What Families Need to Know After a Death in Michigan

Michigan offers one of the more accessible small estate processes in the Midwest — personal property under $53,000 can be claimed by affidavit, and a separate "assignment of estate" procedure handles modest estates in Probate Court without full administration. Understanding which path applies, and how Michigan's patient advocate designation works, covers most of what families need to act quickly.

Probate
Probate & Small Estate Rules in Michigan

Michigan probate is filed with the county Probate Court where the deceased lived. Michigan offers two simplified options that allow many families to avoid full probate administration entirely.

The small estate affidavit allows heirs to collect property without going to court when the estate has no real property and is worth $53,000 or less (2026) after liens. The affidavit can be used 28 days after death and is governed by MCL § 700.3983. The heir presents the affidavit, along with a death certificate, to the institution or person holding the property — a bank, for example — and the property is released directly.

For slightly larger estates, Michigan offers an assignment of estate procedure. If the estate's gross value — after subtracting liens and encumbrances — is $53,000 or less, the Probate Court can assign assets to the surviving spouse or heirs without opening full administration. This is faster and less expensive than formal probate, and does not require appointment of a personal representative.

When formal probate is required, Michigan defaults to unsupervised administration — the personal representative manages the estate without court oversight at each step. Supervised administration exists but is rare; it must be specifically requested and is typically reserved for contested situations. The creditor notice period in Michigan is four months from the date notice is first published or given to creditors. Executor compensation is a reasonable fee — Michigan has no statutory percentage schedule. Unsupervised administration typically takes 6–12 months from start to close.

If you are weighing whether to hire an attorney, see probate lawyer costs by state for typical fee ranges, including Michigan. Executor pay is covered in executor fees by state.

Wills
Will Signing Requirements in Michigan

A valid Michigan will requires the testator's signature plus two witnesses, each of whom signs within a reasonable time after witnessing the testator's signing or acknowledgment (MCL § 700.2502). Notarization is not required for a standard witnessed will, but a self-proving affidavit — notarized at the time of signing — simplifies later probate because the court can admit the will without tracking down the witnesses to testify.

Michigan also recognizes holographic wills — wills that are dated and whose signature and material portions are in the testator's own handwriting, with no witnesses required (MCL § 700.2502(2)). As with other states, holographic wills are more susceptible to challenge than formally witnessed wills and should be used only when no alternatives are available.

Michigan will also admit an out-of-state will that was validly executed under the laws of the state or country where it was signed. If you are settling an estate and the deceased moved to Michigan from another state, a will signed under the prior state's rules is likely still valid.

If the deceased died without a valid will, Michigan's intestate succession laws under MCL § 700.2102 determine who inherits. The rules follow a priority order: surviving spouse, then descendants, then parents and their descendants, and so on. The spouse takes the whole estate only when the deceased left no descendants and no surviving parent; otherwise the spouse receives a fixed dollar amount plus a share of the rest (see the Spousal Rights section).

Advance Directive
Michigan Patient Advocate Designation

Michigan uses a document called the Patient Advocate Designation (PAD) as its primary advance directive. The PAD is Michigan's equivalent of a healthcare power of attorney — it names a trusted person (the patient advocate) to make medical and personal care decisions if the patient becomes unable to make them.

To be valid, the PAD must be signed by the patient in the presence of two witnesses, who also sign (MCL § 700.5506). Michigan restricts who can witness: a witness cannot be the patient's spouse, parent, child, grandchild, sibling, presumptive heir, known devisee at the time of the witnessing, physician, or patient advocate, or an employee of the patient's life or health insurance provider, of a health facility treating the patient, or of a home for the aged or mental health service provider treating the patient. These rules help prevent conflicts of interest.

A separate document, a Do-Not-Resuscitate (DNR) Order, governs resuscitation preferences and must be signed by a physician. The DNR and the PAD can coexist — the DNR governs the immediate resuscitation decision, while the PAD covers the full range of ongoing healthcare choices.

Michigan also recognizes living wills for recording treatment preferences, though the PAD is the primary legal instrument for appointing a decision-maker. If both documents exist, healthcare providers look first to the PAD to identify who has authority, and then to any written preferences the patient recorded.

