A divorce goes to trial when spouses cannot agree on one or more issues and a court has to decide them. In Montana that trial is heard by a judge, not a jury. The judge takes testimony and exhibits, applies the dissolution statutes, and issues written findings and a decree. This page explains what is decided, how the hearing works, and what comes out of it. It is part of our Montana Divorce Guide.
A Bench Trial, Not a Jury Trial
Montana's dissolution statutes hand the decisions to "the court." The court apportions property (MCA § 40-4-202(1)), the court may grant maintenance (MCA § 40-4-203), and the court orders child support (MCA § 40-4-204(1)). For parenting, the statute is explicit: "The court, without a jury, shall determine questions of law and fact" (MCA § 40-4-216(4)).
The person on the bench is a district court judge or, in districts that use them, a standing master to whom the case has been referred. Our guide to standing mastersexplains how a referral works and how to object to a master's findings.
If the court finds that a public hearing may be detrimental to the child's best interest, it may exclude the public from a parenting hearing (MCA § 40-4-216(4)). Parenting plan proceedings also receive priority in being set for hearing (MCA § 40-4-216(1)).
What the Court Has to Decide
A decree of dissolution requires findings on jurisdiction and on the breakdown of the marriage, and it requires that the court has "considered, approved, or made provision for parenting, the support of any child entitled to support, the maintenance of either spouse, and the disposition of property" (MCA § 40-4-104(1)(c)). Each subject has its own standard.
| Issue | Standard the court applies | MCA |
|---|---|---|
| Whether to dissolve the marriage | Domicile or military presence for 90 days before filing, and an irretrievably broken marriage | § 40-4-104(1)(a), (b) |
| Property and debts | Equitable apportionment of property belonging to either or both, without regard to marital misconduct | § 40-4-202(1) |
| Maintenance | Whether the spouse seeking it qualifies, then amount and duration as the court considers just | § 40-4-203 |
| Parenting plan | The best interest of the child, considering all relevant parenting factors | § 40-4-212(1) |
| Child support | The statutory factors and the uniform child support guidelines | § 40-4-204(2), (3) |
Two things are absent from that list. Fault is not tried: property is divided and maintenance and child support are set "without regard to marital misconduct." And the old defenses to divorce, such as condonation and recrimination, are abolished (MCA § 40-4-105(4)). A trial is about money and children, not about who caused the marriage to end.
A trial also need not cover everything. If you have settled property but not parenting, the settled terms go to the court in a separation agreement and only the open issue is tried.
What Has to Happen Before Trial
Several steps come first, and each one narrows what is left to try.
- Final disclosures. Each party serves a final declaration of disclosure and a current income and expense declaration, under penalty of perjury, no later than 45 days before the first assigned trial date (MCA § 40-4-253(1)(a)(ii)). Absent good cause, the court may not enter a judgment on property rights without them (MCA § 40-4-254).
- Consequences for gaps. A party who did not disclose can be barred, on motion, from presenting evidence on issues the declaration should have covered (MCA § 40-4-255(2)(b)).
- Settlement conferences. In the Fourth Judicial District (Missoula and Mineral Counties), no case may be tried unless it has been through a lawyers' resolution conference and a master-supervised settlement conference, unless the court waives the requirement (Local Rule 10(B)). The rule is subject to the abuse exception in MCA § 40-4-301.
- Parenting education. In the same district, a case involving children cannot proceed to final hearing until each party has filed proof of attending the parenting plan orientation program (Local Rule 12(A)).
Our guides to financial disclosure and discovery cover how the evidence is gathered.
Evidence and Witnesses
The Montana Rules of Civil Procedure apply to dissolution proceedings except where the dissolution chapter provides otherwise (MCA § 40-4-103(1)). At trial, "the witnesses' testimony must be taken in open court" unless a statute or rule provides otherwise, and for good cause in compelling circumstances the court may permit testimony by contemporaneous transmission from another location (M. R. Civ. P. 43(a)).
At a traditional trial each spouse may testify, and each side may call other witnesses, offer documents such as account statements, tax returns, and appraisals, and question the other side's witnesses. Where parenting is contested, the court may have ordered an investigation and report on parenting arrangements, prepared by a guardian ad litem or another professional (MCA § 40-4-215(1)). See guardians ad litem and parenting evaluations.
What you may not do is surprise the court with assets or debts that were never disclosed. An asset or liability left off the final declaration is presumed to be grounds for awarding the asset to the other spouse or the liability to the one who omitted it (MCA § 40-4-253(4)).
The Informal Domestic Relations Trial in Missoula
The Fourth Judicial District has adopted an informal process for family law trials, developed, in the words of the rule, "to simplify the process, relax the rules of evidence and reduce the legal complexity of presenting a case for trial" (Local Rule 12(I)). When a case involves a self-represented party, the court will use it, though the parties may opt out and ask for a traditional trial. When both parties have attorneys, the case goes to a traditional trial unless the parties opt in.
The district's agreement form describes the trade-offs. The rules of evidence do not strictly apply, so each side can present any relevant evidence and the judge decides how much weight to give it. The parties do not question each other. The judge asks the questions, and each side may suggest topics. Expert witnesses are allowed, and other witnesses testify only if the judge agrees they are needed. Other districts may handle this differently.
Findings, Conclusions, and the Decree
A judge does not simply announce a winner. In an action tried on the facts without a jury, "the court must find the facts specially and state its conclusions of law separately" (M. R. Civ. P. 52(a)(1)). The findings and conclusions may be stated on the record after the close of the evidence or appear in a written opinion or memorandum of decision. If the court sets child support at an amount different from the guidelines, or orders no support, it must state its reasons (MCA § 40-4-204(3)(b) and (c)).
The decree of dissolution is final when entered, subject to the right of appeal (MCA § 40-4-108(1)). A party may ask the court to amend its findings, or make additional ones, by a motion filed no later than 28 days after entry of judgment (M. R. Civ. P. 52(b)). On appeal, findings of fact are not set aside unless clearly erroneous, with due regard to the trial court's opportunity to judge the witnesses' credibility (M. R. Civ. P. 52(a)(6)). That standard is one reason the trial itself matters so much. See appealing a divorce decree.
This page explains Montana law in general as of the 2025 Montana Code Annotated and the Fourth Judicial District Rules of Practice as revised October 31, 2025. It is not legal advice about your specific case.