When the judge signs the decree, the marriage is over. The to-do list is not. A decree of dissolution (the term Montana uses for a divorce) says who receives the house, the accounts, and the debts, and it sets the parenting plan and any support. Almost none of that happens by itself. This checklist walks through what is left to do and links to a longer article on each item. It is part of our Montana Divorce Guide.
Start With the Decree Itself
A decree of dissolution is final when it is entered, subject to the right of appeal (MCA § 40-4-108(1)). Our article on the final decree of dissolution explains what the document contains.
Read it, and any separation agreement attached to it, with a pen in hand. Write down every task, who has to do it, and any deadline. Ask the clerk of district court for certified copies. You will likely need them for a lender, a retirement plan, or a name change.
If your settlement terms are set out in the decree, they are enforceable by all remedies available for a judgment, including contempt, and as contract terms (MCA § 40-4-201(5)). That matters later if a task is not done.
The Core Checklist
| Task | Why it matters | Read more |
|---|---|---|
| Record the deed and deal with the mortgage | A deed changes who owns the house. It does not change who owes the lender. | Transferring the house |
| Finish the retirement order | A workplace retirement plan divides an account only after it receives and approves a qualified domestic relations order. | Getting the QDRO done |
| Update your will and beneficiary forms | Montana law revokes some gifts to a former spouse automatically, but not all of them. | Wills and beneficiaries |
| Adjust your taxes | Your filing status follows your marital status on the last day of the year. | Taxes the year you divorce |
| Separate your credit | A creditor can still collect from anyone named on a joint debt, whatever the decree says. | Credit and joint accounts |
| Sort out health insurance | Coverage through a former spouse's employer does not continue on its own terms after the decree. | Health insurance after divorce |
| Restore a former name, if you want to | The court orders it on request. Other agencies then need to be told. | Restoring your name |
| Set up the parenting plan in daily life | Calendars, exchanges, and a way to communicate that both parents will actually use. | Co-parenting after divorce |
Real Estate, Vehicles, and Other Titled Property
If one of you is keeping the house, the other signs a deed, and the deed is recorded with the county clerk and recorder. Montana requires a realty transfer certificate with a recorded deed, although a transfer under a court decree does not have to disclose the price (MCA §§ 15-7-305, 15-7-307(6)).
The loan is a separate problem. A deed does not release anyone from a mortgage. That takes a refinance, an assumption the lender approves, or a release. Transferring the house and refinancing covers both halves. Vehicles, boats, and trailers awarded to one of you need their titles updated as well, and the insurance on each should match the new owner.
Retirement Accounts, Beneficiaries, and Insurance
A workplace retirement plan covered by federal law cannot pay a former spouse a share on the strength of the decree alone. It needs a qualified domestic relations order that the plan has reviewed and accepted (29 U.S.C. § 1056(d)(3)). Montana's public retirement systems use their own document, called a family law order (MCA § 19-2-907). See getting the QDRO done. Waiting on this one carries real risk.
Next, look at every document that names your former spouse: your will, life insurance, retirement accounts, bank accounts with a pay-on-death designation, and powers of attorney. Montana law revokes many of these automatically on divorce (MCA § 72-2-814), but the statute has exceptions, and your decree may require you to keep a former spouse as beneficiary of a policy that secures support. Updating wills and beneficiaries after divorce explains what is and is not automatic.
Health coverage needs attention quickly if you were on your former spouse's plan. Our article on health insurance after divorce covers the options.
Taxes, Credit, and Your Name
For federal income tax, you are unmarried for the whole year if you have a final decree by the last day of the tax year (IRS Publication 504). That changes your filing status and usually your paycheck withholding. Taxes the year you divorce covers filing status, head of household, and who claims the children. A tax professional should review your first return after the divorce.
Joint debts deserve their own afternoon. The decree decides which of you pays a debt, but it does not bind the creditor. Credit and joint accounts after divorce explains how to close or separate accounts and how to watch your credit reports.
If you asked for it, the court restored your former name in the decree (MCA § 40-4-108(5)). The Social Security Administration, your employer, your bank, and the driver licensing office each need to be told. See restoring your name after divorce.
If You Have Children
The parenting plan now governs the schedule and how decisions are made. Put the schedule on a shared calendar and agree on how the two of you will communicate. Co-parenting after divorce covers the practical side and the dispute resolution clause a plan may contain.
Confirm how child support will be paid and keep a record of every payment made or received. If payments stop, read when your ex stops paying before you do anything else, and do not respond by withholding parenting time.
A parent who plans to change residence has to give the other parent written notice, and a move that significantly affects the child's contact with the other parent requires a motion filed with the court (MCA § 40-4-217). Moving after divorce with children explains the steps. If a new relationship is on the horizon, dating and remarriage after divorce covers what it changes and what it does not.
When Circumstances Change
Some parts of a decree can be revisited. A parenting plan can be amended when the child's circumstances change and the amendment serves the child's best interest (MCA § 40-4-219). Child support and maintenance can be modified on the showing that MCA § 40-4-208 requires. The property division is different: it may be changed only with both parties' written consent or on grounds that would justify reopening a judgment (MCA § 40-4-208(3)). Can you change a divorce decree later? sorts out which is which.
Finally, a word on privacy. A dissolution file is a court record, and much of it is open to the public. Keeping divorce records private explains what is sealed by statute and what you can ask the court to protect.
If you are not safe, or a former spouse is threatening you, call 911. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233.
This page explains Montana law in general as of the 2025 Montana Code Annotated. It is not legal advice about your specific case.