Spousal Rights
Spousal Rights & Intestate Succession in Michigan

Michigan is not a community property state. Each spouse owns their own property — there is no automatic joint ownership of assets acquired during the marriage. This means the deceased spouse's individually owned assets must pass either through a will, a trust, beneficiary designations, or Michigan's intestate succession rules.

Under Michigan's intestate succession law (MCL § 700.2102), the surviving spouse's share depends on the family situation:

• If the deceased leaves no descendants and no surviving parent — the spouse takes the entire intestate estate.
• If all of the deceased's descendants are also the surviving spouse's — the spouse takes the first $301,000 (2026 deaths) plus half of the rest; the descendants share the other half. This also applies if the spouse has children of their own from another relationship, or if some (but not all) of the deceased's descendants are not the spouse's.
• If none of the deceased's descendants are the spouse's — the spouse takes the first $201,000 (2026 deaths) plus half of the rest.
• If there are no descendants but a parent survives — the spouse takes the first $301,000 plus three-quarters of the rest.

The dollar amounts in MCL § 700.2102 ($150,000 and $100,000 in the statute) are adjusted every year for inflation; the figures above are the Michigan Department of Treasury's 2026 amounts.

Even if the deceased left a will, Michigan law gives the surviving spouse an elective share — the right to take one-half of what the spouse would have inherited if there were no will, reduced by one-half of what the spouse received from the deceased outside the will and probate (for example, joint accounts or life insurance) (MCL § 700.2202). The election must be filed with the court within set deadlines. This prevents a spouse from being disinherited entirely.

Michigan also provides two automatic allowances that come off the top of the estate before any other distributions:

• Homestead allowance: $30,000 to the surviving spouse, or split among minor children if there is no surviving spouse (MCL § 700.2402).
• Family allowance: up to $36,000 as a lump sum for 2026 deaths ($18,000 in the statute, adjusted for inflation), paid to the surviving spouse for the support of the spouse and any minor or dependent children, in a lump sum or installments over up to one year (MCL § 700.2405).

These allowances are in addition to any share the spouse receives through the will or intestate succession, and they have priority over most creditor claims.

Vehicle Transfer
Transferring a Vehicle After Death in Michigan

Michigan has a specific simplified process for vehicle transfers that does not depend on the general small estate threshold. Heirs can transfer a vehicle — without opening probate — using form TR-29 (Certification from the Heir to a Vehicle), available from the Michigan Secretary of State.

The TR-29 process is available when the total value of all vehicles the deceased owned is $60,000 or less and the estate is not being probated and will not be probated in the future. The surviving spouse, or the closest next of kin if there is no spouse, certifies this on the form. To use it, the heir must provide:

• A certified copy of the death certificate
• The vehicle title
• A completed TR-29 form, certifying that the vehicles are within the $60,000 limit and the estate is not being probated
• If the title shows a lienholder, a termination statement from the lienholder

If the vehicles are worth more than $60,000, or the estate is being probated, the appointed personal representative uses Letters Testamentary (or Letters of Administration if there is no will) to transfer title at any Secretary of State office. The letters establish the personal representative's legal authority to act on behalf of the estate.

Vehicles jointly titled with right of survivorship transfer automatically to the surviving co-owner. The surviving owner simply presents a certified death certificate at the Secretary of State — no affidavit or probate is needed.

Medicaid Recovery
Medicaid Estate Recovery in Michigan

Michigan Medicaid, administered by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), seeks repayment from the estates of deceased beneficiaries who were 55 or older and received long-term care services on or after September 30, 2007. This process is called estate recovery.

Michigan defines the estate as property that passes through probate administration (MCL § 400.112h). That means assets that bypass probate are generally outside the claim:

• Assets held in a living trust pass to the successor trustee and are generally not subject to MDHHS recovery.
• Accounts with named beneficiaries (retirement accounts, life insurance, payable-on-death bank accounts) pass directly and are generally protected.
• Property held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship passes automatically and is generally not part of the probate estate.

