# Inherited Mineral Rights in Montana: What Heirs Should Do (2026)

> Inherited mineral rights in Montana? Whether you need probate, the affidavit and transfer on death routes, the dormant mineral rules, royalty payment law, unclaimed money, and the traps heirs hit. From a buyer who pays for the probate.

Source: https://www.berlinroyalties.com/inherited-mineral-rights/montana/
Publisher: Berlin Royalties, a veteran-owned oil and gas mineral and royalty buyer in Tulsa, Oklahoma, buying for its own account since 2014. Call or text 918-984-1645.
License: free to quote and cite with attribution to Berlin Royalties and a link to the source URL.

Inherited Minerals · Montana

## Inherited mineral rights in Montana: what heirs should do

You inherited an interest in Montana, or you are about to. Here is what the state actually requires to put it in your name, what can take it away if you do nothing, where the money goes when the operator cannot find you, and the order to do things in. Written by a mineral buyer who pays for the probate on a committed deal, so read it with that in mind.

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Updated November 2026. Written by [Stephen Clayman](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/stephen-clayman/), career landman and owner of Berlin Royalties. Statutes were checked against primary sources; this is general information from a buyer, not legal advice, and the state-specific details are the reason to call a Montana attorney, not a substitute for one.

## Do I have to probate inherited mineral rights in Montana?

Yes. Montana is a Uniform Probate Code state, its collection affidavit reaches personal property only, and it has no affidavit of heirship statute for real property, so an inherited mineral interest needs a probate, usually informal, with a personal representative's deed of distribution recorded in each county where the minerals sit. Nothing in Montana forces the issue, because the minerals cannot lapse, which is why so many Montana chains carry two or three unprobated generations.

## How title to Montana minerals passes at death

Minerals are real property in Montana and title passes under the Uniform Probate Code, MCA Title 72, chapter 3. The MCA 72-3-1101 affidavit for collection of personal property, usable 30 days after death where the probate estate is $100,000 or less (raised from $50,000 in 2023), reaches tangible personal property and instruments such as bank accounts and stock only; it does not transfer real property. Montana has no statute making a recorded affidavit of heirship a title instrument. The route is a probate, usually an informal one opened through the clerk of district court, in which the personal representative executes a deed of distribution under MCA 72-3-904 and records it with the clerk and recorder of every county involved. Under MCA 72-3-905 that deed is conclusive evidence that the heir succeeded to the estate's interest.

For a decedent who lived in another state, the home-state personal representative files an authenticated copy of the appointment, an inventory of the Montana property, and an affidavit with the district court of a county where the property is located under MCA 72-4-303, and then has all the powers of a Montana personal representative under 72-4-310, including the deed of distribution. If no estate was ever opened anywhere, a Montana probate is opened in a county where the minerals are. The 72-3-1103 summary administration lets a personal representative distribute immediately when the estate does not exceed the family allowances and expenses, but it still requires an appointment.

## Can a transfer on death deed cover Montana minerals?

Yes. Montana adopted the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act in 2019, MCA 72-6-401 to 72-6-418, replacing the older beneficiary deed. Property under the act means any interest in real property located in Montana that is transferable at death (72-6-402), with no mineral exclusion, and MSU Extension's guide to the act lists minerals among the real property it covers. Under 72-6-408 the deed must have the formalities of a recordable deed, state that the transfer occurs at the owner's death, and be recorded before death with the clerk and recorder of the county where the property is. A beneficiary remains liable for allowed claims against the estate under 72-6-414.

