Many people think that Probate in Michigan is long, difficult and in a word “impossible.” It is not really that bad, IF you know what to do. First let’s put down the basic facts about Michigan probate.
Should you hire a lawyer? You don’t need a lawyer. You can do it yourself if you have the time and take care to follow the necessary steps. Probate courts are generally helpful, since they want cases to move and keep their docket up to date. For example Wayne County has very helpful website on the process. https://www.wcpc.us/WebStandards/smallestates.html
- Do it yourself: Some folks have surprisingly complicated “estates” others have very simple ones. An estate merely means the property a person owns. A common example of a simple estate goes like this. Mom had beneficiaries on all of her accounts and owned the home jointly with her oldest daughter. She was added to “avoid probate.” But, Mom has an old $25,000 life insurance policy with Dad as the only beneficiary. Since he died before she did, the insurance company cannot issue a check because they don’t know who the beneficiaries are. Oldest daughter may wrap up this bit of business by opening a probate estate, pay the filing fee and complete probate court form PC 556. She will present the completed form to the court, a judge will sign it and with that she can receive the checks for the beneficiaries from the probate court. How long will it take? It can be as short as five months, though she may actually receive the and distribute the check(s) from the insurance company in less time. However before her duties are legally complete, the probate court must sign off on her submission. You can find PC556 and all probate court forms on the Michigan courts website at https://www.courts.michigan.gov/SCAO-forms/probate-court-forms/
A serious caution to the above scenario. The simple probate only applies to that insurance policy. Daughter may find that she has to pay income and/or capital gains on closing out those joint accounts and the selling of the home. She will have to properly resolve the house by issuing and recording a deed to change ownership to herself and siblings. The tax issues do not go away if she sells the house and divides the proceeds. She is well advised to consult an accountant and/or a lawyer on the tax issues.
2. Hire a lawyer: Many estates are more involved, such as those involve selling “Mom’s home.” It take longer for all the usual reasons besides properly completing probate court requirements. After you get authority to act for the estate from the probate court, you can then perform the “obvious” steps to sell the home. You will get the house cleaned out, dispose of the contents, prepare it for sale, hire a real estate agent, attend the closing receive the check and deposit into the “estate account.” Similarly you will close out bank and investment accounts, make insurance policy claims and file the checks in the estate account. All creditors must be paid or otherwise resolved before you can close out the probate estate. You may wish to hire a lawyer to save yourself hours of time and months of “learning the ropes.” This advise is especially true if there is any dissent amongst the beneficiaries of the estate.
So there it is. If you are the person responsible for closing out the affairs of a person, do a survey of what needs to be done to wrap up all business and proceed accordingly. Make sure you learn what you need to do and proceed accordingly. If you take care to do it right you will be satisfied that you performed your duties well.
