Settle a small estate in Michigan without probate
In Michigan this is called: Affidavit of Decedent's Successor for Delivery of Certain Assets Owned by Decedent (small estate affidavit); Petition and Order for Assignment (small estate assignment). If the estate has no real estate and is worth no more than a set amount, the people who inherit can collect personal property with a sworn affidavit 28 days after the death, without going to court.
Up to $53,000 (deaths from January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026), 28 days after the death, no court filing.
Checked against official sources: October 30, 2026.
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Free tools
Small estate checker
Add up the estate and compare it with the Michigan limit for the date of death.
Letter to a bank
Present your signed affidavit to a bank or other holder in Michigan.
Balance request letter
Ask a bank or holder for the balance on the date of death.
What-to-gather checklist
Papers, steps, forms and fees for Michigan, by procedure.
Car, bank, house in Michigan
Car or other vehicle
If the person left no other property that needs probate, the surviving spouse, or an heir in the order set by inheritance law, can get a new title at a Secretary of State office with proof of death and a signed Certification from the Heir to a Vehicle.
Bank accounts
A joint account with survivorship or a payable-on-death account goes to the surviving owner or beneficiary without probate. For an account in the person's name alone, the successor can use the small estate affidavit more than 28 days after the death if the whole estate, minus liens, is within the limit ($53,000 for 2026 deaths) and includes no real estate.
Related pages
Affidavit of Decedent's Successor for Delivery of Certain Assets Owned by Decedent (form PC 598)
A sworn statement you give to a bank, company or person holding the person's money or belongings, so they pay or deliver it to you. It is not filed with the court.
- Limit
Up to $53,000 (deaths from January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026) Counted after subtracting liens (what is owed on the property).
Date of death Limit January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026$53,000January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025$51,000January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024$50,000January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023$27,000January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022$25,000The limit depends on the year of death: $53,000 for deaths in 2026, $51,000 for 2025, and $50,000 for 2024 (it was $27,000 for 2023 and $25,000 for 2022). The Michigan Department of Treasury publishes the new amount each year. The estate, minus liens, cannot be worth more than that amount, and it cannot include real estate.
- What counts
The value of the entire estate, wherever located, minus liens and encumbrances. The estate cannot include any real property. Property that passes outside probate (joint, payable-on-death, beneficiary and trust property) is not part of the estate.
- Waiting period
More than 28 days must have passed since the death.
- Who can use it
The person who is the decedent's successor: the surviving spouse, an adult child or other heir, a beneficiary under the will, or a guardian or other representative of an heir or beneficiary who has a legal incapacity. The affidavit lists every other person entitled to a share and the share of each.
- Court or where to file
Not filed with a court. You give it to the holder of the property.
- Notary
The SCAO form is signed and sworn before a notary public.
- Papers to attach
- Copy of the death certificate
- List of the property you are entitled to, and the name, address, relationship and share of every other person entitled to a share
- Steps
- Wait until more than 28 days after the death.
- Check that no personal representative has been appointed or applied for, and no petition for assignment has been filed.
- Fill in form PC 598, listing the property and everyone entitled to a share.
- Sign it before a notary.
- Give the affidavit and a copy of the death certificate to the bank, company or person holding the property.
- Fee
No court fee; the affidavit is not filed with the court.
- Debts and responsibility
If you receive property with the affidavit, you must answer for it to a personal representative appointed later or to anyone with a better right to it. A false statement on the affidavit can be prosecuted as perjury.
- What the bank or holder must do
After 28 days the holder must pay or deliver the property when given the death certificate and a proper sworn statement, and a transfer agent must re-register securities. A holder who does so is discharged as if it dealt with a personal representative and does not have to check whether the statements are true. If the holder refuses, the people entitled to the property can bring a court proceeding to make it pay or deliver.
