Butte Estate Planning Lawyer

Are you looking for an estate planning lawyer in Butte, MT?

At Montana Elder Law, Inc., we provide estate planning representation grounded in 14 years of work on behalf of clients in Butte and across Montana.

If you want to decide who inherits your property and who manages your affairs during a period of incapacity, a Butte, MT estate planning lawyer can put those instructions in writing. Without written instructions, Montana law and a district court judge make those decisions for you. A plan takes that outcome off the table.

Montana Elder Law, Inc. was founded in 2012 by Steve Darty to practice estate planning and elder law on a flat-fee basis. Our attorneys have drafted plans for Montana families in the 14 years since. Request a consultation to get started.

Estate Planning Lawyer Butte, MT

An estate planning attorney in Butte drafts the documents that control your property during your lifetime, at incapacity, and after death. Wills and trusts cover what happens after death, while powers of attorney and healthcare directives operate while you are alive. Drafting is only part of the job, though. The attorney also reviews how each asset is titled, because a document and the account it governs have to match before the plan can work as intended.

The alternative to planning is a court proceeding, and Silver Bow County sees a steady volume of them. In 2024, the Butte-Silver Bow County District Court recorded 137 probate cases and 32 guardianship or conservatorship cases as new or reopened matters. Each of those files represents a family in court because someone died or lost capacity. A current plan keeps many of those matters out of the courthouse, and it also keeps the decisions in your hands. When a person dies without a will, Montana’s intestacy rules decide who inherits, regardless of what that person would have chosen.

Types of Estate Planning Cases We Handle in Butte

Our estate planning lawyers in Butte prepare individual documents and complete plans. Most clients need several of the items below, drafted so that they work together, and we also handle the court side when no plan is made.

• Wills. A will names the person who settles your estate and directs who receives your property. It can also nominate a guardian for minor children. Many clients hold both a will and a trust, and the choice between wills and trusts depends on what you own and how you want it passed.
• Revocable living trusts. A revocable trust holds title to your assets during your lifetime and passes them to your beneficiaries without a probate case. The document only governs assets that were actually retitled into it, which is why funding the trust is where many plans fall short.
• Irrevocable trusts. An irrevocable trust removes assets from your ownership for a specific purpose, such as protecting a home from long-term care costs. Because that transfer cannot be undone, we explain the trade-off in control before you sign anything.
• Powers of attorney. A durable power of attorney names an agent to handle your finances if you cannot. Without one, your family must ask a court for that authority.
• Healthcare directives. A healthcare directive records the treatment you want or refuse and names the person who speaks for you with doctors. Our attorneys prepare advance directives that meet Montana’s signing requirements.
• Beneficiary designations and transfer-on-death tools. Retirement accounts, life insurance, and transfer-on-death deeds pass outside the will entirely. We review each designation so it matches the rest of the plan rather than contradicting it.
• Probate. When a Butte resident dies with or without a will, we represent personal representatives and heirs in the Silver Bow County probate process. We also advise families on whether a small estate procedure applies instead.
• Plan reviews and updates. A plan written years ago may no longer match your family or your assets. We review existing plans after a marriage, a death, or a move to Montana.

Why Choose Montana Elder Law, Inc. as my Estate Planning Lawyer in Butte, MT?

Our firm was built around one kind of client and one kind of advice: Montana families who want plain answers and a price they know before the first document is drafted. Two things make that possible, the training behind the advice and the way we charge for it.

Credentials Behind the Plan

Steve Darty founded Montana Elder Law, Inc. in 2012 after earning his law degree at the University of Montana. He later completed an LL.M. in Elder Law through Stetson University, a graduate program devoted to the legal issues of aging. That training shapes how our plans account for long-term care and incapacity. He belongs to the State Bar of Montana’s Trust and Estates Section, the Western Montana Estate Planning Council, and WealthCounsel. Stefan Kolis, our managing attorney, joined in 2017 and focuses on estate planning, probate, and special needs trusts. Both attorneys handle estate planning matters for clients in Butte, MT.