## Can my Montana mineral rights lapse if nobody uses them?

No. Montana has never passed a dormant mineral act, and MSU Extension's MontGuide on mineral rights says it plainly: mineral ownership never lapses in Montana. That is the opposite of North Dakota next door, where N.D.C.C. 38-18.1 lets a surface owner take a severed interest after 20 years of nonuse. The same Bakken acreage unleased since the 1950s is lost in Williams County and still the heirs' in Richland County. There is no statement of claim to file and no clock to watch. What does happen in Montana is the unlocatable mineral owner trust under MCA 82-1-301 and following: when an owner cannot be found after a diligent search, any other owner of minerals under the tract may petition the district court to declare a trust for the missing owner, with the clerk of court or the Department of Revenue as trustee, authorized to sign a lease, ratification or division order on the court's terms. Bonuses and royalties are paid into the trust, no trustee or attorney fees come out of it, and title does not pass. The heirs claim it by recording a notice of address with the clerk and recorder for $5 under 82-1-306, which creates a presumption that they own the interest, and proving the chain of title. The Department of Revenue publishes the trusts it holds, and we mirror that list on our Montana unlocatable mineral trusts page; trusts held by a county clerk of court are not on it.

## How Montana royalties must be paid, and what late payment costs the operator

MCA 82-10-103: the obligation to pay royalty is of the essence of the lease, and if the operator does not pay within 120 days after the initial production is marketed, and within 60 days for oil and 90 days for gas after that, the unpaid royalty bears interest from the due date at the maximum rate under MCA 31-1-107, which is the greater of 15 percent or 6 points over the Federal Reserve prime rate. The statute does not condition the interest on a written demand. Suit is in the district court of the county where the well is, and the prevailing party recovers costs and attorney fees. Amounts under $50 may be paid semiannually and under $10 annually. The section does not apply where there is a dispute as to title or entitlement to the royalty, so an unprobated estate stops the interest until title is cured. Our [letter generator](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/letter-generator/?type=demand) writes the statutory demand, and the full state table is on [royalty payment laws by state](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/royalty-payment-laws/).

## Where the money goes when the operator cannot find the heirs

Search [Montana Department of Revenue unclaimed property](https://revenue.mt.gov/unclaimed-property/claims) under the decedent's name and every spelling of it. The Department of Revenue, not a treasurer, runs the program under the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act, MCA 70-9-801 and following. The act lists mineral proceeds as property but gives them no period of their own, so the five-year catch-all in 70-9-803 applies, running from when the right to demand the money arose. Search the unlocatable mineral trusts as well, since royalty for an owner the operator could not find goes into a court-created trust rather than straight to unclaimed property, and the Department's list covers only the trusts where it is trustee. Our [unclaimed royalties](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/unclaimed-royalties/) hub covers the search in every state we buy in, and we run it free whether or not you sell.

## Taxes on inherited Montana minerals

No Montana inheritance tax for deaths after January 1, 2001 and no Montana estate tax for deaths after 2004. Inherited minerals take a federal stepped-up basis at date of death. Montana does tax a nonresident on Montana source income, which under MCA 15-30-2101 includes gain on the sale of property located in the state, so an out-of-state heir who sells Montana minerals files a Montana nonresident return. On royalties, MCA 15-30-2538 requires the remitter to withhold the state's top marginal income tax rate from each payment: 6 percent until Senate Bill 53 of 2025 tied it to the top rate, 5.65 percent for 2026, and 5.4 percent from 2027, with no withholding on payments under $166 per period or $2,000 annualized. It is a prepayment, recovered only by filing. The arithmetic is on our [capital gains and depletion page](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/mineral-rights-capital-gains-tax/), and a [date-of-death appraisal](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/mineral-appraisals/) is what documents the basis.

## The Montana traps heirs actually hit

- The withholding. The operator takes the top marginal rate off every Montana royalty check under MCA 15-30-2538, and the only way to get it back is a Montana nonresident return. An heir in another state who never files simply loses it, year after year.
- The pooling election. Under MCA 82-11-202 a refusing owner whose interest is unleased is treated as holding a one eighth landowner royalty until the well pays out, and a nonconsenting owner is charged 200 percent of drilling and completion costs. The election window is 30 days from written notice by certified mail, and the notice goes to the decedent's last address.
- Nothing forces the probate. Because the minerals never lapse, families leave them alone, and a chain with three unprobated deaths is common in the Sweetgrass Arch and Cut Bank counties. The operator will not pay anyone in that chain, the money goes into an unlocatable owner trust or to the Department of Revenue, and the three probates cost the same whether they are done now or in twenty years.

