Executor Checklist Michigan: A Personal Representative's Guide

Michigan does not really have "executors" in its probate code. Whether or not there is a will, the person who settles the estate is the personal representative. This executor checklist Michigan readers can use covers both terms, the small estate options, the notices and time limits, and the closing steps.

The personal representative in Michigan

Estates are governed by the Estates and Protected Individuals Code (EPIC, MCL 700.1101 and following) and handled by the probate court in the county where the deceased lived. When you are appointed, the court issues Letters of Authority for Personal Representative, the document banks and agencies will ask for.

Most forms refer to "interested persons": heirs, beneficiaries and certain creditors with a legal stake in the estate. Much of the job is keeping them informed while you collect assets, pay valid claims and distribute what remains. If there is no will, the estate passes under EPIC's intestacy rules (MCL 700.2101 and following).

Route check: small estate or probate

Michigan has two small estate procedures and two ways to open a full estate. The small estate amount is adjusted each year under MCL 700.1210; the Kent County Probate Court lists $53,000 for deaths on or after January 1, 2026. Check the figure for the year of death with your county probate court.

• Affidavit of Decedent's Successor (PC 598, MCL 700.3983). For an estate, less liens and encumbrances, within the small estate amount and with no real property, once at least 28 days have passed since death and no personal representative application is pending or granted. The successor notarizes the affidavit and gives it to whoever holds the property; it is not filed with the court.
• Petition and Order for Assignment (PC 556, MCL 700.3982). The court can order property turned over to the surviving spouse or, if none, the heirs, after funeral and burial costs. Heirs other than a spouse or minor children may be liable for unpaid debts, up to the value received, for 63 days after the order.
• Informal probate. An application to the probate register, with no hearing, when there is no dispute.
• Formal probate. A petition decided by a probate judge, usually after a hearing, where there is a dispute or a question about the will.

Michigan notices and time limits

Claims not presented within 4 months after publication are forever barred.

Executor checklist Michigan: the steps in order

1. Find the original will, order death certificates and do the route check.
2. Contact Social Security if the funeral home has not, and return any payment for the month of death or later.
3. Get appointed by application (informal) or petition (formal).
4. Set up the estate: EIN, IRS Form 56 and a separate estate account.
5. Serve PC 573 on interested persons, and send the Friend of the Court notice.
6. Publish the notice to creditors (PC 574) and mail PC 578 to known creditors. If you learn of a creditor less than 28 days before the 4-month deadline, notice is due within 28 days of learning of them.
7. Prepare the inventory at date of death values and file it with the court. Real property is commonly valued at twice the State Equalized Value or by appraisal.
8. Pay claims, expenses and taxes, including the probate inventory fee within one year of appointment.
9. Close. File a Sworn Closing Statement (PC 591); if no objection is filed within 28 days, ask for a Certificate of Completion (PC 592). If the estate is still open a year after appointment, file and serve a Notice of Continued Administration (PC 587) within 28 days after the anniversary.

Taxes and fees

The probate court charges an inventory fee, set by law and based on the inventory value, plus filing fees; check the court's current schedule. The final Michigan individual income tax return is handled with the Michigan Department of Treasury.

Federal returns apply as in every state: the final Form 1040, generally due April 15 of the year after death; Form 1041 for any tax year the estate has gross income of $600 or more; and Form 706 only where the estate exceeds $15,000,000 for 2026 deaths or the executor elects portability for a surviving spouse.

When an attorney may help

Michigan courts provide SCAO forms that self-represented people can use, but court staff cannot give legal advice and county courts recommend an attorney for questions or complicated cases. That often covers a contested will or an estate that may not cover its debts.

The Steady Executor Michigan Personal Representative kit includes five files: a user guide to the EPIC process and federal steps, an executor workbook that calculates deadlines from your dates and records assets, debts and the estate account, financial letters, services and agencies letters, and beneficiary letters with a receipt form.

Sources

• MCL 700.3982 Small estate assignment
• MCL 700.3801 Notice to creditors
• PC 573 Notice of Appointment and Duties of Personal Representative
• Kent County Probate Court: Small Estates
• Grand Traverse County Probate Court: Duties of Personal Representative
• IRS Publication 559, Survivors, Executors, and Administrators