Michigan Deceased Tenant Estate and Landlord Coordination Packet
MICHIGAN DECEASED TENANT ESTATE AND LANDLORD COORDINATION PACKET
Before use: MCL 600.2918(3)(d) is a conditional exception to the unlawful-interference rule, not a general rule that death ends a tenancy or transfers estate property. The owner must establish every condition below before using the death-specific reentry and contents route. Keep the lease, possession, deposit and estate-title decisions separate.
Case and threshold record
| Condition | Evidence and reviewer |
|---|---|
| Tenant, dwelling, death and possible surviving tenant | [LEASE / DEATH RECORD / OCCUPANCY CHECK / DATE] |
| Owner's earlier written notice to tenant offering the option to name a death contact | [COPY / DELIVERY / DATE] |
| Tenant's supplied contact details, if any | [DESIGNATION / NAME / ADDRESS / PHONE] |
| Current rent unpaid | [LEDGER / DUE DATE / AMOUNT] |
| Good-faith basis for belief tenant deceased at least 18 days and no surviving tenant | [FACTS / DATE / REVIEWER] |
| Probate estate opened in this county or written notice of one elsewhere | [COURT CHECK / DOCUMENTS / CONTACT] |
| Lease end, deposit and title to property reviewed separately | [DOCUMENTS / DECISION] |
A. Estate representative or designated contact: notice and coordination request
Date: [__/__/____] To owner or landlord: [NAME / ADDRESS]
Tenant and premises: [NAME / ADDRESS]. I am [NAME], acting as ☐ a person the tenant named as a death contact ☐ an appointed personal representative ☐ a public administrator ☐ another person whose claimed authority is described in [DOCUMENT]. My contact details are [ADDRESS / PHONE / EMAIL]. I enclose [APPOINTMENT / WRITTEN DESIGNATION / IDENTIFICATION].
☐ A probate estate has been opened in [COUNTY / COURT / CASE NUMBER] on [DATE], and the personal representative's name and address are [DETAILS]. This is written notice of that estate for purposes of MCL 600.2918(3)(d)(v).
☐ I request a coordinated access appointment on [DATE / TIME] or [ALTERNATE] to identify and safeguard [PROPERTY], subject to review of my authority and other claimants. Please preserve the premises and tell me of any posted reentry notice, public-administrator notice, proposed property action, or competing appointment.
The tenant's naming of a death contact does not itself appoint that person to administer the estate or make that person personally responsible for rent. Any handoff will be recorded by inventory and receipt.
Signature: ______________________________ Date: [__/__/____]
Delivery record: [METHOD / DATE / PROOF]
B. Owner: reasonable contact attempt and probate request
Date: [__/__/____] To tenant's named contact: [NAME / ADDRESS / PHONE]
I believe [TENANT NAME] died on [DATE]. You were identified in the contact information provided by the tenant after the owner gave the written option described in MCL 600.2918(3)(d)(i). Please advise whether a probate estate has been opened. If appropriate, I request that you open a probate estate within 28 days after the tenant's death, as described in § 2918(3)(d)(iv)(A). Please send the court, case number, and personal representative's name and address to [OWNER CONTACT]. This request does not appoint you as representative or impose the estate's debts on you.
Attempt record: [METHOD / NUMBER OR ADDRESS USED / DATE / RESPONSE / PROOF]. Owner signature: ______________________________
C. Owner: notice posted on the premises
Posted on: [DATE / TIME] Premises: [ADDRESS]
The owner believes that [TENANT NAME] has died. If every condition of MCL 600.2918(3)(d) is met, the owner intends to reenter, take possession of these premises, and dispose of their contents after at least ten days have elapsed from this posting. The earliest proposed date is [DATE / TIME]. A probate estate or surviving tenant may prevent use of this route. Anyone with a court appointment or information about an estate should promptly notify [OWNER NAME / MAILING ADDRESS / PHONE / EMAIL] and provide the supporting document.
Owner signature: ______________________________ Date: [__/__/____]
Posting proof: [PHOTO / WITNESS / LOCATION / TIME]
D. Owner: notice to public administrator
Date: [__/__/____] To: ☐ public administrator for [COUNTY] ☐ state public administrator because no county public administrator is available. Delivery: [ADDRESS / METHOD / PROOF]
I believe [TENANT NAME] died on [DATE] while occupying [ADDRESS]. Subject to every condition of MCL 600.2918(3)(d), I intend to reenter, take possession, and dispose of the premises' contents after the ten-day posted-notice period, if no probate estate is opened. The notice was posted on [DATE]; the earliest contemplated reentry is [DATE]. Please advise whether an estate has been opened or whether you request access before that period expires. On timely request and presentation of proper credentials and identification, access will be arranged as required by § 2918(3)(d)(iv)(C). Opening an estate is at the public administrator's discretion and expense under subsection (4).
Owner contact and signature: [NAME / PHONE / ADDRESS] ______________________________
E. Final reentry and property decision record
| Required check | Result and evidence |
|---|---|
| Written option to tenant to supply death-contact information existed before death | [COPY / DATE] |
| Current rent unpaid; good-faith belief of death for at least 18 days; no surviving tenant | [LEDGER / FACTS / DATE] |
| Reasonable contact attempt and 28-day-after-death probate request, if tenant supplied contact | [LETTER / ATTEMPTS / DATES] |
| Posted notice specified reentry, possession and contents after ten days; full ten-day period elapsed | [COPY / PHOTO / START / END] |
| Correct county public administrator, or state administrator if none, notified; any timely access request handled | [NOTICE / DELIVERY / RESPONSE] |
| No county probate estate opened by any person and no written out-of-county estate notice naming its representative | [COURT CHECK / MAIL REVIEW / DATE] |
| Other possession, lease, deposit and competing-property claims reviewed | [DOCUMENTS / DECISION] |
| Inventory, custody, disposal and accounting plan approved only after all conditions are satisfied | [INVENTORY / DATE / RECIPIENT / COSTS] |
Reviewer: [NAME / DATE]. Approved next step, if any: [ACTION / DATE / BASIS]. This record does not itself authorize entry or disposal. If any condition fails, obtain a separate lawful route and preserve the property pending review.
About this template
- Last updated
- October 3, 2026
- Citations checked
- October 3, 2026
- Jurisdiction
- Michigan
- Category
- Landlord & Tenant
Legal authority
- MCL 600.2918(2)-(4)
Landlord-tenant paperwork governs who can stay in a property, on what terms, and what happens when something goes wrong. Leases, notices to quit, security deposit demands, and habitability complaints all have state and often city-specific requirements for timing, content, and service. Getting the paperwork right is what makes an eviction actually succeed or a security deposit actually come back, because judges regularly dismiss cases over small procedural mistakes.
Not legal advice
This template is provided for informational purposes. We recommend having an attorney review any legal document before signing, especially for high-value or complex matters.
Checked against the law it cites
A reviewer verified this template's legal citations against the official source on October 3, 2026.
MCL 600.2918(2) (checked October 3, 2026): "Any tenant in possession of premises whose possessory interest has been unlawfully interfered with by the owner is entitled to recover the amount of his or her actual damages or $200.00, whichever is greater, for each occurrence and, if possession has been lost, to recover possession."
MCL 600.2918(3) (checked October 3, 2026): "An owner's actions do not unlawfully interfere with a possessory interest if any of the following apply:"
MCL 600.2918(3)(d)(i) (checked October 3, 2026): "The owner informed the tenant in writing of the tenant's option to provide contact information for an authorized person the owner could contact in the event of the tenant's death."
MCL 600.2918(3)(d)(ii) (checked October 3, 2026): "Current rent has not been paid."
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