What you need
Have the inventory or the last accounting, and every bank statement for the period. The form asks only for totals by category. It does not ask you to attach receipts or statements.
The period starts on the day you were appointed, or the day the last accounting ended. It runs 12 months.
The example follows Rudolph Engstrom, an invented ward whose conservator was appointed 06/12/2024. This is the second accounting, covering 06/12/2025 to 06/12/2026. It was due 07/12/2026.
Standard or small estate
The small-estate form (opens in a new tab) is for a person whose only assets are cash, checking and savings of $50,000 or less. Nothing else they own may be worth more than $2,000. Everyone else uses the Standard Form.
Rudolph sold a $6,500.00 truck during the year. The small-estate form has no line for a sale, so his conservator uses the Standard Form.
A − B = C, and D − E = F
Section 6 makes two subtractions. Income less expenses gives C. Assets less debts gives F, the net asset value.
| A. Income (Section 2 total) | $24,790.41 |
|---|---|
| B. Expenses (Section 3 total) | 23,774.22 |
| C. Income less expenses | $1,016.19 |
| D. Assets (Section 4 sum total) | 32,231.06 |
| E. Debts (Section 5 sum total) | 0.00 |
| F. Net asset value | $32,231.06 |
Where the figures came from
| Social Security, $1,487.00 × 12 | $17,844.00 |
|---|---|
| Pension, $512.50 × 12 | 6,150.00 |
| Interest paid into a bank account | 96.41 |
| Realized gain on sale of asset | 700.00 |
| Income | $24,790.41 |
| Assisted living, $1,550.00 × 12 | 18,600.00 |
|---|---|
| Medical insurance, $185.00 × 12 | 2,220.00 |
| Medications not paid by insurance | 684.22 |
| Personal spending allowance, $60.00 × 12 | 720.00 |
| Fees paid to conservator | 1,200.00 |
| Accounting fees | 350.00 |
| Expenses | $23,774.22 |
| Checking | 3,434.65 |
|---|---|
| Savings | 28,796.41 |
| Sum total | $32,231.06 |
The sale
Rudolph’s 2011 pickup was on the last accounting at $6,500.00. His conservator sold it for $7,200.00 and deposited the check in savings. Only the $700.00 gain goes in Section 2. The rest is the same value, moved from the truck to the bank.
The form does not say what the gain is measured from. Measuring it from the value on the last accounting is what lets the year tie out.
A check the form leaves to you
The form never ties last year to this year, so check it yourself. Last year’s F plus this year’s C should equal this year’s F.
Rudolph’s last accounting ended at $31,214.87: checking $3,214.87, savings $21,500.00 and the truck. Add C of $1,016.19 and you reach $32,231.06. A gap means a missed deposit or payment, or a value that changed, such as a house reappraised.
After you file
The judge, or a standing master, reviews the accounting. The court may order a physical check of the estate with any account. MCA 72-5-438(3) (opens in a new tab)
The clerk’s fee statute lists no fee for filing an inventory or accounting. MCA 25-1-201 (opens in a new tab)
The final accounting
There is no separate final form. File the same accounting, tick “Yes” for final, and attach the court order if you have it. The forms set it within 30 days of your resignation, removal or the end of the appointment.
An order allowing the final account after notice and hearing settles your remaining liability to the protected person. MCA 72-5-438(2) (opens in a new tab)
If the protected person dies, deliver any will to the court and hold the estate for the personal representative. If none is appointed within 40 days and no petition is pending, you may ask for a personal representative’s powers. MCA 72-5-429(3) (opens in a new tab)
Common mistakes
Sale proceeds counted as income
What was sold is already in last year’s assets, so only the gain or loss goes in Section 2. Proceeds from an item that was never listed go on “Sale of Personal Property Not Listed On Inventory”.
Last year’s values in Section 4
Accounts are valued on the last day of the period. Real estate, vehicles and other property go in at current market value.
Small payments listed one by one
Each expense line takes the period’s total. Only “Other Expenses” asks for items, and only those over $500.00.
No certificate of service
Copies go to the person, their attorney and anyone the court names. The certificate at the end records who got one and how.
A full guardian also files a separate yearly report on the ward’s care, unless the court waives it. MCA 72-5-321(2)(e) (opens in a new tab)
Sources
- Annual Accounting (Standard Form) (opens in a new tab), Montana Judicial Branch
- Annual Accounting for Small Estates ($50,000) (opens in a new tab), Montana Judicial Branch
- Guardianship and conservatorship forms (opens in a new tab), Montana Judicial Branch
- MCA 72-5-438 (opens in a new tab), when a conservator accounts
- MCA 72-5-321 (opens in a new tab), a guardian’s yearly report
- Montana Courts E-Filing (opens in a new tab), who may e-file
Also for Montana: MT Inventory, Inventory
We make Fidura, guardianship accounting software built on a reconciled register for each ward. See the product
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