MT Bar Wills, Trusts & Estates

Question 1

Under Montana's Uniform Probate Code (MCA Title 72), a valid will requires the testator to be at least:

Accepted Answer

18 years old or an emancipated minor

Answer

MCA § 72-2-521 requires the testator to be at least 18 years of age or an emancipated minor and of sound mind to execute a valid will.

Question 2

In Montana, a holographic will is valid if it is:

Accepted Answer

Written entirely in the testator's handwriting and signed, with no witness requirement

Answer

MCA § 72-2-522(2) validates holographic wills that are signed and whose material portions are in the testator's own handwriting, with no witness requirement.

Question 3

Under Montana law, which of the following would cause a gift in a will to lapse?

Accepted Answer

The beneficiary predeceases the testator and no anti-lapse statute applies

Answer

A testamentary gift lapses when the beneficiary predeceases the testator; Montana's anti-lapse statute (MCA § 72-2-605) saves gifts to descendants of the testator's grandparents who predecease the testator.

Question 4

In Montana, a surviving spouse's elective share entitles the spouse to:

Accepted Answer

A supplemental amount based on a percentage of the augmented estate keyed to years of marriage

Answer

Montana adopted the Uniform Probate Code elective share (MCA § 72-2-222), which provides a sliding scale from 3% to 50% of the augmented estate based on the length of the marriage.

Question 5

Under Montana's Uniform Probate Code, intestate property of a decedent who dies leaving a spouse and children (all of the spouse) passes:

Accepted Answer

Entirely to the spouse

Answer

Under MCA § 72-2-212, if the decedent's surviving spouse is the parent of ALL the decedent's children, the spouse inherits the entire intestate estate.

MT Bar - Montana Bar Exam Practice Test

MT Bar - Montana Bar Exam Practice Test

MT Bar Wills, Trusts & Estates