Law: MCL 700.3983, 700.3984, 700.1210 (as amended by 2024 PA 1)
Source: Official page
Petition and Order for Assignment (court order distributing small estates, form PC 556)
A short probate court procedure. After the funeral is paid, the judge can order the person's property, including real estate, turned over to the surviving spouse or, if none, to the heirs.
- Limit
Up to $53,000 (deaths from January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026) Counted at full value, without subtracting debts.
Date of death Limit January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026$53,000January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025$51,000January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024$50,000January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023$27,000January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022$25,000The limit depends on the year of death: $53,000 for deaths in 2026, $51,000 for 2025, and $50,000 for 2024 (it was $27,000 for 2023 and $25,000 for 2022). The Michigan Department of Treasury publishes the new amount each year. The balance after paying funeral and burial expenses must be no more than that amount.
- What counts
The gross value of the estate remaining after funeral and burial expenses are paid, valued at the date of death. For real estate, a mortgage or other debt secured by it is subtracted, up to $264,000 for deaths in 2026 ($257,000 for 2025; $250,000 for 2024).
- Waiting period
The law sets no waiting period. Funeral and burial expenses must be paid first, or the order will direct payment of them from the property.
- Who can use it
A surviving spouse or heir (or another interested person) files the petition. The court orders the property turned over to the surviving spouse or, if there is no spouse, to the heirs.
- Court or where to file
Probate court of the county where the person lived. If the person lived outside Michigan, the county where the property is.
- Notary
The petition is signed under penalty of perjury.
- Papers to attach
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Funeral and burial bills and receipts showing who paid them
- List of the person's real and personal property with date-of-death values and any lien amounts
- Names, ages, relationships and addresses of the spouse or heirs
- Steps
- Pay the funeral and burial expenses, or list who paid them and what is unpaid.
- List all the person's property and its value at the date of death.
- Fill in form PC 556 and sign it.
- File it with the probate court with the death certificate and funeral receipts, and pay the fees.
- If the judge signs the order, give certified copies to the banks or others holding the property; record it with the register of deeds if it includes real estate.
- Fee
A $25 filing fee. The probate court may also charge an inventory fee based on the estate's value at death. Certified copies cost extra. Ask the probate register for the total.
- If you can't pay
You can ask the court to waive fees if you cannot afford them.
- Debts and responsibility
An heir who receives property through the order, other than a surviving spouse who qualifies for allowances or the person's minor children, is responsible for 63 days after the order for any unpaid debt of the person, up to the value of the property received.
Law: MCL 700.3982, 700.1210; MCL 600.880(2), 600.871
Source: Official page
Delivery of cash and clothing held by a hospital, nursing home, morgue or police
A hospital, nursing home, morgue or police agency holding a small amount of the person's cash and clothing may give it to the spouse, child or parent who signs a sworn statement.
- Limit
Up to $2,000 (deaths from January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026) Counted at full value, without subtracting debts.
Date of death Limit January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026$2,000January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025$2,000January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024$1,500Up to $2,000 for deaths in 2025 or 2026 ($1,500 for 2024).
- What counts
Only cash and clothing held by a hospital, convalescent or nursing home, morgue or law enforcement agency.
- Waiting period
No waiting period.
- Who can use it
The person's spouse, child or parent, with identification and a sworn statement that no probate case is pending.
- Court or where to file
Given to the hospital, nursing home, morgue or police agency.
- Notary
A sworn statement is required.
- Papers to attach
- Identification
- Sworn statement of relationship and that no probate application or petition is pending
- Steps
- Ask the facility what it is holding.
- Give it your identification and the sworn statement.
- Fee
No fee.
- Debts and responsibility
You must answer for the property to anyone with a prior right and to a personal representative appointed later.
- What the bank or holder must do
The facility may deliver (it is not required to) and is then released as if it had delivered to a personal representative.
