Montana Code Annotated 2023

TITLE 72. ESTATES, TRUSTS, AND FIDUCIARY RELATIONSHIPS

CHAPTER 38. MONTANA UNIFORM TRUST CODE

Part 3. Representation

Representation By Fiduciaries And Parents

72-38-303. Representation by fiduciaries and parents. To the extent there is no conflict of interest between the representative and the person represented or among those being represented with respect to a particular question or dispute:

(1) a conservator may represent and bind the estate that the conservator controls;

(2) a guardian may represent and bind the ward if a conservator of the ward's estate has not been appointed;

(3) an agent having authority to act with respect to the particular question or dispute may represent and bind the principal;

(4) a trustee may represent and bind the beneficiaries of the trust;

(5) a personal representative of a decedent's estate may represent and bind persons interested in the estate; and

(6) a parent may represent and bind the parent's minor or unborn child if a conservator or guardian for the child has not been appointed. The parent entitled to represent and bind the child is determined in the following order of priority:

(a) the parent who is a lineal descendant of a settlor;

(b) the parent who is a beneficiary of the trust that is the subject of the representation;

(c) the parent with legal custody of the child; and

(d) if one parent cannot be determined pursuant to the preceding criteria and if a disagreement arises between the parents seeking to represent the same child, a guardian ad litem must be appointed to represent the minor child.

History: En. Sec. 47, Ch. 264, L. 2013.