Title 70, Title 70

(1) At the time of filing the complaint, the plaintiff shall file with the complaint the plaintiff's affidavit fully and explicitly setting forth and showing: (a) the character of the plaintiff's estate, right, title, interest, or claim in the property; (b) whether or not the pla…

Upon the filing of the complaint and affidavit, a summons must be issued under the seal of the court, which must contain the name of the court and county in which the action is brought, the name of the plaintiff, and the particular description of the real property involved and mu…

(1) The summons shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation published in the county in which the action is brought. The newspaper in which such publication is to be made shall be designated by an order of the court or judge thereof to be signed and filed with the cle…

(1) If the affidavit discloses the name of any person next of kin or relationship to the deceased entryman or entitled to succeed to any part of the property or the name of a person who claims or may claim an interest by mortgage, trust deed, judgment, or other lien, the summons …

Upon the completion of the publication and posting of the summons and its service upon and mailing to the persons, if any, upon whom it is hereby directed to be so specially served, the court shall have full and complete jurisdiction over the plaintiff and the property and of the…

(1) At any time after the issuance of the summons, any party to the action may take depositions therein in conformity to law, upon notice to the adverse party sought to be bound by such depositions and who has appeared in the action, if any, and upon notice filed with the clerk. …

At any time within the first 60 days from the first publication of the summons or within a further time, not exceeding 30 days, that the court may for good cause grant, any person having or claiming any estate, right, title, or interest in or to or lien upon the property or any p…

(1) The plaintiff shall, at the time of filing the complaint, and every defendant to claim or claiming any affirmative relief shall, at the time of filing an answer, record in the office of the county clerk and recorder of the county in which the property is situated a notice of …

No judgment in any such action shall be given by default, but the court must require proof of the facts alleged in the complaint and other pleadings, and the court must further make diligent inquiry of the plaintiff and all defendants appearing concerning the next of kin of said …

(1) The judgment must ascertain and determine the heirship of the deceased entryman and all estates, rights, titles, interests, and claims in and to the property and every part of the property, whether the estates, rights, titles, interests, and claims are legal or equitable, pre…

Whenever judgment in an action hereby authorized shall have been entered as to any real property, no other action relative to the same property or any part thereof maintained under this part shall be tried until proof shall first have been made to the court that all persons who a…

"Entry townsite land" means land upon which an entry was made on or before July 1, 1921, by a probate court of any county in the territory or state of Montana for a townsite and a patent for the townsite was issued by the United States to the probate court or judge under the prov…

A person may petition for a deed to a lot on entry townsite land from the district court of the county in which the entry townsite land is located if: (1) the claimant entered the lot and is in possession of the lot; or (2) the claimant is a successor in interest, by purchase or …

Upon petition by a claimant for a deed to a lot on entry townsite land, the claimant shall provide published notice of the claim, notice filed with the county clerk and recorder, and personal service as may be required for quiet title actions under Title 70, chapter 28, part 1.

If there are no valid conflicting claims to the lot on the entry townsite, the district court judge, as ex officio probate judge of the county, shall issue the claimant a good and sufficient deed for the lot on the entry townsite land upon finding in a hearing that: (1) the petit…

When several cotenants hold and are in possession of real property as joint tenants or tenants in common, in which one or more of them have an estate of inheritance or for life or lives or for years, an action may be brought by one or more of such persons for a partition thereof,…

(1) An action for the partition of real property may not be brought by a minor, except by the written authority of the district judge of the county in which the property or a part of the property is situated. The authority may not be given unless the district judge is satisfied, …

The interests of all the persons in the property, whether such persons be known or unknown, must be set forth in the complaint specifically and particularly, as far as known to the plaintiff; and if one or more of the parties or the share or quantity of interest of any of the par…

(1) The following must be parties to an action for partition: (a) every person having an undivided share, in possession or otherwise, in the property as tenant in fee, for life, or for years; (b) every person entitled to the reversion, remainder, or inheritance of an undivided sh…

(1) The plaintiff may make a tenant in dower, for life or for years, of the entire property or a creditor or other person having a lien or interest that attaches to the entire property a defendant in the action. In that case the final judgment may either award to a party the part…

No person having a conveyance of or claiming a lien on the property or some part of it need be made a party to the action unless such conveyance or lien appear of record.