Law: MCL 700.3981, 700.1210
Source: Official page
What counts toward the limit in Michigan
For the small estate affidavit, add up the value of everything in the person's probate estate, wherever it is, and subtract liens and debts secured by that property. The estate must not include real estate. Leave out property that passes outside probate. For the court petition for assignment, use gross value after funeral costs, subtracting only mortgages on real estate (up to a cap).
Law: MCL 700.3983, 700.3982, 700.1210
In this state the total is counted after subtracting liens.
| Kind of property | How it is treated | Details |
|---|---|---|
Bank accounts in the person's name alone | Counts | Bank accounts in the person's name alone, with no payable-on-death beneficiary, count. Law: MCL 700.3983(1)(a) |
Joint or payable-on-death (POD) bank accounts | Left out | Joint accounts with survivorship and payable-on-death accounts pass to the surviving owner or beneficiary outside probate and are not part of the estate. Law: MCL 700.6101 |
Cars and other vehicles | Counts | A car in the person's name is part of the estate and counts. If the person left no other property that needs probate, the spouse or heir can also retitle vehicles at the Secretary of State with a certification. Law: MCL 700.3983(1)(a); MCL 257.236 |
Boats and mobile or manufactured homes | Counts | A boat or mobile home in the person's name counts at its value minus liens. Law: MCL 700.3983(1)(a) |
Real estate in Michigan | Own procedure, up to $53,000 | If the estate includes any real estate, the affidavit cannot be used. The court petition for assignment can include real estate, counted at value minus the mortgage (deduction up to $264,000 for 2026 deaths). Law: MCL 700.3983(1)(a); MCL 700.3982(5) |
Main home (primary residence) | Own procedure, up to $53,000 | A home in the person's name is real estate, so the affidavit cannot be used; the court petition for assignment can include it. Law: MCL 700.3983(1)(a); MCL 700.3982 |
Real estate in another state | Not clear | The affidavit counts the estate 'wherever located' and must state that the estate includes no real property. Ask the probate court how real estate in another state affects it. Law: MCL 700.3983(1)(a) |
Unpaid wages owed to the person | Counts | Unpaid wages owed to the person are part of the estate. Law: MCL 700.3983(1)(a) |
Military pay owed to the person | Not clear | Money owed by the U.S. military may be paid to a beneficiary named with the military, outside probate. Ask the probate court how to count it. Law: MCL 700.3983(1)(a) |
Life insurance or retirement money paid to a named person | Left out | Life insurance, retirement and other benefits with a named beneficiary pass outside probate and are not part of the estate. Law: MCL 700.6101 |
Life insurance or retirement money paid to the estate | Counts | Insurance or retirement benefits payable to the estate are part of the estate and count. Law: MCL 700.3983(1)(a) |
Property in a living trust | Left out | Property in a trust passes under the trust, not through the probate estate. Law: MCL 700.6101 |
Property owned jointly with right of survivorship | Left out | Property held jointly with right of survivorship passes to the surviving owner. Law: MCL 700.6101 |
Property going to a surviving spouse | Counts | Probate property that goes to the spouse under the will or inheritance law is still part of the estate. Property the spouse gets as a joint owner or named beneficiary is not. Law: MCL 700.3983(1)(a) |
Stocks, bonds and brokerage accounts | Counts | Stocks and brokerage accounts in the person's name alone count. Securities registered 'transfer on death' (TOD) go to the beneficiary and are left out. Law: MCL 700.3983(2); MCL 700.6307 |
Furniture, jewelry and other belongings | Counts | Furniture, jewelry and other belongings count at their value minus any liens. Law: MCL 700.3983(1)(a) |
Source: Official page
Car or vehicle title after a death in Michigan
If the person left no other property that needs probate, the surviving spouse, or an heir in the order set by inheritance law, can get a new title at a Secretary of State office with proof of death and a signed Certification from the Heir to a Vehicle. Bring the original title if available, a certified death certificate, identification for each heir who signs, and proof of Michigan no-fault insurance to register it. Next of kin who do not want the vehicle sign a statement saying so. The total value of the vehicles, on the date you apply, is limited: $100,000 for applications in 2024 and 2025, and for 2026 and later an amount adjusted each year and published by the Department of Treasury. If the title says 'Full Rights to Survivor', the surviving owner needs only the title, a death certificate and identification.