Flat Fees and a Measured Track Record

Most of our estate planning is priced on a flat fee, quoted before any drafting begins. Clients know the cost at the start and are not billed by the hour for questions along the way, which means a question about a beneficiary designation gets asked instead of avoided. That approach has held since 2012, during which our attorneys have prepared wills, trusts, and incapacity documents for families across Montana. Estate planning results are measured by plans that hold up at the moment they are needed, and that is the standard our Butte, MT estate planning attorneys draft to.

Understanding Estate Planning Cases

Key Estate Planning Documents and What They Do

A Montana estate plan is a set of documents, and each one has a defined role. These are the documents that appear in most of the plans we prepare, listed in the order they usually become essential.

• Durable power of attorney. This document authorizes an agent to manage your finances during incapacity.
• Healthcare power of attorney and living will. These documents name a medical decision-maker and record your treatment preferences.
• Revocable living trust. A revocable trust holds assets during life and distributes them at death without court supervision.
• Last will and testament. A will directs the distribution of probate assets and names a personal representative.
• Beneficiary designations. The designation on file controls a retirement account or life insurance policy regardless of what the will says.
• Transfer-on-death deed. This deed passes Montana real property to a named beneficiary at death without probate.

What Are Important Aspects of an Estate Planning Case?

The quality of a plan depends less on the number of documents and more on whether they fit together and reflect current facts. Several factors shape the plans our estate planning attorneys in Butte prepare, and asset titling comes first.

Titling decides which document actually controls an asset. A trust that was never funded controls nothing, and a deed still held in one spouse’s name after that spouse dies has to pass through probate. Once the assets are accounted for, family structure shapes the provisions. Blended families, a child with a disability, or an heir who struggles with money each call for different terms.

Capacity planning carries real weight in Montana as well. Without a durable power of attorney, a family must petition the district court for authority. That conservatorship proceeding involves court costs and public filings that a signed document avoids. Long-term care exposure is the related question. A client who may need nursing home care within a few years sometimes needs an irrevocable trust rather than a revocable one, and that decision has to be made while the client still has the capacity to sign.

What Is The Estate Planning Case Timeline?

A plan with no complications is usually complete within a few weeks of the first meeting. The steps below reflect a typical matter with an estate planning lawyer in Butte, MT.

• The initial consultation covers your assets, your family, and your goals.
• Based on that meeting, we recommend a set of documents and quote the flat fee.
• Our attorneys then draft the documents and send them to you for review.
• You read every document, ask your questions, and sign with the witnesses and notary Montana requires.
• After signing, we fund the trust and record any deeds. Beneficiary forms get updated at the same time.

What Should You Bring to Your Estate Planning Consultation?

The consultation at the start of that timeline goes further when you arrive with the right material. Bringing the items below lets our Butte estate planning lawyers give specific advice at the first meeting rather than the second one.

• Bring a list of your assets, including real property, accounts, and life insurance, with rough values.
• Bring any existing will, trust, or power of attorney, even if it is out of date.
• Bring the names and contact information for the people you want as beneficiaries and decision-makers.
• Bring recent statements for retirement accounts and life insurance policies that show the current beneficiaries.

With those materials in hand, the first meeting is a working session. You leave with a recommended plan, a flat-fee quote, and a timeline for signing.

Silver Bow County Probate Court and Local Resources

Estate matters for Butte residents are filed in the Second Judicial District Court at the Silver Bow County Courthouse. The resources below are useful before a plan is signed and after it takes effect.

• The Clerk of District Court for Butte-Silver Bow County maintains the records for estates, guardianships, and conservatorships.
• The Montana End-of-Life Registry, run by the Montana Department of Justice, stores advanced healthcare directives so hospitals and physicians can retrieve them. Filing is free.
• Southwest Montana Aging and Disability Services, the Area V Agency on Aging based in Butte, offers options counseling and long-term care ombudsman services to Silver Bow County residents.

Reach Out to Montana Elder Law, Inc. to Schedule a Consultation

An estate plan only works once it is signed, so the useful next step is a consultation. Our Butte, MT estate planning attorneys serve clients throughout Montana on a flat-fee basis. The consultation covers your assets, your goals, and the documents we recommend. We respond to new inquiries promptly and will set a meeting time that fits your schedule. Contact us to schedule a consultation and receive a quote for your plan.