate whether supervised administration is sought. A petition may request an order determining intestacy and heirs without requesting the appointment of an administrator, in which case the statements required by 72-3-204 (2) may be omitted.