Law: MCL 257.236
Source: form TR-29
- Agency
- Michigan Department of State (Secretary of State)
- Fee
The Secretary of State charges its title fee; a co-owner added who is not immediate family may owe 6% sales tax.
Source: Official page
Bank accounts after a death in Michigan
A joint account with survivorship or a payable-on-death account goes to the surviving owner or beneficiary without probate. For an account in the person's name alone, the successor can use the small estate affidavit more than 28 days after the death if the whole estate, minus liens, is within the limit ($53,000 for 2026 deaths) and includes no real estate. The bank must pay on a proper affidavit and is then released.
Law: MCL 700.3983, 700.3984, 700.6101
Source: form PC 598
Source: Official page
Transfer-on-death (TOD) and payable-on-death (POD) in Michigan
- Real estate (TOD deed)
No
Michigan's Estates and Protected Individuals Code has no transfer-on-death deed.
Law: MCL 700.1101 et seq
- Bank account (POD)
Yes
Law: MCL 700.6101
- Securities (TOD)
Yes
Law: MCL 700.6301-700.6310
Source: Official page
Surviving spouse in Michigan
In a small estate assignment, the court turns the property over to the surviving spouse first; only if there is no spouse does it go to the heirs. The spouse is first in line to retitle the person's vehicles at the Secretary of State. In a probate case the spouse is entitled to a homestead allowance ($30,000 for 2026 deaths), exempt property ($20,000) and a family allowance (up to $36,000 as a lump sum) (MCL 700.2402, 700.2404, 700.2405; Treasury table for 2026).
Law: MCL 700.3982; MCL 257.236
Debts of the person in Michigan
A person who collects property with the small estate affidavit must answer for it to a personal representative or anyone with a better right. An heir (other than a qualifying spouse or minor child) who receives property under a court order of assignment is responsible for 63 days after the order for the person's unpaid debts, up to the value received.
Law: MCL 700.3984; MCL 700.3982(3)
Medicaid estate recovery in Michigan
Michigan seeks repayment of Medicaid paid after age 55 for people who received long-term care services on or after September 30, 2007. Recovery applies to assets that pass through a probate proceeding; if the person received an asset disregard under a long-term care partnership policy, recovery applies to all assets, in probate or not. MDHHS defers recovery while a spouse, a child under 21, or a blind or disabled child is living, and while certain caregivers or siblings live in the home. An undue hardship waiver may be granted for a family farm or business or a home of modest value (worth less than 50% of the average home price in the county), if the applicant meets a means test. Estate Recovery: 1-844-TPL-MDCH (844-875-6324).
Law: MCL 400.112g-400.112k
- Agency
- Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), Estate Recovery
- Phone
- 844-875-6324
- Official page
- Official page
Who inherits with no will in Michigan
If there is no will and no descendant or parent survives, the spouse gets everything. Otherwise, for 2026 deaths, the spouse gets the first $301,000 plus one-half of the rest when the person left descendants, or plus three-quarters of the rest when no descendant but a parent survives. If none of the person's descendants are also the spouse's descendants, the spouse gets the first $201,000 plus one-half of the rest. The rest goes to descendants, then parents, then brothers and sisters and their descendants, then grandparents' families.
Law: MCL 700.2102, 700.2103, 700.1210; Treasury notice January 30, 2026 (Table A)
Source: Official page
Death certificates in Michigan
You can order a certified death record by mail, online, by phone, by drop box or by appointment; photo ID is not required for a death record. By mail, the state fee is $34 for the search and one certified copy and $16 for each additional copy; rush processing is $12 more. County clerks set their own fees.
