Montana Divorce

A Montana divorce, or dissolution of marriage, can be filed by either spouse to end the marital relationship. Upon completion of a Montana divorce, the parties are restored back to single status. The court will also issue any necessary orders for child support and custody, alimony (spousal support) and the division of community and separate assets and debts. LegalZoom can assist you in the document preparation and filing for your uncontested Montana divorce without the expense of an attorney.

Types of Divorce in Montana

Uncontested Divorce in Montana

If both spouses, by petition or otherwise, have stated under oath or affirmation that the marriage is irretrievably broken (or one of the parties has so stated and the other has not denied it), the court, after its hearing, will make a finding as to whether the marriage is irretrievably broken before granting a divorce in Montana

Summary Dissolution

A marriage may be dissolved by the summary dissolution procedure if all of the following conditions exist on the date the proceeding is commenced:

1. Each party has met the requirements for dissolution of marriage.
2. Irreconcilable differences have caused the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage, and both parties agree that the marriage should be dissolved.
3. The wife is not pregnant and:
1. There are no children from the relationship born before or during the marriage or adopted by the parties during the marriage; or
2. The parties have executed an agreed-upon parenting plan and the child support and medical support have been determined by judicial or administrative order for all children from the relationship born before or during the marriage or adopted by the parties during the marriage.
4. Neither party has any interest in real property (except for leases that do not include an option to purchase and terminate within one year from the date of the filing of the petition).
5. There are no unpaid, unsecured obligations in excess of $8,000 incurred by either or both of the parties after the date of their marriage.
6. The total fair market value of assets, excluding secured obligations, is less than $25,000.
7. The parties have executed an agreement setting forth the division of assets and the assumption of liabilities and have executed any documents, title certificates, bills of sale, or other evidence of transfer necessary to effectuate the agreement.
8. The parties waive any right to maintenance.
9. The parties, upon entry of final judgment of dissolution of marriage, irrevocably waive their respective rights to appeal the terms of the dissolution and their rights to move for a new trial on the dissolution.
10. The parties have read and state that they understand the contents of the summary dissolution brochure provided by the court.
11. The parties desire that the court dissolve the marriage.

Settlement Agreements

To promote amicable settlement of disputes between parties upon their separation or divorce in Montana, the parties may enter into a written separation agreement containing provisions for disposition of any property owned by either of them, maintenance of either of them, and support, parenting, and parental contact with their children. In cases in which children are involved, the separation agreement may contain a parenting plan as required.

Unless the court decides otherwise, the terms of the separation agreement (except those providing for the support, parenting, and parental contact with children), are binding upon the court unless it finds that the agreement is unconscionable after considering the economic circumstances of the parties and any other relevant evidence produced by the parties, on their own motion or on request of the court.

Alternatives to Divorce

A legal separation is when the parties live separately but remain legally married to one another. The ground for legal separation in Montana is irretrievable breakdown of the marriage.

An annulment is sought in order to nullify the marriage and disavow its existence, returning the parties to their prior single status, as if they never married. The person seeking the annulment has the burden of proving to the court that one of the conditions of nullity has been met in order to have the annulment approved. Annulments are most often sought by people who feel stigmatized by the status of being divorced, or for ease of remarriage in their particular religion. The court will declare the marriage invalid under the following circumstances:

1.     A party lacked capacity to consent to the marriage at the time that the marriage was entered into, either because of mental incapacity or infirmity or because of the influence of alcohol, drugs, or other incapacitating substances, or a party was induced to enter into a marriage by force or duress or by fraud involving the essentials of marriage;

2.     A party lacks the physical capacity to consummate the marriage by sexual intercourse, and at the time that the marriage was entered into, the other party did not know of the incapacity;

3.     A party was under 16 years of age or was 16 or 17 years of age and did not have the consent of the party's parents or guardian or judicial approval; or

4.     The marriage is prohibited.