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Office: Liberty County Office of Disaster & Emergency Services (DES) – 618 East Adams Avenue, Chester, MT 59522 | (406) 202-0030 | Email: [email protected]; Coordinator Christopher Case; maintains plans for both natural and man-made hazards, coordinating with EMS, the hospital, law enforcement, and fire services.
Sheriff: Liberty County Sheriff’s Office – 111.5 East Adams Ave., PO Box 170, Chester, MT 59522 | (406) 759-5171 | Fax: (406) 759-5520 | Email: [email protected]; Sheriff Nick Erickson. The Sheriff also serves as Coroner, Fire Warden, and Public Administrator for the county.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-2 (the Hi-Line) serves Chester, the county seat, in north-central Montana near the Canadian border.
Notes: Liberty County, established February 11, 1920 from portions of Hill and Chouteau Counties, has just under 2,000 residents, with Chester as the primary population center (roughly 850 residents).
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Liberty County – confirm current phone via libertycountymt.gov.
Notes: Liberty County is genuinely home to the Sweetgrass Hills in its northern reaches, rising to nearly 7,000 feet – a landmark holding special spiritual significance to local Native American tribes as well as historical mining significance. Tiber Dam, in the southwestern part of the county, creates a genuine recreational hub for fishing and boating. Chester (now part of the consolidated Chester-Joplin-Inverness school district) is the hometown of Grammy Award-winning pianist Phil Aaberg and former NFL player Casey FitzSimmons.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Liberty County Veterans Service – confirm current contact via libertycountymt.gov.
Federal: VA Montana Health Care System (Fort Harrison/Helena, accessible south).
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Liberty County Library – 110 E. 1st St., PO Box 458, Chester, MT 59522 | (406) 759-5445 | Email: [email protected] | Hours: Mon-Thu 9 AM-5 PM, Fri 9 AM-1 PM.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Tiber Dam/Lake Elwell (fishing, boating), the Sweetgrass Hills, and the Liberty County Museum (230 2nd St. East, Chester, open summers Tue-Sat 1-7 PM June through mid-August) are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine spiritual and historical significance of the Sweetgrass Hills is a distinctive local fact.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Liberty County – confirm current contact via libertycountymt.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Confirm current animal control arrangements via libertycountymt.gov or the Sheriff’s Office, (406) 759-5171.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Liberty County – confirm current contact via libertycountymt.gov.
NOTES: Liberty County is the sixth county in the Montana v2 A+ sourced redo’s fourth batch. The genuine spiritual and historical significance of the Sweetgrass Hills is a distinctive local fact. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Liberty County County
Liberty County is northern Montana’s Sweetgrass Hills and Hi-Line wheat county – the sacred Blackfeet buttes rising from the plains and visible for 100 miles and the vast spring wheat fields define a community where Chester serves the county’s farming families near the Canadian border.
Chester (the county seat, population ~850) is Liberty County’s governmental hub on US 2, a northern Montana Hi-Line community whose Sweetgrass Hills landmark, wheat farming, and courthouse anchor its identity near Canada.
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Liberty County Assessor at 111 1st Street E, Chester, MT 59522, phone 406-759-5365. MT assessed at market value.
Courts & Legal
Liberty County District Court at 111 1st Street E, Chester, MT 59522, phone 406-759-5365, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK AND RECORDER
111 1st Ave. E., Chester, MT 59522
(406) 759-5365
COUNTY CLERK (Elections)
111 1st Ave. E., Chester, MT 59522
(406) 759-5365
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Liberty County Clerk of District Court (probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Liberty County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Liberty County Clerk of District Court, Probate Division 111 1st Street East, Chester, MT 59522 (406) 759-5365 Liberty County is on Montana’s northern border with Canada, seated in Chester.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Montana adopted the Uniform Probate Code (UPC), codified at Title 72 of the Montana Code Annotated (MCA). Probate is handled by the District Court in the county where the decedent resided.
Collection of Personal Property by Affidavit (MCA § 72-3-1101) – available when the value of the probate estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $100,000. At least 30 days must have passed since the death, and no application or petition for appointment of a personal representative may be pending or granted anywhere. The affiant presents the sworn, notarized affidavit (with a certified death certificate) directly to whoever holds the property to collect it – skipping probate court entirely. Must be used within 3 years of death.
Summary Administration – a streamlined court process for estates valued at $100,000 or less; unlike the affidavit procedure, this still goes through the court, just with reduced formality.
Informal Probate – the most common path for uncontested estates. An application can be made to the clerk of district court no sooner than 120 hours (5 days) after death, with minimal court involvement.
Formal Probate – required when there’s no will, when a will’s validity is contested, or when there’s disagreement over the personal representative or distribution. Handled by a district court judge.
Supervised Administration – formal probate with ongoing court oversight of the personal representative.
Step 2: filing for formal or informal probate
File an application (informal) or petition (formal) with the Clerk of District Court in the county where the decedent resided, no sooner than 120 hours after death.
The court or clerk appoints the personal representative and issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
The personal representative publishes notice to creditors and gives direct notice to known creditors. Creditors generally have 4 months from the date of first publication to file claims.
The personal representative inventories and appraises the estate’s assets.
After debts, taxes, and expenses are paid and the creditor claim period expires, the personal representative distributes the remaining assets and closes the estate.
What it costs
Montana does not set statutory percentage-based fees; personal representative and attorney fees are generally “reasonable compensation” based on time and complexity.
Montana has no state estate tax and no state inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax could apply, and only to very large estates.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
111 1st Ave. E., Chester, MT 59522
(406) 759-5211
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Elections)
111 1st Ave. E., Chester, MT 59522
(406) 759-5365
ELECTIONS
111 1st Ave. E., Chester, MT 59522
(406) 759-5365
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: Liberty County Health Department – confirm current phone via libertycountymt.gov. Logan Health-Chester serves as the local hospital/major employer.
Editorial independence: CountyOffices maintains strict editorial independence from our affiliate partners. Our content is researched from official government sources. Affiliate relationships do not influence our recommendations or the information we publish.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Chester
Population: 2,300
Area: 1,430 sq mi
Established: 1920
Public Records
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