## What to do, in order

- **Gather the paper.** A check stub, a 1099, a division order, or a deed. Any one is enough to start; our [shoebox review](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/shoebox/) inventories a box of it from photographs, free.

- **Confirm what the decedent owned** in the county records of every Montana county involved. Our page on [finding out whether you own mineral rights](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/find-out-if-you-own-mineral-rights/) lists the free searches.

- **Notify every operator** in writing with the death certificate and ask what is in suspense. The [letter generator](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/letter-generator/?type=death) writes it.

- **Pick the title path above** with a Montana attorney. If you are selling to us, we coordinate it and pay for it.

- **Establish the date-of-death value** before anyone sells.

- **Search unclaimed property** in Montana and every other state the decedent owned in.

- **Decide together.** One deed from the estate is cleaner than six from the heirs later; see [settling the estate](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/settle-the-estate/) and [selling your share](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/sell-your-share/). And read [when not to sell](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/when-not-to-sell/) first.

The printable version of that list, with the title path for every state, is our [executor's checklist for mineral rights](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/executor-mineral-checklist/).

### Inherited Montana minerals and not sure what they are?

Send a photo of whatever you have. We will tell you what the family owns, what it pays, whether any money is sitting in suspense or with the state, what the title needs, and what it is worth, in writing and with the reasoning shown. Free, and the answer is the same whether or not you sell.

[Get a Free Valuation](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/free-valuation/) [Text a Check Stub](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/text-your-check/)
Or call or text [918-984-1645](tel:9189841645) and ask for Stephen.

## Questions Montana heirs ask

### Do I need to probate inherited mineral rights in Montana?

Yes. The MCA 72-3-1101 collection affidavit covers personal property only and Montana has no affidavit of heirship statute for real property. An informal probate with a recorded deed of distribution under 72-3-904 is the route, and on a committed purchase we coordinate and pay for it.

### How do I transfer mineral rights in Montana after a death?

Open a probate, usually informal, in the district court of the county where the decedent lived or, for a nonresident, a county where the minerals are, and have the personal representative sign a deed of distribution to the heirs and record it with the clerk and recorder of each county. A personal representative already appointed in another state registers under MCA 72-4-303 and can sign that deed without a second full probate.

### Can I lose inherited Montana mineral rights if I never lease them?

No. Montana has no dormant mineral act, so there is no lapse for nonuse and nothing to file to keep the interest. What you can lose is the money: royalty for an owner the operator cannot find goes into a court-created trust under MCA 82-1-302, and it stays there until an heir records a notice of address and proves title.

### Why is Montana withholding tax taken out of my royalty check?

Because MCA 15-30-2538 requires the remitter to withhold the top marginal income tax rate from net royalty paid to any owner, resident or not, on payments of $166 or more per period. It was a flat 6 percent until 2025 and is 5.65 percent for 2026. It is a prepayment of Montana income tax, and you get it back, or settle up, by filing a Montana return.

## Related

- [Sell Montana mineral rights](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/montana/), the state page, with the counties and formations

- [Inherited mineral rights](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/inherited-mineral-rights/), the general guide, and [how to transfer inherited minerals](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/transfer-inherited-minerals/)

- [The executor's checklist](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/executor-mineral-checklist/) and [settling the estate](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/settle-the-estate/)

- [For attorneys, CPAs, and trust officers](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/professionals/)

- [Who buys mineral rights in Montana](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/who-buys-mineral-rights/montana/)

- [Unclaimed royalties](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/unclaimed-royalties/) and [royalty payment laws by state](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/royalty-payment-laws/)