- Where to get it
- Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Division for Vital Records and Health Statistics (333 South Grand Avenue, Lansing), or the county clerk where the death happened
- Official page
- Official page
Where to file in Michigan
The small estate affidavit (PC 598) is not filed with any court; you give it to the holder of the property. The Petition and Order for Assignment (PC 556) is filed with the probate court of the county where the person lived. Vehicles are retitled at a Secretary of State office.
Good to know in Michigan
- Since February 21, 2024, Michigan's small estate limit is $50,000 adjusted each year for inflation ($53,000 for 2026 deaths), up from $15,000 adjusted ($28,000 in 2024 before the change) (2024 PA 1; MCL 700.1210; Treasury notice January 30, 2026).
- The small estate affidavit can be used only if the estate has no real estate; the court assignment can include real estate, with mortgages subtracted.
- No one other than the court can require you to use the court assignment instead of the affidavit, or the other way around, if you qualify for both.
Changes in 2024–2026
2024 PA 1 (immediate effect February 21, 2024): small estate amounts for MCL 700.3982 and 700.3983 raised to $50,000 and indexed with a 2023 base; waiting period for the affidavit set at 28 days; real property debt (up to $250,000, indexed) subtracted for the court assignment; SCAO required to publish a standard affidavit form (PC 598, Rev. 4/24). Treasury amounts: $51,000 for 2025 deaths, $53,000 for 2026 deaths (mortgage deduction $257,000 and $264,000). 2024 PA 2 (effective May 21, 2024): Secretary of State heir transfer limit for vehicles raised from $60,000 to $100,000 for 2024-2025, indexed from 2026.
National rules that apply in every state
Federal estate tax
- For a person who died in 2026, a federal estate tax return (Form 706) is required only if the gross estate, plus certain lifetime taxable gifts, is more than $15,000,000.
- Most estates owe no federal estate tax and do not need to file a federal estate tax return.
Law: 26 U.S.C. 2010(c)(3) (as amended by Pub. L. 119-21)
The final income tax return
- Report all income up to the date of death and claim all eligible credits and deductions.
- Someone must file the final federal income tax return of a person who died, the same way it would have been filed if they were alive.
- To claim a refund due to the person who died, attach Form 1310 (Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer).
Law: Form 1310 instructions (Rev. December 2025)
Social Security
- Social Security retirement benefits are paid through the month before the month the person died.
- If the person had enough Social Security work credits (was fully or currently insured), a one-time death payment of $255 (or three times the person's basic benefit, if that is smaller) can be paid to a surviving spouse who lived with the person.
Law: 42 U.S.C. 402(a), 402(i)
Savings bonds
- If the person's savings bonds and other Treasury securities held directly with the Treasury are worth more than $100,000 at the date of death, the Treasury requires a court-administered estate.
Law: 31 CFR 353.71; FS Form 5336 (Rev. April 2026)
Debts
- Debts are generally paid from the money and property the person left (the estate).
- If the estate cannot pay a debt and no one else shared responsibility for it, the debt may go unpaid.
- You may have to pay if you co-signed the loan, were a joint account holder on a credit card (not just an authorized user), or state law makes a spouse responsible for certain debts, such as in community property states or states with laws on necessary costs like health care.
Law: 12 CFR 1006.6(a)(4)
A house with a mortgage
- For a home with fewer than five units, a lender may not call the whole loan due just because the home passes to a relative after the borrower's death, to a spouse or children who become owners, or to a surviving joint owner.
- Https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/how-do-i-get-mortgage-information-about-a-home-i-inherited-en-217/
- Https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/i-recently-inherited-a-house-the-mortgage-lender-said-its-required-to-determine-my-ability-to-repay-before-it-will-let-me-take-over-the-mortgage-loan-is-this-true-en-1939/
Law: 12 U.S.C. 1701j-3(d)(3), (5), (6); 12 CFR 1024.30(d), 1024.31
FDIC insurance on bank accounts
- After a deposit owner dies, FDIC insurance on the account stays the same for six months, unless the account is restructured.
