72-3-601. Time of accrual of duties and powers — power of executor prior to appointment — ratification. (1) The duties and powers of a personal representative commence upon appointment. The powers of a personal representative relate back in time to give acts by the person appointed that are beneficial to the estate occurring prior to appointment […]
72-3-602. Priority among different letters. A person to whom general letters are issued first has exclusive authority under the letters until the person’s appointment is terminated or modified. If, through error, general letters are afterwards issued to another, the first appointed representative may recover any property of the estate in the hands of the representative subsequently […]
72-3-603. Notice of appointment to heirs and devisees. (1) Not later than 30 days after appointment, every personal representative, except any special administrator, shall give information of the appointment to the heirs and devisees, including, if there has been no formal testacy proceeding and if the personal representative was appointed on the assumption that the decedent […]
72-3-604. Standing to sue. Except as to proceedings that do not survive the death of the decedent, a personal representative of a decedent domiciled in this state at death has the same standing to sue and be sued in the courts of this state and the courts of any other jurisdiction as the decedent had immediately […]
72-3-605. Personal representative to proceed without court order — power to invoke jurisdiction. A personal representative shall proceed expeditiously with the settlement and distribution of a decedent’s estate and, except as otherwise specified under this code or ordered in regard to a supervised personal representative, do so without adjudication, order, or direction of the court, but […]
72-3-606. Possession and protection of estate. (1) Except as otherwise provided by a decedent’s will, a personal representative has a right to and shall take possession or control of the decedent’s property, except that any real property or tangible personal property may be left with or surrendered to the person presumptively entitled to the property unless […]
72-3-607. Inventory — appraisal. (1) Within 9 months after appointment, a personal representative who is not a special administrator or a successor to another representative who has previously discharged this duty shall prepare an inventory of property owned by the decedent at the time of the decedent’s death, listing the inventory of property with reasonable detail […]
72-3-608. Repealed. Sec. 18, Ch. 52, L. 1981. History: En. 91A-3-715.1 by Sec. 6, Ch. 516, L. 1975; R.C.M. 1947, 91A-3-715.1.
72-3-609. Supplemental inventory. If any property not included in the original inventory comes to the knowledge of a personal representative or if the personal representative learns that the value or description indicated in the original inventory for any item is erroneous or misleading, the personal representative shall make a supplemental inventory or appraisal showing the market […]
72-3-610. General duties — fiduciary. A personal representative is a fiduciary who shall observe the standards of care applicable to trustees under the laws of the state of Montana. A personal representative is under a duty to settle and distribute the estate of the decedent in accordance with the terms of any probated and effective will […]
72-3-611. No surcharge for authorized acts generally — limitation. (1) A personal representative may not be surcharged for acts of administration or distribution if the conduct in question was authorized at the time. Subject to other obligations of administration and of this code, an informally probated will is authority to administer and distribute the estate according […]
72-3-612. No individual liability — exceptions — certain claims to be brought against personal representative. (1) Unless otherwise provided in the contract, a personal representative is not individually liable on a contract properly entered into in the personal representative’s fiduciary capacity in the course of administration of the estate unless the personal representative fails to reveal […]
72-3-613. Transactions authorized for personal representative. Except as restricted by this code or otherwise provided by the will or by an order in a formal proceeding and subject to the priorities stated in 72-3-901, a personal representative, acting reasonably for the benefit of the interested persons, may properly: (1) retain assets owned by the decedent pending distribution […]
72-3-614. Power to recover property that is subject of void or voidable transfer. The property liable for the payment of unsecured debts of a decedent includes all property transferred by the decedent by any means that is in law void or voidable as against the decedent’s creditors, and subject to prior liens, the right to recover […]
72-3-615. Transaction involving conflict of interest — voidable — exceptions. Any sale or encumbrance to the personal representative, the personal representative’s spouse, agent, or attorney, or any corporation or trust in which the personal representative has a substantial beneficial interest or any transaction that is affected by a substantial conflict of interest on the part of […]
72-3-616. Improper exercise of power — breach of fiduciary duty. (1) If any exercise of power concerning the estate is improper, the personal representative is liable to interested persons for damage or loss resulting from breach of the personal representative’s fiduciary duty to the same extent as a trustee of an express trust. (2) The rights of […]
72-3-617. Order restraining personal representative. (1) On petition of any person who appears to have an interest in the estate, the court by temporary order may restrain a personal representative from performing specified acts of administration, disbursement, or distribution or exercise of any powers or discharge of any duties of the office or make any other […]
72-3-618. Persons dealing with personal representative — protection. (1) A person who in good faith and without notice either assists a personal representative or deals with a personal representative for value is protected as if the personal representative properly exercised the personal representative’s power. The fact that a person knowingly deals with a personal representative does […]
72-3-619. Powers of personal representatives in general. (1) Until termination of his appointment a personal representative has the same power over the title to property of the estate that an absolute owner would have, in trust however, for the benefit of the creditors and others interested in the estate. This power may be exercised without notice, […]
72-3-620 reserved.
