Michigan Probate Court Information

The Probate Courts in Michigan are trial courts, just like those in the other states of the country. Since these are trial courts, they rank low in the judicial hierarchy of the state and have the jurisdiction to hear a case and pass judgment at the initial stage, before the case can move to an appellate court.

The Probate Courts in Michigan have jurisdiction in all issues related to estates and those who are responsible for their management. These courts are present in all but ten counties of the state.

You can find a detailed list of all the Michigan Probate Courts along with their addresses, phone numbers, names of registers and the email addresses at http://www.wcpc.us/links/michiganprobatecourts_address.htm.

More About Michigan Probate Courts

There is uniformity in the maintenance of the records of both the general courts as well as the probate courts in the state. An ideal case in point would be the availability of information from both types of courts over the web. You might need information on the probate courts of Michigan, which is easily found via available online resources.

The official website for the probate courts in the state of Michigan is

http://courts.co.calhoun.mi.us/notes000.htm

. This is where you can get all the information about these courts. The information you can find includes:

•    Definition of a Probate Court
•    Definition of Probate
•    Probate exceptions
•    Proceedings for Small Estates
•    How to start?
•    Supervised Administration
•    Personal Representative Powers
•    Contested Matter Issues
•    Claims against the estate
•    Surviving Children and Spouse Rights

Duties of the Probate Courts Located in Michigan

These courts actually have many legal duties, and some of them are:

•    Arrangement of properties and estates of the deceased
•    Supervisory powers over trust funds
•    Acting as a conservator and guardian to concerned people
•    Retaining proper commitment to people who are diagnosed with psychological problems

Probate courts of Michigan primarily deal with the transferrance of property of those who have passed away to their respective next-of-kin. In case a person dies without making a will, this duty assumes even greater importance. However, if a will is present, probate activities would still be required, but in a much lesser way.

There are several cases in which the services of the Michigan courts are not required. These cases, also known as the ‘exceptions to Probate’, are provided in the Michigan Statutes (in particular, MCL 257.236, MCL 324.80312, MCL 408.480 and MCL 700.3981).

The office of the Appointed Personal Representative has been created to help you with professional guidance through all legal probate activities. There are two options when you first decide to move to a Probate Court – you can either start the formal or informal proceedings.

Probationary Code 557 specifies the laws that govern informal probate proceedings, while Probationary Code 558 is the reference for the formal probate steps. These codes also contain directives regarding cases where wills are not present, or there is any confusion in the appointment of the Personal Representatives.

The probate courts in the state are instrumental in the settlement of real estate and property issues of the deceased. In addition, it also deals with issues such as support extended to the mentally ill.