Michigan editionIn your inbox within a minute30-day money-back promise
The End of Life Plannerby Valoren

General information · not a substitute for the advice of an attorney.

Free · general informationMichigan

Small estates in Michigan

Where Michigan law lets a smaller estate be settled without full probate, these are the official words on how: who may use the route, what it covers and what the paperwork must say. Whether a particular estate fits is for the court, the bank or company holding the asset, or an attorney in Michigan; nothing on this page decides it.

  • Every fact dated, in the official words
  • Each state’s own law

Every quotation checked October 24, 2026

The free first-week checklist

Pages taken from the planner, by email: who to phone first, and a blank records sheet.

We use your email address to send the checklist and those emails, and for nothing else. We do not sell it. We first send one email asking you to confirm your address. Privacy notice

Every quotation on this page is the official body’s own words, as they stood on the day we read them. The date is beside each one.

Collecting assets by sworn statement: the waiting period, the death certificate, whether the estate may include real property, and the value limit as adjusted

(1) After 28 days after a decedent's death, a person indebted to the decedent or having possession of tangible personal property … shall pay the indebtedness or deliver the tangible personal property or the instrument to a person claiming to be the decedent's successor on being presented with the decedent's death certificate and a sworn statement made by or on behalf of the successor stating all of the following:

(a) The estate does not include real property and the value of the entire estate, wherever located, net of liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $50,000.00, adjusted as provided in section 1210.

Michigan · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · MCL 700.3983(1) (am. 2024 PA 1)

The affidavit of decedent’s successor: what the court’s form has the successor state, and what is attached

More than 28 days have passed since decedent’s death.

3. No real property is included in the decedent’s estate.

4. The value of the decedent’s estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $50,000, adjusted annually as provided in MCL 700.1210.

9. A copy of the death certificate is attached.

Michigan · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · SCAO form PC 598 (4/24)

How the dollar limits are adjusted each year, and who publishes the factor

Beginning January 1, 2024, those specific dollar amounts must be multiplied by the 2023 cost-of-living adjustment factor for the calendar year in which the decedent dies.

the department of treasury shall publish the cost-of-living adjustment factor

must be rounded to the nearest $1,000.00 amount.

Michigan · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · MCL 700.1210(2)–(3)

The court’s order turning a small estate over to the spouse or heirs: the funeral paid first, the value limit, and the debts afterwards

(1) On a showing of evidence, satisfactory to the court, of payment of the expenses for the decedent's funeral and burial and if the balance of a decedent's gross estate consists of property of the value of $50,000.00 or less, the court may order that the property be turned over to the surviving spouse or, if there is not a spouse, to the decedent's heirs.

is responsible, for 63 days after the date of the order, for any unsatisfied debt of the decedent up to the value of the property received through the order.

(6) A dollar amount prescribed by this section must be adjusted as provided in section 1210.

Michigan · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · MCL 700.3982(1), (6)

The same page for other states

A family on a boat dock in Florida: a grandfather fishing, a girl pointing at a heron
An older couple on a porch swing under a flag, mugs in hand, a neighbor raking leaves below
Friends on a desert patio at sunset, with a saguaro in the distance
FAQ

Common questions

(1) After 28 days after a decedent's death, a person indebted to the decedent or having possession of tangible personal property … shall pay the indebtedness or deliver the tangible personal property or the instrument to a person claiming to be the decedent's successor on being presented with the decedent's death certificate and a sworn statement made by or on behalf of the successor stating all of the following:

(a) The estate does not include real property and the value of the entire estate, wherever located, net of liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $50,000.00, adjusted as provided in section 1210.

Michigan · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · MCL 700.3983(1) (am. 2024 PA 1)

Beginning January 1, 2024, those specific dollar amounts must be multiplied by the 2023 cost-of-living adjustment factor for the calendar year in which the decedent dies.

the department of treasury shall publish the cost-of-living adjustment factor

must be rounded to the nearest $1,000.00 amount.

Michigan · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · MCL 700.1210(2)–(3)

(1) After 28 days after a decedent's death, a person indebted to the decedent or having possession of tangible personal property … shall pay the indebtedness or deliver the tangible personal property or the instrument to a person claiming to be the decedent's successor on being presented with the decedent's death certificate and a sworn statement made by or on behalf of the successor stating all of the following:

(a) The estate does not include real property and the value of the entire estate, wherever located, net of liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $50,000.00, adjusted as provided in section 1210.

Michigan · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · MCL 700.3983(1) (am. 2024 PA 1)

More than 28 days have passed since decedent’s death.

3. No real property is included in the decedent’s estate.

4. The value of the decedent’s estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $50,000, adjusted annually as provided in MCL 700.1210.

9. A copy of the death certificate is attached.

Michigan · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · SCAO form PC 598 (4/24)

(1) After 28 days after a decedent's death, a person indebted to the decedent or having possession of tangible personal property … shall pay the indebtedness or deliver the tangible personal property or the instrument to a person claiming to be the decedent's successor on being presented with the decedent's death certificate and a sworn statement made by or on behalf of the successor stating all of the following:

(a) The estate does not include real property and the value of the entire estate, wherever located, net of liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $50,000.00, adjusted as provided in section 1210.

Michigan · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · MCL 700.3983(1) (am. 2024 PA 1)

More than 28 days have passed since decedent’s death.

3. No real property is included in the decedent’s estate.

4. The value of the decedent’s estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $50,000, adjusted annually as provided in MCL 700.1210.

9. A copy of the death certificate is attached.

Michigan · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · SCAO form PC 598 (4/24)

More than 28 days have passed since decedent’s death.

3. No real property is included in the decedent’s estate.

4. The value of the decedent’s estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $50,000, adjusted annually as provided in MCL 700.1210.

9. A copy of the death certificate is attached.

Michigan · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · SCAO form PC 598 (4/24)

(1) After 28 days after a decedent's death, a person indebted to the decedent or having possession of tangible personal property … shall pay the indebtedness or deliver the tangible personal property or the instrument to a person claiming to be the decedent's successor on being presented with the decedent's death certificate and a sworn statement made by or on behalf of the successor stating all of the following:

(a) The estate does not include real property and the value of the entire estate, wherever located, net of liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $50,000.00, adjusted as provided in section 1210.

Michigan · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · MCL 700.3983(1) (am. 2024 PA 1)

(1) On a showing of evidence, satisfactory to the court, of payment of the expenses for the decedent's funeral and burial and if the balance of a decedent's gross estate consists of property of the value of $50,000.00 or less, the court may order that the property be turned over to the surviving spouse or, if there is not a spouse, to the decedent's heirs.

is responsible, for 63 days after the date of the order, for any unsatisfied debt of the decedent up to the value of the property received through the order.

(6) A dollar amount prescribed by this section must be adjusted as provided in section 1210.

Michigan · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · MCL 700.3982(1), (6)

(1) On a showing of evidence, satisfactory to the court, of payment of the expenses for the decedent's funeral and burial and if the balance of a decedent's gross estate consists of property of the value of $50,000.00 or less, the court may order that the property be turned over to the surviving spouse or, if there is not a spouse, to the decedent's heirs.

is responsible, for 63 days after the date of the order, for any unsatisfied debt of the decedent up to the value of the property received through the order.

(6) A dollar amount prescribed by this section must be adjusted as provided in section 1210.

Michigan · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · MCL 700.3982(1), (6)

For anyone who would rather their family found it all in one place than went looking.

A couple. A parent. An adult child and a parent, doing it together. One sitting starts it; keep it current, and tell someone where it is.

A man on the telephone with the planner's pages open on the table