Small estate checker for Michigan
Enter the date of death and what the person owned. The page adds what the state counts and compares it with the limit for that date. It does not decide anything.
The limits this checker uses
These come from the state's law as we checked it. The checker picks the row that matches the date of death you enter.
Affidavit of Decedent's Successor for Delivery of Certain Assets Owned by Decedent (form PC 598)
| Date of death | Limit |
|---|---|
January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026 | $53,000 |
January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025 | $51,000 |
January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024 | $50,000 |
January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023 | $27,000 |
January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022 | $25,000 |
28 days after the death.
Petition and Order for Assignment (court order distributing small estates, form PC 556)
| Date of death | Limit |
|---|---|
January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026 | $53,000 |
January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025 | $51,000 |
January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024 | $50,000 |
January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023 | $27,000 |
January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022 | $25,000 |
Also in Michigan (not tested here)
These procedures have their own rules, so the checker does not test them. See the state page.
- Delivery of cash and clothing held by a hospital, nursing home, morgue or police
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
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
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
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
Related pages
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