If it appears to the court, by the certificate of the clerk of the court and county clerk and recorder or by the sworn or verified statement of any person who may have examined or searched the records, that there are outstanding liens or encumbrances of record upon such real prop…

(1) The plaintiff shall cause a notice to be served a reasonable time prior to the day for appearance before the referee appointed, as provided in 70-29-107, on each person having outstanding liens of record who is not a party to the action to appear before the referee at a speci…

(1) Immediately after filing the complaint in the district court, the plaintiff must file in the office of the county clerk and recorder of the county or of the several counties in which the property is situated a notice of the pendency of the action containing: (a) the names of …

The summons must be directed to all the joint tenants and tenants in common and all persons having an interest in or any liens of record by mortgage, judgment, or otherwise upon the property or upon any particular portion thereof and generally to all persons unknown who have or c…

(1) If a party having a share or interest is unknown or any one of the known parties resides out of the state or cannot be found therein and such fact is made to appear by affidavit, the summons may be served on such absent or unknown party by publication, as in other cases. (2) …

The defendants who have been personally served with the summons and a copy of the complaint or who have appeared without such service must set forth in their answers, fully and particularly, the origin, nature, and extent of their respective interests in the property, and if such…

(1) If during the pendency of the action a party dies, is committed pursuant to 53-21-127, or otherwise becomes incompetent, the proceedings may not for that cause be delayed or suspended, but the attorney who has appeared for the party may continue to represent the party's inter…

The right of the several parties, plaintiff as well as defendant, may be put in issue, tried, and determined in the partition action. The title or interest of the plaintiff in the property, as stated in the complaint, may be controverted by the answer. The title or interest of an…

(1) If it be alleged in the complaint and established by evidence or if it appear by the evidence without such allegation in the complaint to the satisfaction of the court that the property or any part is so situated that the partition cannot be made without great prejudice to th…

When a sale of the premises is necessary, the title must be ascertained by proof to the satisfaction of the court before the judgment of sale can be made, and where service of the summons has been made by publication, like proof must be required of the right of the absent or unkn…

Whenever from any cause it is in the opinion of the court impracticable or highly inconvenient to make a complete partition in the first instance among all the parties in interest, the court may first ascertain and determine the shares or interests respectively held by the origin…

(1) In making partition, the referees must divide the property and allot the several portions thereof to the respective parties, quality and quantity relatively considered, according to the respective rights of the parties as determined by the court, pursuant to the provisions of…

When the site of an incorporated city or town is included within the exterior boundaries of the property to be partitioned, on said fact being established by evidence, the following proceedings shall be had: (1) The court shall thereupon direct the referees to survey and appraise…

In all cases the court shall direct the referees, in making partition of land, to allot the share of each of the parties owning an interest in the whole or in any part of the premises sought to be partitioned and to locate the share of each cotenant so as to embrace as far as pra…

Whenever it appears in an action for the partition of lands that one or more of the tenants in common, being the owner of an undivided interest in the tract of land sought to be partitioned, has sold to another person a specific tract by metes and bounds out of the common land an…

(1) When it appears that a partition cannot be made equal between the parties according to their respective rights without prejudice to the rights and interests of some of them and a partition is ordered, the court may adjudge compensation to be made by one party to another on ac…

The general guardian of a minor and the guardian entitled to the custody and management of the estate of a person committed pursuant to 53-21-127 or other person adjudged incapable of conducting the person's own affairs, who is interested in real estate held in joint tenancy or i…

The referees must make a report of their proceedings, specifying therein the manner in which they executed their trust and describing the property divided and the shares allotted to each party with a particular description of each share.

(1) The court may confirm, change, modify, or set aside the report and if necessary appoint new referees. (2) Upon the report being confirmed, judgment must be rendered that the partition is effectual forever. The judgment is binding and conclusive on all: (a) persons named as pa…

The judgment does not affect tenants for years, less than 10, to the whole of the property which is the subject of the partition.

When a part of the property only is ordered to be sold, if there be an estate for life or years in an undivided share of the whole property, such estate may be set off in any part of the property not ordered to be sold.

When a lien is on an undivided interest or estate of any of the parties, such lien, if a partition be made, shall thenceforth be a charge only on the share assigned to such party, but such share must be first charged with its just proportion of the costs of the partition in prefe…

(1) If it appears to the court that it was necessary to have made an abstract of the title to the property to be partitioned and the abstract has been procured by the plaintiff or if the plaintiff has failed to have the abstract made before the commencement of the action and any …

The abstract mentioned in 70-29-216 may be made by any competent searcher of records and need not be certified by the county clerk and recorder or other officer, but instead of certification it must be verified by the affidavit of the person making it to the effect that the perso…

The costs of partition, including reasonable counsel fees, expended by the plaintiff or either of the defendants for the common benefit, fees of referees, or other disbursements must be paid by the parties respectively entitled to share in the lands divided, in proportion to thei…