Probate leads in Petroleum County, Montana.
Investors researching probate leads in Petroleum County can compare public court lists with USLeadList death and property matches, which do not wait for a court filing. Our average is 0 records per month.
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How Montana rules shape Petroleum leads
Verified state research, applied locally.Montana attaches a recurring cost to holding a house nobody lives in. Mont. Code Ann. 15-6-134, amended in the 2025 session, taxes class four residential property at a flat 1.9 percent of market value unless it qualifies for the homestead or long-term rental rate, which is graduated and starts at 0.76 percent. The statute sets those brackets as multiples of a statewide median residential value that the Department of Revenue recalculates every two years at the periodic reappraisal (15-6-134(4) and (5)(b)), and for tax year 2026 the department put them at 0.76 percent on the first $378,000, 0.90 percent on the portion between $378,001 and $756,000, 1.10 percent on the portion between $756,001 and $1,511,999, and 1.90 percent on any portion of $1,512,000 or more, that top bracket being four times the median under 15-6-134(3)(b)(i)(D). A homestead requires the owner to occupy the property at least 7 months of the year; a long-term rental requires tenancies of 28 days or more for at least 7 months. An inherited house left vacant, kept as a second home or rented short term qualifies for neither and is taxed at 1.9 percent every year it is held.
Ways property can avoid probate
Transfer on death deed under the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act, Mont. Code Ann. 72-6-401 through 72-6-418, enacted by ch. 313, L. 2019, which also carries forward beneficiary deeds executed and recorded under the earlier statute (72-6-417). Joint tenancy with right of survivorship and revocable living trusts are the other common routes. The 72-3-1101 affidavit reaches personal property only and cannot transfer a house.
Small-estate route
Affidavit for collection of personal property where the probate estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $100,000 and 30 days have passed since death, with no personal representative appointed or pending (Mont. Code Ann. 72-3-1101; the $100,000 figure was set by ch. 453, L. 2023). It reaches personal property only. Summary administration under 72-3-1103 separately lets a personal representative distribute at once, without notice to creditors, where the whole estate less liens does not exceed the homestead allowance, exempt property, family allowance, costs of administration, reasonable funeral expenses and reasonable medical and hospital expenses.
Timing that affects the public record
Notice to creditors is published once a week for 3 successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation, and claims are barred unless presented within 4 months after the date of first publication (Mont. Code Ann. 72-3-801(1)). A creditor given written notice has 4 months from first publication or 30 days from mailing, whichever is later (72-3-801(2)). In all events, claims that arose before death are barred 1 year after the decedent's death (72-3-803(1)). The small estate affidavit under 72-3-1101 is available 30 days after death. The Montana Judicial Branch publishes no typical duration.
Where court cases can be checked
Montana District Court Public Access Portal, with a separate portal for the courts of limited jurisdiction. The Judicial Branch describes the portal as a courtesy rather than a required statutory service, and coverage grows court by court as each moves onto the central case management system. Supreme Court dockets, opinions and briefs are searched separately through the Judicial Branch site.
Why pre-probate
Why pre-probate leads in Petroleum County, Montana?A public probate list requires a filed case. Our source does not require a filing and may precede a later filing, but that is not guaranteed.
Inheritance creates a property decision
A death does not guarantee a sale. It does create practical decisions about upkeep, distance, taxes, repairs and whether anyone in the family wants the property.
Earlier than a court filing
When probate is required, the public case begins after the death and after someone files. Our county records begin with the death record itself.
Not limited to probate cases
Trusts, survivorship ownership and state-specific transfer instruments can move a property without an ordinary probate case. Court-only lists do not identify those paths.
Property data with optional contact enrichment
Size, location, value, and tax information come with the property record. Phone, email, spouse, and relative data are available through the skip tracing add-on.
What we mean by pre-probate
Pre-probate > probate. Here's why.Our Petroleum County data is not a court probate list. It identifies inherited-property records from deaths, including properties that may later enter probate and properties that never do.
The court docket is only one transfer path.
A trust, survivorship ownership or an authorized transfer deed may keep a property out of an ordinary probate case. The exact rules vary by state, which is why the local court and transfer details above matter.
An inheritance creates choices, not a guaranteed sale:
- Keep or occupy the property
- Rent it or transfer it within the family
- Sell it privately or through a public listing
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