Probate in Michigan: the six steps, in order
(Sample article — for the firm to review, edit, and approve before publishing.)
Probate feels like a mystery because nobody explains the order of operations. It's a checklist. Here it is.
1. Open the estate
Someone — usually named in the will, otherwise a close family member — asks the county probate court to be appointed personal representative. That appointment is the key that unlocks everything else.
2. Gather what's there
Bank accounts, the house, vehicles, the forgotten savings bonds in the desk drawer. The personal representative inventories what the person owned in their own name.
3. Tell the people who need to know
Heirs get formal notice. So do creditors — who then have a limited window to make claims. This step is why probate can't be rushed, and also why it eventually ends.
4. Pay what the estate owes
Valid debts, final bills, and any taxes get paid from the estate — not from your pocket. Children do not inherit their parents' debts in Michigan; debts are paid from what the estate has, and what can't be paid generally dies with it.
5. Distribute what remains
What's left goes where the will says — or where Michigan's intestacy rules say, if there's no will. This is the step families picture as "probate," and it's nearly last.
6. Close the estate
A final accounting, the court's sign-off, and it's done. A straightforward, uncontested Michigan estate often wraps in well under a year; a good attorney's job is keeping it near the short end.
The quiet truth: families who planned ahead — a trust, beneficiary designations, a lady-bird deed — often skip most of this list entirely. That conversation is free too.
The knot never untangles by waiting.
Call (269) 344-0700This article is general legal information for Michigan readers, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your situation, call (269) 344-0700. Attorney advertising.