Montana · TitleMontana old mortgages: good for 8 years after maturity, unless a renewal affidavit is filed

Montana limits how long a recorded mortgage stays effective. A mortgage of real property made, acknowledged and recorded as Montana law provides is good against all from the time it is recorded until eight years after the maturity of the entire debt or obligation it secures, and no longer (MCA 71-1-210). The mortgagee, or its heirs, representatives or assigns, can extend it only by filing, within sixty days after the eight years expire, an affidavit in the office of the county clerk where the mortgage is recorded, stating the date of the mortgage, when and where it was recorded, the amount of the secured debt and the amount still unpaid, and that the renewal is not made to hinder, delay or defraud the mortgagor's or owner's creditors (MCA 71-1-210). When the affidavit is filed, the mortgage is valid against all persons for an additional eight years (MCA 71-1-210). For an old open mortgage on a Montana title, the maturity date and any recorded renewal affidavit decide whether it still binds the property.