Great Falls Estate Planning Lawyer

At Montana Elder Law, we are trusted estate planning lawyers serving clients across Great Falls and the surrounding area.

If you’re planning your estate or settling a loved one’s affairs in Great Falls, you’re likely facing paperwork, family questions, and decisions about your legacy. Our Great Falls, MT estate planning lawyer has helped Montana families organize their affairs since 2012, with 14 years of focused work in wills, trusts, and probate. We handle most of these matters at flat rate prices, so you know the cost before anything begins. When you’re ready to put a plan in place, give us a call to schedule your consultation.

Estate Planning Lawyer Great Falls, MT

Our Great Falls estate planning lawyer helps you decide what happens to your property, document your health care choices, and name the people who depend on you if you become incapacitated or pass away. The work is part legal, part personal. Our attorney listens first, then drafts documents that hold up and match what you actually want.

In Great Falls, that usually means building a plan around a will or trust, naming people you want to act for you, and keeping your family out of avoidable court proceedings. We’ve drafted these plans for Montanans in many situations, including single parents, ranch owners, blended families, and retirees with property in more than one state.

Types of Estate Planning Cases We Handle in Great Falls

Estate planning covers more than a single document. Depending on what you own and who depends on you, we build plans from several tools that work together. These are the matters our Great Falls estate planning attorneys handle the most:

• Wills. A will directs who inherits your property and names guardians for any minor children. It’s the document most plans are built around. The rules for drafting a will in Montana are specific, and small mistakes can create real problems for the people you leave behind.
• Elder law. Estate planning often overlaps with the aging and long-term care issues that come with it. We help older clients and their families address these matters alongside their wills, trusts, and directives, so the whole plan works together.
• Trusts. A revocable living trust lets your estate skip probate and stay private. Irrevocable trusts do more, including shielding certain assets from long-term care costs. We explain the trade-offs in plain terms before you commit to either one, and we match the tool to your goals rather than the other way around.
• Powers of attorney. These name someone to handle your finances or medical decisions if you can’t. Without one in place, your family may need a court order just to act on your behalf. We draft both the financial and health care versions.
• Advance directives. Also called living wills, these record your wishes for end-of-life medical care. They speak for you when you can’t speak for yourself. We make sure your instructions are clear and legally sound.
• Probate and estate administration. When someone dies, their estate often has to pass through court before assets reach the heirs. We guide executors and families through the probate process and handle the filings that come with it. Good preparation shortens the timeline and lowers the stress.
• Guardianship. When an adult can no longer make decisions and has no power of attorney in place, a court may need to appoint a guardian. We help families petition for guardianship and meet the ongoing reporting duties that follow.
• Special needs planning. A special needs trust lets you provide for a loved one with a disability without risking their access to public benefits. The rules are unforgiving, so the drafting matters. We build these plans with the whole family in mind.
• Medicaid planning and asset protection. Long-term care can drain a lifetime of savings quickly. By planning ahead of a health crisis, we help protect your home and savings while working toward Medicaid eligibility. These asset protection strategies work best when you start early.

Why Choose Montana Elder Law as My Estate Planning Lawyer in Great Falls, MT?

Montana Attorneys Who Focus on Estate Planning

Our founder, Steve Darty, opened Montana Elder Law in 2012 to build a practice centered on clear advice and flat-fee service. He earned his law degree at the University of Montana and holds an elder law LL.M. from Stetson University. He has spent more than a decade helping Montana families protect their assets and plan for long-term care. Stefan Kolis, our managing attorney, joined in 2017 after starting his legal career through AmeriCorps. His work centers on estate planning, probate, and special needs trusts.

Flat Fees and a Clear Track Record

We price our estate planning work as flat fees. You’ll know what a will, a trust, or a full plan costs before we start, with no hourly surprises along the way. Fourteen years in, we’ve helped Montana families across a wide range of situations, and our client reviews reflect that history. Our Great Falls estate planning attorneys are here to provide personalized legal assistance.

Understanding Estate Planning Cases

Key Estate Planning Documents and What They Do

People often ask about wills and trusts and how the two differ. Most plans rest on a handful of core documents, and each one does a specific job. Knowing what they do helps you understand why our Great Falls estate planning lawyers recommend certain tools for your situation.

• A will directs who inherits your property and names guardians for any minor children. It takes effect after death and passes through probate.
• A revocable living trust holds your assets during life and passes them to your beneficiaries without probate. You keep control and can change it at any time.
• A power of attorney lets someone you trust manage your finances or make medical decisions if you become unable to do so yourself.
• An advance directive records your wishes about life-sustaining treatment, so your family isn’t left guessing during a hard moment.

Not everyone needs all of these, and part of our Great Falls estate planning lawyer’s job is telling you what you actually need and what you can skip. A plan with fewer, well-drafted documents beats a thick binder that nobody funds or updates.

What Are Important Aspects of an Estate Planning Case?

A plan is only as good as the details behind it. Two plans that look alike on paper can work very differently when the time comes. A few things matter more than most people realize when working with our Great Falls estate planning attorney:

• Whether your trust is funded, meaning your assets have actually been retitled into it.
• Whether your beneficiary designations on accounts and policies match the rest of your plan.
• Whether the people you named to act for you are still the right choices.
• Whether your documents meet current Montana requirements.

We check these details at the start, and we revisit them whenever your life changes. Marriage, divorce, a new child, a move, or a sale of property can all dictate what your plan should cover.

What Is the Estate Planning Case Timeline?

Most planning moves faster than people expect. A typical engagement follows a few clear steps:

• An initial consultation to review your assets, your family, and your goals.
• Drafting your documents and sending them to you for review.
• A round of questions and revisions until everything reads the way it should.
• A signing meeting where your documents are executed and notarized.
• Funding your trust and storing your original documents safely.

Straightforward plans often come together in a few weeks. Larger estates, business interests, or blended families can take longer, and that is normal.

What Should You Bring to Your Estate Planning Consultation?

A little preparation makes the first meeting more useful with our Great Falls estate planning lawyer. Bring what you have, and we’ll sort out the rest together.

• A rough list of what you own, including real estate, accounts, and any business interests.
• The names of people you would consider as executor, trustee, or guardian.
• Any will, trust, or power of attorney you already have.
• The questions and worries that brought you in.

Expect the first meeting with our Great Falls estate planning attorneys to be a conversation. We’ll lay out your options and quote a flat fee before you commit to anything.

What Are Important Montana Legal Resources for Estate Planning Cases?

You don’t have to rely on us alone as Montana offers public resources if you want to read more or handle a simple matter on your own. These are places to find laws and forms, not a substitute for advice on your own situation.

• The Montana Judicial Branch publishes estate planning and probate forms with plain-language overviews of each document.
• The state’s estate and probate statutes sit under Title 72 of the Montana Code Annotated.
• The Montana State Law Library offers guides, sample forms, and a probate questionnaire for self-represented residents.
• Montana’s DPHHS aging program provides free estate planning help for residents who are 60 and older.

Reach Out to Montana Elder Law to Schedule a Consultation

Putting an estate plan in place is one of the more considerate things you can do for the people you love. When you’re ready, contact us to set up a consultation with our Great Falls estate planning lawyer. We’ll review your situation, explain your options, and quote a flat fee before any work begins. We answer inquiries promptly and will find a time that fits your schedule.