Probate is the court process that transfers what someone owned after they die. Whether their wishes get followed or a judge fills in the blanks comes down to what they set up before they passed. Either way, the process is public, it takes months, and it costs money that would otherwise have gone to the family.
Here are the eight steps, in order.
1. Identify the Personal Representative
Michigan calls this role Personal Representative. Other states call it Executor. It is the same job: the person who manages the estate, pays what is owed, and distributes what is left.
The will names this person. If there is no will, the court appoints someone. Either way, nobody has authority to touch a bank account or sign anything on the estate's behalf until the court says so, which is the first thing that surprises families.
2. File the will with the probate court within 42 days
If there is a will, Michigan requires it to be filed with the probate court within 42 days of death. The court reviews it, decides whether it is valid, and formally appoints the Personal Representative.
Forty-two days sounds like a long time. It is not, when it overlaps with a funeral.
3. Notify creditors and beneficiaries within four months
The Personal Representative has to notify both creditors and beneficiaries that probate has started, within four months of the death. This notice goes out by certified mail and has to explain the process and the recipient's rights.
Skip a creditor and the estate can stay open longer than it should. Skip a beneficiary and you have handed a future dispute a foothold.
4. Take inventory of the assets
Every asset in the estate gets inventoried and the inventory gets filed with the court. Real estate, personal property, bank accounts, investments, everything.
This step takes longer than people expect, because it usually means finding accounts nobody knew about. Old 401(k)s, a life insurance policy from a job three decades ago, a safe deposit box with no key.
5. Pay debts and taxes
The Personal Representative pays the estate's valid debts and its taxes, including a final income tax return and, when the estate is large enough, an estate tax return.
Order matters here. Paying the wrong creditor first, or distributing to a beneficiary before debts are settled, can make the Personal Representative personally responsible for the shortfall.
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6. Distribute the assets
Once debts and taxes are settled, what remains goes to the beneficiaries named in the will. If there is no will, it goes according to Michigan law, which may look nothing like what the family expected or what the person would have chosen.
7. File a final report
The Personal Representative files a final accounting with the court showing what came in, what was paid out, and who received what.
8. Close the estate
The court reviews the final report and closes the estate. That is the end of probate.
What this checklist does not show you
These eight steps are the skeleton. Between them sit dozens of forms, notices, and filing deadlines the court expects without asking. Miss one, or file it wrong, and you can add thousands of dollars and months of court time to an estate that was otherwise straightforward. We have watched simple probates turn technical over a single missed filing.
The other thing worth saying out loud: probate typically consumes three to five percent of an estate's value in fees and costs. On a modest Michigan estate that is real money, and it comes out of the inheritance.
You are allowed to do this yourself. Most people who try wish they had at least had someone read the file first. If you are the Personal Representative, talking to a probate attorney before you file anything is the cheapest insurance available to you.
The version of this where none of it happens
Here is the part that matters for your own family. Nearly all of this is avoidable.
A living trust, also called a revocable trust, keeps your assets out of probate entirely. No 42-day deadline, no certified letters to creditors, no public court file, no percentage of your estate going to fees. Your family handles it privately, in weeks rather than months. A Lady Bird Deed does the same job for your home.
The catch is funding. A trust only avoids probate for the assets actually titled into it, and this is where most plans quietly fail. Plenty of Michigan families paid for a trust and still ended up in probate court because nobody retitled anything. A trust that was never funded is a binder on a shelf.
We handle the funding as part of every plan. We go to the bank, we file the deed, we update the beneficiary designations. Since 2012 we have protected more than $2 billion in assets for over 2,400 Michigan families, and the funding is the reason their plans hold up.
One note. This checklist is general information about Michigan probate, not legal advice for your situation. Deadlines and requirements can vary with the estate and the county, which is exactly what a free call is for.
