Michigan Probate and Intestate Succession: What Happens Without a Will (2026)

Michigan probate matters are handled by a Probate Court in each county, and the state's Estates and Protected Individuals Code offers three separate tracks depending on how contested an estate is. Most Michigan estates use the fastest of the three, Informal Probate.

Information last verified on 2026-07-16. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

How Probate Works in Michigan

Probate in Michigan is handled by the Probate Court, with a dedicated court in each of the state's 83 counties, though a handful of counties have consolidated into shared multi-county probate districts. Michigan is a genuine Uniform Probate Code state: it adopted the Estates and Protected Individuals Code (EPIC), codified at MCL 700.1101 et seq., in 2000, closely modeled on the national Uniform Probate Code.

EPIC offers three distinct procedural tracks. Informal Probate is processed by a probate register rather than a judge, requires no court hearing, and is the fastest route, used for the large majority of uncontested Michigan estates. Formal Probate goes before a judge and is used when there are disputes among heirs, an ambiguous or contested will, or when the original will cannot be located. Supervised Administration provides the maximum level of ongoing court oversight throughout the case, and is ordered when heirs or creditors need that protection or the court determines it is appropriate.

Because most Michigan estates qualify for the informal track, overall probate timelines in the state tend to run shorter than in states without a true informal option. A simple estate handled by an independent personal representative under Informal Probate often closes in about 6 to 9 months, a timeline driven largely by Michigan's 4-month statutory creditor-claims window. Formal or supervised cases involving disputes or complexity can take 12 to 24 months or longer.

Intestate Succession in Michigan: Who Inherits Without a Will

Michigan intestate succession is governed by EPIC, specifically MCL 700.2102 (the surviving spouse's share) and MCL 700.2103 (other heirs), with the dollar figures in both sections adjusted annually for inflation under MCL 700.1210. The statute sets a fixed statutory order that applies whenever a Michigan resident dies without a valid will.

If the decedent has no surviving descendant or parent, the surviving spouse inherits the entire estate. If all of the decedent's descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse, and the spouse has no other descendants, the spouse takes the first $301,000 plus one-half of the balance, with the remainder passing to the shared descendants. If there is no surviving descendant but a parent survives, the spouse takes the first $301,000 plus three-quarters of the balance. Where the surviving spouse has descendants who are not the decedent's, the spouse likewise takes the first $301,000 plus one-half of the balance. If some, but not all, of the decedent's own descendants are not descendants of the surviving spouse, a partial blended-family situation from the decedent's side, the spouse still takes the first $301,000 plus one-half of the balance. Only if none of the decedent's own descendants are descendants of the surviving spouse does the spouse's share drop to the first $201,000 plus one-half of the balance. These figures are the statute's $150,000 and $100,000 base amounts, as adjusted for 2026 under MCL 700.1210 and the Michigan Department of Treasury's EPIC cost-of-living-adjustment notice; they change annually.

If there is no surviving spouse, the estate passes to the decedent's descendants by representation. Absent descendants, it passes to the decedent's parents equally, or to the surviving parent. Absent parents, it passes to the descendants of the decedent's parents (siblings and their children) by representation. If none survive, half the estate passes to the decedent's surviving paternal grandparents or their descendants, and half to the surviving maternal grandparents or their descendants. Michigan is not a community-property state. An estate escheats to the State of Michigan under MCL 700.2105 only when no qualifying heir can be found at all, which is rare.

One way to make sure your property goes to the people you actually choose, rather than following Michigan's intestate succession order, is to have a valid will in place. recordinglaw.com's free Michigan Last Will and Testament Generator can help you create one, with no account required.

Small Estate and Simplified Probate in Michigan

Michigan's simplified small-estate procedure lets an heir skip full probate administration for a genuinely small estate. Using a Petition and Order for Assignment (Form PC 556), an heir can ask the probate court to assign the decedent's property directly to the spouse or heirs when the gross estate value, after subtracting funeral and burial expenses, is $53,000 or less. That figure is not fixed; it is indexed for inflation annually under MCL 700.3982, and $53,000 reflects the current 2026 threshold.

Because the small-estate assignment process skips much of what full administration requires, including the standard 4-month creditor window used in Informal and Formal Probate, it can close considerably faster, often in as little as 3 to 4 months. The petition still goes through the Probate Court, unlike a pure affidavit process in some other states, but the filing and hearing requirements are substantially lighter than either Informal or Formal Probate.

Does Michigan Have an Estate or Inheritance Tax?

Michigan has no current state estate tax and no current state inheritance tax. Michigan's inheritance tax was repealed for deaths occurring after September 30, 1993; it can still apply only in the rare case of a decedent who died on or before that date, which by 2026 covers almost no active estates. The Michigan Estate Tax Act is still on the books, but it is a pick-up tax rather than a standalone one: MCL 205.232 sets the Michigan tax equal to the maximum allowable federal credit under the Internal Revenue Code for estate, inheritance, legacy, and succession taxes paid to the states. Michigan never severed that link, and Congress phased the federal credit out, so the statutory calculation now produces no Michigan liability.

As a result, only the federal estate tax can apply to a Michigan estate, and it applies only to a small fraction of the largest estates nationally. For 2026, the federal basic exclusion amount is $15,000,000 per person, confirmed by the IRS, so the overwhelming majority of Michigan estates owe no estate or inheritance tax at either the state or federal level.

Do You Need a Probate Attorney?

For a straightforward, uncontested Michigan estate that qualifies for Informal Probate or the small-estate assignment procedure, many families are able to navigate the process without hiring a probate attorney. An attorney becomes more valuable when a will is likely to be contested, the estate includes a business interest, the family situation is blended in a way the intestate succession statute doesn't cleanly address, or the estate is large enough that federal estate tax planning genuinely matters. For a broader look at how probate works nationally and in other states, see Probate by State.

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about probate and intestate succession in Michigan as of the verification date above. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It is not a substitute for advice from a probate attorney licensed in Michigan, particularly for a contested estate, a business interest, a blended family, or an estate raising federal estate tax questions. Figures, thresholds, and program details change over time; verify current details directly with the Michigan Probate Court or the Michigan Department of Treasury before relying on any figure here.

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Last updated: 2026-07-16. Figures and statutes cited reflect their in-force version as of 2026-07-16.

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