Probate

Probate is an area of law that primarily involves post-death estate administration.  Probate proceedings are necessary when a person dies with property titled solely in their name.  In that case, probate is the only method to transfer the property to the deceased person's next of kin. 

Probate has gotten a poor reputation in recent years.  Countless books, articles, and seminars describe the horrors of probate, and how to avoid it.  However, the cost and delay associated with probate is usually exaggerated.  

The cost of probate is not as high as most people believe.  It consists of four fees -- filing, publicaton, administrative, and legal.  The fees are determined as follows:

• The filing fee is $150 and is paid to the probate court at the start of the proceedings.
• The publication fee is about $75; it is paid to a local newspaper to publish notice of the probate proceedings.
• The administration (or "inventory") fee is set by Michigan law, and it is based on the value of property being handled in the probate proceeding.  For example, the fee for a $100,000 estate is $362.50, and the fee for a $500,000 estate is $862.50.  The administrative fee is paid to the probate court after the inventory is filed.
• Legal fees are paid to an attorney who represents the estate.  Attorney fees must be paid by the hour or based upon a reasonable flat fee.  Attorney fees for informal probate are typically between $1,500 and $2,500.  Percentage fees are not permitted.  Some people complete informal probate without hiring an attorney. 

The time to complete probate is also misunderstood.  It takes at least five months to complete the probate process.  However, four months of that time are allowed for creditors to make claims against the estate.  In many cases, a portion of the assets are distributed to the heirs while the probate proceedings are still pending.   

Our services in this area:

• Representation of estates in probate
• Will contests
• Estate administration
• Probate avoidance