Probate Timeline and Process

Welcome to The Probate Pro. This is Darren Findling and I'm gonna walk you through the probate administrative process. In Michigan, this is a general timeline of how the process would flow. For more detailed information you're welcome to contact my law firm by
dialing (833)PROBATE.
The first thing that happens is we want to open the probate estate in the county in which the person resided at the time of their death. If they lived outside of the state of Michigan then the estate can be opened in the county in which property is located. We want to appoint a personal representative, that person will be responsible for administering the estate. The next item is, we want to publish for creditors. You publish for unknown creditors and that period of time is four months. For any known creditors we're going to give direct notice of the estate being commenced and that direct notice could include creditors such as credit card companies, medical bills, or the neighbor down the street. We also give notice to any of the heirs or devisees of the appointment of that personal representative. The next responsibility and one of the most important is to gather the assets of the decedent. An inventory is presented to the probate court that details all of the estate assets that the person had at the time of their death. Now we only probate and we only inventory things that are what we call probate-able assets. Assets that are titled in the name of the decedent at the time of their death. Things that are not inventoried and are not included in the probate estate would be items such as joint accounts, named beneficiary accounts, and that could include something like a 401k with the name beneficiary as well as pay on death contracts like life insurance policies with a named beneficiary. Those items are not included in the inventory and not
part of the probate estate. As part of the duties of the personal representative they have to administer the estate assets. That could include things such as selling real estate, liquidating bank accounts, and just gathering all of the estate assets to ensure that they can be appropriately distributed. At the conclusion following the publication claim period expiring, the personal representative must settle any debts of properly presented claims that have been filed by any creditors. Then of course, they get to distribute all of the remaining assets of the decedent pursuant to the will, and if there is no will pursuant to Michigan's intestacy laws. Then finally the estate gets to be closed. Generally that takes more than five months from the beginning date to the end. Things that can make that estate last longer would include fights among family members, difficulty selling real estate, or litigation that may ensue. This is just a general overview and I'd be more than happy to really go through the details of the administrative process. You can go to www.theprobatepro.com or call (833) PROBATE.
_____________________
(833) PROBATE
www.TheProbate...
Facebook: / theprobatepro
LinkedIn: / the-probate-pro-plc
Instagram: / theprobatepro
Twitter: / the_probatepro
_________________________________________________________________
Addresses:
Michigan Office:
414 W. Fifth Street
Royal Oak, Michigan 48067
Illinois Office:
1525 East 53rd Street, Ste 439
Chicago, Illinois 60615
Florida Office:
941 West Morse Blvd., Suite 100
Winter Park, Florida 32789
Please Call - (833) PROBATE
_________________________________________________________________
Legal Disclaimer:
This video is for educational purposes only and is not to be considered legal advice. The Probate Pro, PLC, QuietTitle.com and any other entities of The Darren Findling Law Firm, PLC do not claim to be an “expert” or “specialist” in their legal practice areas.