| 
 What
is Probate?
What
is Living and Death Probate?
How
much does Probate cost?
How
long does Probate take?
Are
Probate court proceedings private?
Does
joint asset ownership avoid Probate?
Does
a Will avoid Probate?
What is Probate?
The term "Probate" refers to the manner of administering
the property (the estate) of a deceased or incapacitated individual
by a personal representative (PR) under the jurisdiction of one
of Michigan’s county Probate courts.
 top
What is Living and
Death Probate?
Probate can take two forms, living and death.
Living Probate
- Guardianship - a Probate procedure that is triggered when one
becomes mentally disabled. In this case, the Probate court selects
someone, a "Guardian", to take control of you and your
personal affairs.
- Conservatorship - a Probate procedure that is triggered when
one becomes mentally disabled in which the Probate court selects
someone to take control only of your assets.
Both of the above "Living Probate" procedures require
court appointed agents to file strict accounting and reports on
a regular basis.
The entire procedure is expensive, time consuming and part of the
public record.
Death Probate
There are 5 Steps in a Death Probate:
- Filing Probate Petition and the appointment of the Personal
Representative
- Publishing Notice to Decedent’s Creditors
- Inventory and Appraisal of Assets
- Payment of Debts, Claims and Taxes
- Final Distribution and Closing the Estate
top
How much does Probate cost?
Probate estate administration costs vary. Costs will escalate according
to the complexity of issues that affect the estate. However, critics
of the system have cited that the average cost of Probate is usually
more than 7% of the gross value of the estate.
top
How long does Probate
take?
Again, the timeframe is dependent upon the complexity of the estate;
The quickest administration for the closing of an estate is approximately
5 months. However, most estates will take at least one year to close.
top
Are Probate court proceedings
private?
No! All Probate proceedings are public and, as such, anyone can
obtain your Probate file and have access to all the details of your
personal estate.
top
Does joint asset ownership
avoid Probate?
Assets owned jointly by a husband and wife will pass to the surviving
spouse upon the death of the first spouse. However, those previously
joint assets will now become “sole” assets, and upon
the death of the surviving spouse will be subject to Probate.
top
Does a Will avoid Probate?
Unfortunately, no. All property that is controlled by your Will
must go through the Probate system.
top
|
