Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York

I am not a lawyer in any of those states. I don't know why the zip code is listed in the question as New York. Each state has different rules as to who has the right to become executor when someone dies without a will. So, the heirs do not get to choose to ask you. The court makes this determination. The the deceased lived in Montana when she died, that's where her estate is. She may have other property in North Dakota, called an "ancillary estate," but the location of her estate is in the county and state where the decedent lived when she died. As far as I know, and again, I am only licensed in New York, probate must begin in the county and state where the person died, with or without a will, and the law says who has the authority to file those papers, not the heirs.

Good luck.