Michigan: Petition to Probate a Will Requirements

Requirements one by one

Informal probate and formal testacy are different tracks

Michigan's Estates and Protected Individuals Code makes informal probate a
register proceeding “without notice to interested persons” under § 700.1105(b).
Formal testacy under § 700.3401 is litigation asking the probate court for an
order after notice and hearing. A formal proceeding may seek probate without
requesting appointment, and it may proceed even if the same or a conflicting
will has already been informally probated.

Under § 700.3102, a will becomes effective to prove a property transfer or
nominate a personal representative only through a register's informal-probate
order or a court's adjudication. Section 700.3103 separately requires
appointment, qualification, and letters before a personal representative gains
the office's powers and duties.

Probate court and county venue

Under § 700.1103(k), the relevant court is the probate court, while
§ 700.1302 gives it exclusive jurisdiction over the listed estate matters. The
first informal or formal proceeding belongs in the decedent's county of domicile
or, for a nondomiciliary, a county where the decedent owned property at death.

An informal first filing in the wrong county is not necessarily fatal. Under
§ 700.3201(3), an interested person may apply for transfer after notice to the
first proceeding's proponent, and the court may send the proceeding and file to
the proper county.

Who may file and what each filing states

“Interested person” in § 700.1105(c) includes the incumbent fiduciary, heirs,
devisees, children, spouse, creditors, beneficiaries, persons with estate rights
or claims, persons with appointment priority, and fiduciaries representing an
interested person; the exact class depends on the matter. An interested person
may apply informally. If no informal application is filed within 28 days after
death, § 700.3301 also permits a person with a right or cause of action that
cannot be enforced without administration or appointment to apply. Section
700.3401 permits either category to start formal testacy.

The informal application is sworn. Section 700.3301 requires applicant interest;
decedent name, death, age, and domicile; known spouse, children, devisees, heirs,
addresses, and minor ages; nondomiciliary venue; an existing representative;
and the original-will, execution, revocation-search, and last-will statements.
If appointment is requested, it adds the will date, probate status, and the
proposed representative's name, address, and priority.

A formal petition under § 700.3402 requests a testacy order and determination of
heirs, imports the specified informal-application facts, and explains whether the
original is already held or accompanies the filing. The petition may also request
appointment and may request supervised administration as a separate overlay.

Original will, unavailable original, and delivery

Informal probate requires the original will in the court's possession or with
the application. The statutory exception is an authenticated copy of a will
already probated in another jurisdiction. Formal probate can handle an
unavailable original, but § 700.3402(1)(c) requires the petition to state the
will's contents and identify it as lost, destroyed, or otherwise unavailable if
neither the original nor the specified authenticated copy is present.

The will holder has a separate clock. Under § 700.2516, a custodian or
other person possessing or caring for the will to forward it to the court with
“reasonable promptness” after death, personally or by registered mail. Neglect
without reasonable cause can create damages, and willful refusal after a court
order can result in contempt.

Filing clocks and proof

The 28-day language in § 700.3301 expands informal applicant eligibility; it is
not an outside probate deadline. Section 700.3307 creates another 28-day rule:
for a nondomiciliary decedent, the register ordinarily delays informal
appointment until 28 days after death, subject to its domiciliary-representative
and governing-law exceptions. Parts 3 and 4 state no general outside deadline
for an original Michigan probate petition.

For informal probate, §§ 700.3302 to 700.3305 let the register act without
further proof when the will appears signed and has an adequate attestation
clause. Otherwise, the register may assume execution from the document or accept
a sworn statement from a person who knows the execution circumstances, whether
or not that person witnessed the will. A denial is not an adjudication and does
not bar formal probate.

Michigan's § 700.2504 permits both the notarized sworn-statement route and a
signed, dated, unsworn declaration under Michigan's penalty-of-perjury language.
In formal probate, §§ 700.3405 to 700.3406 use one attesting witness when
execution evidence is necessary, with other evidence when witness proof is
unavailable or for an attested or unattested will. A self-proved will conclusively
establishes signature compliance and creates rebuttable presumptions for the
other execution requirements, absent fraud or forgery affecting the self-proof.

