Montana Dissolution of Marriage: How to File Step by Step

Montana doesn't call it divorce. The legal term is "dissolution of marriage," and the entire process runs through your county's District Court under Title 40, Chapter 4 of the Montana Code Annotated. About three out of every five family law cases in Montana are filed without a lawyer, so you're far from alone if you're considering the pro se route.

Here's what the process actually looks like from start to finish.

Meet the Residency Requirement First

Before anything else, you need at least 90 consecutive days of domicile in Montana under MCA § 40-4-104. Either you or your spouse must meet this threshold — there are no exceptions for shorter stays. Military members stationed in Montana also qualify.

If you have minor children, a separate rule applies: the children must have lived in Montana for at least six consecutive months for the court to issue custody and parenting orders under the UCCJEA (MCA § 40-4-211). Without that six-month residency, you can still file for the dissolution itself, but the court can't rule on custody or child support.

Assemble Your Filing Packet

Montana uses a standardized "MP" form system. Your initial packet depends on whether you have children:

Without children: MP-112 (Petition for Dissolution), MP-400 (Summons and AERO), MP-500 (Proposed Property Distribution), and MP-510 (Preliminary Income and Expense Disclosure).

With children: Swap MP-112 for MP-113, and add the MP-300 Parenting Plan series plus child support worksheets.

One critical detail: the MP-510 financial disclosure gets served on your spouse but is never filed with the court clerk. It stays out of the public record to protect privacy.

Choose Your Filing Path

Montana offers four procedural tracks, and the one that applies to you determines your timeline and cost:

Joint Petition (Co-Petitioners): If you and your spouse agree on everything, file together using MP-115 (no children) or MP-116 (with children). This completely bypasses formal service of process, saving you time and money. Most cooperative couples can finalize in 30 to 90 days.

Individual Petition: You file alone and must formally serve your spouse. The respondent then has 21 days to file a response (MP-201). If they don't respond, you can pursue a default judgment.

Mediated Path: When you can't agree but want to avoid trial, a mediator helps resolve disputes. The Montana Family Transition Project offers up to 15 hours of free mediation for qualifying families.

Contested Path: If your spouse disputes property division, custody, or support, the case goes to a bench trial before a District Court judge. Montana doesn't allow jury trials in family law cases.

File with the Clerk and Pay the Fees

Take your completed packet to the Clerk of District Court in your filing county. The standard fees total approximately $200: a $170 petition fee, a $20 civil fee, and a $10 technology fee.

If you can't afford the fees, file a Statement of Inability to Pay before submitting your petition. A judge must approve the waiver before the clerk will assign your case number.

What Happens After Filing

Once your case is filed, the Automatic Economic Restraining Order (AERO) takes effect immediately. Under MCA § 40-4-126, neither spouse can sell, transfer, or hide assets, change insurance beneficiaries, or take on unreasonable debt while the case is pending.

If you filed individually, your next step is serving your spouse. After service, the 21-day response window begins. Once that period passes — whether through a response, default, or agreement — you move toward finalization.

For cases without disputes, you can request entry of the decree without a hearing by filing a Joint Affidavit. The judge reviews the paperwork and signs the decree administratively. The $50 judgment fee applies at this stage.

The Montana Divorce Filing Process Guide walks through each step with worksheets, a pre-filing inspection checklist, and a service-of-process tracker so nothing falls through the cracks.

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