Law: 12 CFR 330.3(j)
Medicaid estate recovery
- States must try to recover some Medicaid costs from the estate of a person who got benefits at age 55 or older: nursing facility services, home and community-based services, and related hospital and prescription drug services.
- The 'estate' includes at least the property in the person's probate estate under state law.
- Https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/42/1396p?type=usc&year=mostrecent&link-type=html
Law: 42 U.S.C. 1396p(b)
Death certificates
- Certified copies of a death certificate come from the vital records office of the state where the death happened, not from the federal government.
Free help in Michigan
A court self-help center or a legal aid office can check whether the estate qualifies, free of charge or at low cost.
- Michigan Legal Help: find legal aid, self-help centers and clinics
- State Bar of Michigan Lawyer Referral and Information Service · (800) 968-0738
- Michigan courts: SCAO-approved court forms (probate forms PC 556, PC 598)
- Michigan Legal Help (statewide self-help website)
- LawHelp.org
- Legal Services Corporation (LSC) - Find legal aid
- Eldercare Locator · 1-800-677-1116
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (debt collection and mortgage complaints) · (855) 411-2372
More help on our sister sites
Questions about small estates in Michigan
What is a small estate affidavit called in Michigan?
In Michigan this is called: Affidavit of Decedent's Successor for Delivery of Certain Assets Owned by Decedent (small estate affidavit); Petition and Order for Assignment (small estate assignment). If the estate has no real estate and is worth no more than a set amount, the people who inherit can collect personal property with a sworn affidavit 28 days after the death, without going to court.
What is the small estate limit in Michigan?
Up to $53,000 (deaths from January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026), 28 days after the death, no court filing.
How long do I wait in Michigan?
More than 28 days must have passed since the death.
Do I have to go to court in Michigan?
Not filed with a court. You give it to the holder of the property.
How do I transfer a car after a death in Michigan?
If the person left no other property that needs probate, the surviving spouse, or an heir in the order set by inheritance law, can get a new title at a Secretary of State office with proof of death and a signed Certification from the Heir to a Vehicle.
What happens to a bank account after a death in Michigan?
A joint account with survivorship or a payable-on-death account goes to the surviving owner or beneficiary without probate. For an account in the person's name alone, the successor can use the small estate affidavit more than 28 days after the death if the whole estate, minus liens, is within the limit ($53,000 for 2026 deaths) and includes no real estate.
Who inherits in Michigan if there is no will?
If there is no will and no descendant or parent survives, the spouse gets everything. Otherwise, for 2026 deaths, the spouse gets the first $301,000 plus one-half of the rest when the person left descendants, or plus three-quarters of the rest when no descendant but a parent survives.
Do I owe the person's debts in Michigan?
A person who collects property with the small estate affidavit must answer for it to a personal representative or anyone with a better right. An heir (other than a qualifying spouse or minor child) who receives property under a court order of assignment is responsible for 63 days after the order for the person's unpaid debts, up to the value received.
- MCL 700.3981-700.3984 (Michigan Legislature)
- MCL 700.1210 cost-of-living adjustment
- Michigan Department of Treasury, EPIC cost-of-living adjustments (January 30, 2026)
- SCAO form PC 598 (Rev. 4/24)
- SCAO form PC 556 (Rev. 3/25)
- MCL 600.880 and 600.871 (probate fees)
- MCL 257.236 (vehicle transfer to heir)
- Michigan Secretary of State: Titles (deceased owner)
- Estates and Protected Individuals Code full text (PDF)
- MDHHS Estate Recovery
- MCL 700.2102, 700.2103 (intestate shares)
- MDHHS Vital Records: Order a Copy of a Vital Record