Notice, hearing, and objections

Informal probate does not require general advance notice, but it has later and
appointment-specific duties. Under § 700.3306, the applicant generally has 28
days after informal probate to send the required probate information to heirs,
devisees, demanders, and other interested persons. Section 700.3310 requires
notice of an intended informal appointment to each person with an unwaived prior
or equal right.

Formal testacy requires a hearing. Under § 700.3403, notice goes to heirs;
devisees and personal representatives named in offered or probated wills; an existing
personal representative; notice demanders; and the specified trust's trustee.
Unknown interested persons and known persons with unknown addresses receive
publication. Under § 700.3404, an opponent must state the objections to probate
in the party's pleadings.

Appointment, acceptance, bond, and letters

Under § 700.3203, first appointment priority belongs to the person selected by a
probated will, including a person nominated under a power in the will. A person
with a lower statutory priority may nominate or renounce in writing as the
section permits. Section 700.3204 disqualifies a person under 18 or a person the
court finds unsuitable in formal proceedings.

Before letters, § 700.3601 requires any necessary bond and a filed statement
accepting the office's duties. Informal appointment ordinarily requires no bond,
but § 700.3603 lists special-personal-representative, express-will, and demand
exceptions. In formal proceedings, the court may order bond, but the will's
waiver or requirement affects that decision under the statute's stated tests.

Section 700.3605 currently uses a $30,000 statutory amount for an estate-interest
or creditor demand and expressly subjects that amount to adjustment under
§ 700.1210. Once the representative is appointed, qualifies, and receives
letters, § 700.3103 treats issuance of letters as the start of estate
administration.

What trips people up

Twenty-eight days is not a filing bar. It opens the informal route to a
person with an otherwise unenforceable right or cause of action. A separate
28-day rule can delay a nondomiciliary informal appointment.

Informal does not mean no notice ever. General notice does not precede the
register's probate decision, but post-probate information and prior-or-equal
appointment notice still apply.

A missing original changes the route. Informal probate requires the original
or the narrow authenticated foreign-probate copy. A formal petition can allege
the contents and explain loss, destruction, or other unavailability.

Bond rules depend on the track and current adjusted amount. Informal
appointment starts with no bond; formal appointment gives the court more room.
Any demand analysis must use § 700.3605's current amount and adjustment rule.

Common questions

Can the court formally probate a will without appointing a representative?

Yes. Section 700.3401 expressly says formal testacy may, but need not, include a
request to appoint a personal representative.

Does denial of an informal application decide that the will is invalid?

No. Section 700.3305 says the register's denial is not an adjudication and does
not preclude formal probate.

Can a nominee serve before turning 18?

No. Section 700.3204 states that a person under 18 is not qualified to serve as
personal representative.

Statutes and sources

• Mich. Comp. Laws §§ 700.1103, 700.1105, 700.1302 — probate court, informal proceeding, interested person, and jurisdiction. Official Act 386 PDF (accessed 2026-08-03).
• Mich. Comp. Laws §§ 700.2504, 700.2516 — self-proof and will-custodian delivery. Official Act 386 PDF (accessed 2026-08-03).
• Mich. Comp. Laws §§ 700.3102-.3103, 700.3201, 700.3203-.3204 — probate order, letters, venue, priority, and qualification. Official Act 386 PDF (accessed 2026-08-03).
• Mich. Comp. Laws §§ 700.3301-.3310 — informal application, original will, proof, notice, appointment, and denial. Official Act 386 PDF (accessed 2026-08-03).
• Mich. Comp. Laws §§ 700.3401-.3406 — formal petition, original status, notice, objections, hearing, and proof. Official Act 386 PDF (accessed 2026-08-03).
• Mich. Comp. Laws §§ 700.3601-.3605 — acceptance, bond, and letters qualification. Official Act 386 PDF (accessed 2026-08-03).