Probate Shortcuts in Michigan

The probate process can be long and drawn out, costing your survivors time as well as money. Fortunately, Michigan offers a few probate shortcuts for "small estates." If the property you leave behind at your death is below a certain amount, Michigan allows the property to be transferred more quickly and with less hassle. In other words, if your estate qualifies as "small," your loved ones might be able to use simplified probate procedures, or even skip probate entirely.

Michigan also has a probate shortcut called "summary administration," and it has two procedures that allow heirs or inheritors to skip probate altogether. An estate can skip probate if the value of all the assets left behind is less than a certain amount. This amount is adjusted annually (as of February 21, 2024, it's $50,000). You can call your county probate court and ask for the exact cutoff amount for a "small" estate for the year of death, or you can often find a chart of small estate threshold amounts on the websites of county probate courts.

Petition for Assignment: The Small Estate Proceeding in Michigan

You can complete a form called a Petition for Assignment to ask the probate court to order that property be turned over to you without going through probate if:

• The estate is valued at $50,000 or less for deaths after February 20, 2024 (this value is adjusted annually), after paying the deceased person's funeral and burial expenses are paid from the estate, and
• You're the surviving spouse or, if there's no surviving spouse, you're the deceased person's heir (someone inheriting property under your state's intestacy laws).

(Mich. Comp. Laws § 700.3982 (2024).)

Once the court issues an Order of Assignment allowing you to use this small estate proceeding, for 63 days after the order, you might also be liable for the estate's debts, up to the amount you receive through this procedure. (Mich. Comp. Laws § 700.3982.)

Note that you can't use this procedure if you're a named beneficiary (inheritor) under the deceased person's will.

Michigan's Collection by Affidavit Procedure

The other avenue for skipping probate is to collect property using an affidavit (a simple statement signed under oath). If you're entitled to the property, you simply fill out, sign, and get notarized an Affidavit of Decedent's Successor for Delivery of Certain Assets Owned by Decedent, and present it to the person or party (such as a bank) who is currently in possession of the property, or who owes the deceased person money. Again, you can skip probate court with this procedure. (Mich. Comp. Laws § 700.3983 (2024).)

Collection by affidavit is available after 28 days following the death, and only if:

• The gross value of the estate doesn't exceed $50,000 (again, this is the value for deaths after February 20, 2024, and increases slightly every year or two)
• The estate doesn't include real estate, and
• No personal representative has been appointed yet, and no application for appointment is currently pending.

(Mich. Comp. Laws § 700.3983 (2024).)

You will need to swear in the affidavit that you're entitled to the property. You'll also attach a certified copy of the death certificate to the affidavit. As with the small estate proceeding, while you're able to claim property directly using this procedure, without going through probate, you might still need to give up the property later if the estate has creditors.

Simplified Probate in Michigan: Summary Administration

Even if they don't qualify for one of the probate-skipping procedures discussed above, small estates in Michigan might still qualify for a probate shortcut called "summary administration" or "summary probate." With this procedure, you won't skip probate entirely, but you will be able to bypass a large portion of it. In other words, probate will be sped up, and the costs of probate will be lower.

To qualify for summary administration, the value of the gross estate can't exceed the sum of:

• administration costs and expenses (such as probate fees)
• reasonable funeral and burial expenses
• homestead, family, and exempt property allowances, and
• reasonable and necessary medical and hospital expenses of the decedent's last illness.

(Mich. Comp. Laws § 700.3987 (2024).)

In other words, an estate qualifies for summary administration if there's nothing left in the estate after paying the above expenses and allowances.

To request summary administration, the executor or personal representative of the estate files a written request with the local probate court. If approved, the personal representative can then immediately distribute the assets without having to jump through the hoops of regular probate. After the assets are distributed, the personal representative completes and files a sworn closing statement for summary administration with the court. (Mich. Comp. Laws § 700.3987 (2024).)

Getting More Help With Michigan Probate

For more information on probate in Michigan, read the following articles:

• Michigan Probate: An Overview
• Avoiding Probate in Michigan

For more help handling an estate in general, see The Executor's Guide, by Mary Randolph (Nolo). For an introduction to how you can plan your estate to help your survivors, try Estate Planning Basics, by Denis Clifford (Nolo).