If your principle residence is in Montana and you haven’t already filed a Homestead Declaration, you should do so. It’s a one page document that you can fill out in 5 minutes, get notorized, and file with the county clerk & recorder for about $10. It will protect the first $250,000 of equity in your home from creditors. Mortgages and construction leins on the home are not covered by the exemption as well as Medicaid leins placed pursuant to the Montana Estate and Recovery Program.
The Homestead Declaration form can be filled out online and printed for signatures & notarizing here. A Homestead Declaration can be undone by filing a Declaration of Abandonment. (For instance, if you sold one home and bought another.)
Sometimes a foreclosure can be avoided if you’ve just got a little more time to come up with past due payments or to get the property sold. I came across an interesting tip the other day that I thought I’d pass on. If you demand in writing, that the holder of the note produce the original mortgage document, they are required by law to produce it before they can take your property. Mortgages are typically bundled and sold to other financial institutions who re-bundle and re-sell to investors. Servicing can be passed from company to company. Years down the road, tracking down the location of the original mortgage document could take several weeks. That delay might buy you the additional month or two that could make the difference in avoiding a foreclosure. I’d suggest talking to an attorney to verify the process and the most effective time to execute this move.