State records guide

Property title search in Montana

Facts below are taken from Montana statutes and official sources, each linked, each checked on the date shown. General information, not legal advice.

What a Montana title search has to account for

Where are Montana deeds recorded?

Montana combines two offices in one: under section 7-4-2611 the county clerk is also the ex officio recorder. Section 70-21-201 lets any instrument or judgment affecting the title to or possession of real property be recorded, and section 70-21-302 makes a recorded conveyance constructive notice to subsequent purchasers and mortgagees from the time it is filed with the county clerk for record. The state has 56 counties, two of them consolidated with the cities of Anaconda and Butte.

The report traces the chain of title as far back as the county's records go, with document images of the key instruments, and verifies findings with the assessor, tax office, recorder and courts.

How does a Montana trust indenture foreclose?

Montana's Small Tract Financing Act governs trust indentures on small tracts. Section 71-1-304 lets a trust indenture secure a debt on real property of 40 acres or less, and lets it be foreclosed by advertisement and sale through the trustee or, at the beneficiary's option, in court under the mortgage foreclosure law.

When the trustee sells, section 71-1-318 has the trustee's deed convey the grantor's title to the purchaser without right of redemption. Other sales differ: section 71-1-228 extends the redemption rights of foreclosure and execution sales to sales under a power of sale in a mortgage or deed of trust, except a trustee's sale under a trust indenture, and section 25-13-802 lets the judgment debtor or a redemptioner redeem within 1 year after the sale. An auction title report reports the foreclosing lien's position and the liens that would survive, in dollars, for the bidder's attorney.

How do Montana tax liens work?

Under section 15-17-125 the county treasurer attaches a tax lien to delinquent property no later than the first working day in August, after notice to the taxpayer, and the county holds the lien unless it is assigned. Section 15-17-323 has the treasurer assign it to a person who, after providing proof of mail notice to the person to whom the property was assessed, pays the delinquent taxes, penalties, interest and costs.

Section 15-18-111 lets the owner, an occupant, the holder of an unrecorded or improperly recorded interest, or any interested party redeem until the first working day in August 3 years after attachment. The period is 2 years for property subdivided as a residential or commercial lot with delinquent special improvement district or rural special improvement district assessments and no habitable dwelling or commercial structure. The report verifies tax sales and redemptions with the tax office and states the surviving liens, taxes and assessments in dollars.

Can a Montana owner use a transfer on death deed?

Yes. Montana adopted the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act, and section 72-6-404 lets an individual transfer property to one or more beneficiaries effective at death by a transfer on death deed.

Section 72-3-101 says that upon a person's death the decedent's real and personal property devolves to the persons to whom it is devised by will or to the heirs. A probate title search finds the decedent's property by name and reports vesting at death, how title passes, including joint tenancy, a transfer on death deed, a trust or a life estate, and the liens to pay.

How is marital property handled in Montana?

Section 40-4-202 has the court in a dissolution finally and equitably apportion the property of either or both spouses, however and whenever acquired and whether title stands in the name of the husband, the wife or both, after weighing the factors the statute lists. Section 70-32-301 says the homestead of a married person cannot be conveyed or encumbered unless the instrument is executed and acknowledged by both husband and wife.

The report states the recorded decree or deed it finds, and an attorney reads the effect.

Does a Montana condominium lien come before the mortgage?

Not before a first mortgage or trust indenture of record. Section 70-23-607 of the Unit Ownership Act makes an association's lien for common expenses prior to all other liens on the unit except tax and assessment liens and a first mortgage or trust indenture of record, and to claim the lien the association must record a claim in the county where the unit sits.

The report states any recorded claim it finds. The current balance comes from the association, since assessments due after a claim was recorded do not appear on the record.

Which package fits a Montana property?

Every package covers Montana property wherever it is recorded. Pick by situation:

• Probate law firm: Find every property a decedent held, how it was vested and what has to be paid before it passes. $595 per estate.
• Real estate law firm: A preliminary report with schedule-style exceptions and print-ready exhibits for your matter. $695 per property.
• Builders and developers: Multi-parcel research on access, easements, restrictions, mineral reservations and entity ownership. $995 first parcel.
• Auction buyer: Know the total cost to own, which liens survive the sale and whether to bid at all. $395 for 1 property.
• Home buyer: Confirm the seller owns the home and learn what has to be cleared before you pay. $449 per property.
• Home seller: Find the old mortgage, judgment or name mismatch before a buyer's title company does. $449 per property.

Questions about a title search in Montana