There is one exception. If the person received an asset disregard because of a long-term care partnership insurance policy, MDHHS says recovery applies to all assets, whether or not they go through probate.

Who is protected, and for how long

MDHHS defers recovery while any of these people is living: the beneficiary's spouse, a child under 21, or a child who is blind or permanently disabled. It also defers recovery while a survivor who lived in the home and provided care that kept the beneficiary at home for at least two years before admission is living there, or while a sibling with an equity interest who lived in the home for at least one year before admission is living there. These protections are temporary, so the claim can be filed later.

The notice and the hardship waiver

When MDHHS learns of a beneficiary's death, it sends a notice and a questionnaire to the estate representative or heirs. The questionnaire must be returned within 2 weeks so MDHHS can decide whether an exemption applies. Before distributing estate assets, confirm with MDHHS whether it intends to file a claim.

MDHHS may defer recovery for undue hardship, for example when the estate is the primary income-producing asset of survivors with limited income (such as a family farm or business) or is a home of modest value, meaning less than 50% of the average home price in the county at the date of death. To qualify, the applicant must pass a means test: household income under 200% of the poverty level and household resources under $10,000. The law presumes no hardship exists when assets were diverted to avoid estate recovery. A denial can be appealed through a hearing. MDHHS can be reached at 1-844-875-6324. See our guide to Medicaid estate recovery for how the federal rules work.

Taxes
Estate Tax and Inheritance Tax in Michigan

Michigan has no estate tax on new estates. Its estate tax was tied to the federal credit for state death taxes, which was phased out in 2005, and the Michigan House Fiscal Agency describes the tax as no longer operative. Michigan also has no current inheritance tax. The Department of Treasury says the inheritance tax is still in effect only for people who inherited from someone who died on or before September 30, 1993.

Only the federal estate tax applies, and only to estates above $15 million per person for 2026 deaths. Inherited property generally gets a stepped-up basis to its fair market value at death (26 U.S.C. § 1014), which can reduce capital gains tax if heirs sell. See does your estate pay taxes for how states compare.

Death Certificates
Getting a Death Certificate in Michigan

Michigan death certificates are issued by MDHHS Vital Records. The fee is $34 for the first certified copy and $16 for each additional copy ordered at the same time, according to the MDHHS fee schedule and the federal CDC listing. A rush fee of $12 is available. Fees are listed on the state's application, so confirm the current amount before you order. MDHHS says photo ID is not required to request a death certified copy.

Order 8–12 copies at once. Ten copies cost $178 ($34 plus nine at $16). Banks, insurers, the Secretary of State, pension plans, and the Probate Court each tend to ask for an original certified copy. Ordering later costs $34 for the first copy again. See how many death certificates you need and how to get a death certificate. You can start an order at the MDHHS vital records page.

Bereavement Leave
Bereavement Leave in Michigan

Michigan does not require private employers to give bereavement leave. The state's Earned Sick Time Act does not list funerals, bereavement, or the death of a family member as a permitted use (MCL § 408.964). It does cover an employee's own mental or physical health condition and care for a family member's health condition, so it may help if grief affects your health or you were caring for a loved one before the death. The Act's rate is 1 hour of earned sick time for every 30 hours worked, with annual use caps of 40 hours for smaller employers and 72 hours for others, unless the employer sets a higher limit.

Federal law does not fill the gap. The Family and Medical Leave Act lists serious health conditions, birth, adoption, and certain military reasons, but not bereavement. Many employers still offer paid time off for a death, so check your handbook for the policy and which relatives qualify. See bereavement leave by state.

Resources
Michigan Estate Resources

• Michigan Legal Help: Wills and Life Planning — guides on small estates, becoming a personal representative, and filing probate cases
• State Bar of Michigan Lawyer Referral Service — for a $25 administrative fee (waived in some cases), a referral assistant matches you with an attorney who provides an initial consultation of up to 25 minutes free
• MDHHS Estate Recovery — notice questionnaire, hardship application, and contact information
• MDHHS Vital Records: Order a Record — death certified copies