Yes, trusts can avoid probate in Montana. By creating a trust and transferring your assets into it, the assets can bypass the probate process when you pass away. This can save your beneficiaries time and money, as probate can be a lengthy and expensive process.
The cost of setting up a trust in Montana varies depending on the complexity of the trust and the attorney's fees. A basic Revocable Living Trust generally ranges from $1,000 to $3,000. More complex trusts can cost several thousand dollars more. Online services like Snug can provide a more affordable alternative to traditional legal services, offering estate planning services, including trusts, at a lower cost.
A Revocable Living Trust is the most common type of trust people set up, offering flexibility and control over your assets during your lifetime and helping to avoid probate. Other types of trusts, such as Charitable Trusts, Special Needs Trusts, and Irrevocable Trusts, may be appropriate depending on your specific circumstances and goals.
Funding a trust in Montana involves transferring ownership of your assets to the trust. For real estate, a new deed must be prepared with the trust as the owner. Bank accounts should be retitled in the name of the trust, and other assets like vehicles, personal property, stocks, and bonds must also be formally transferred to the trust.
In Montana, any individual who is at least 18 years old and mentally competent can serve as a trustee. Furthermore, Montana law allows for corporations, such as banks or trust companies, to serve as a trustee if they are authorized to exercise trust powers in the state. Trustees must be capable of handling and managing property, and they can't have been found guilty of serious crimes, including felonies or crimes that involve dishonest or immoral behavior.
In Montana, to change your living trust, you need to draft an amendment to the original trust document. It’s crucial to clearly state in the amendment the changes you want to make, such as adding or removing beneficiaries, changing trustees, or modifying distribution instructions. Ensure you include the date, your name, the name of the trust, and the date the trust was created. Like the original trust document, your amendment should be signed in the presence of a notary public. If you want to make extensive changes to your living trust, it might be easier to create a restatement of the trust. A restatement allows you to rewrite the entire trust, while maintaining the original date and title of the trust, which can be beneficial for avoiding retitling assets. In the restatement, you would include all the changes you want to make, and the new provisions will replace the old ones entirely.
