Michigan Petition for Letters of Administration

IMPORTANT: THIS IS A PREPARATION GUIDE — NOT THE OFFICIAL COURT FORM

Michigan requires the use of official SCAO court form PC 559 (Petition for
Probate and/or Appointment of Personal Representative) for petitions for letters
of administration. This template provides the substantive legal content to help
you prepare — but you must transfer your content to the official form before filing.
The official form is available at courts.michigan.gov.
Do not file this document directly with the court.

PETITION FOR PROBATE AND APPOINTMENT OF PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE (INTESTATE)

STATE OF MICHIGAN

PROBATE COURT

COUNTY OF [________________________________]

In the Matter of the Estate of:

[________________________________], Deceased.

File No. [________________________________]

(Filed Pursuant to MCL §§ 700.3401 and 700.3402)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Jurisdictional Statements
2. Decedent Information
3. Basis for Administration
4. Heirs at Law
5. Estate Assets and Liabilities
6. Petitioner's Qualifications and Priority
7. Type of Proceedings and Administration
8. Bond
9. Prayer for Relief
10. Verification
11. Execution

1. JURISDICTIONAL STATEMENTS

Petitioner, [________________________________] ("Petitioner"), respectfully represents to this Court:

(a) The decedent, [________________________________] ("Decedent"), was domiciled in [________________________________] County, Michigan, at the time of death.

(b) The Decedent died on [__/__/____] at [________________________________] (city/state).

(c) This Court has jurisdiction pursuant to MCL § 700.1302, and venue is proper in this county pursuant to MCL § 700.1303.

2. DECEDENT INFORMATION

(a) Full legal name of Decedent: [________________________________]

(b) Also known as (if any): [________________________________]

(c) Social Security Number (last four digits): XXX-XX-[____]

(d) Date of birth: [__/__/____]

(e) Date of death: [__/__/____]

(f) Place of death: [________________________________]

(g) Last domiciliary address: [________________________________]

(h) Marital status at death:

• ☐ Married
• ☐ Single / Never Married
• ☐ Divorced
• ☐ Widowed

3. BASIS FOR ADMINISTRATION

Petitioner states that:

(a) ☐ The Decedent died intestate (without a valid will).

(b) ☐ After exercise of reasonable diligence, Petitioner is unaware of any unrevoked testamentary instrument relating to property in Michigan.

(c) ☐ The Decedent left property in the State of Michigan requiring administration.

(d) ☐ The time limit for commencement of proceedings under MCL § 700.3108 has not expired (within 3 years after death).

(e) ☐ The estate is not eligible for transfer by affidavit under MCL § 700.3982 because the gross estate exceeds $25,000.

4. HEIRS AT LAW

Petitioner identifies the following heirs at law under MCL §§ 700.2101 through 700.2114:

☐ All heirs at law are adults and have been identified above.

☐ The following heir(s) are minors: [________________________________]

☐ The following heir(s) are legally incapacitated: [________________________________]

☐ The following heir(s) are unknown or cannot be located: [________________________________]

5. ESTATE ASSETS AND LIABILITIES

(a) Estimated value of real property: $[________________________________]

(b) Estimated value of personal property: $[________________________________]

(c) Estimated total value of estate: $[________________________________]

(d) Known debts and obligations (approximate): $[________________________________]

6. PETITIONER'S QUALIFICATIONS AND PRIORITY

(a) Petitioner's full name: [________________________________]

(b) Petitioner's address: [________________________________]

(c) Petitioner's relationship to Decedent: [________________________________]

(d) Petitioner's priority for appointment under MCL § 700.3203:

• ☐ Surviving spouse who is also an heir
• ☐ Other heirs of the decedent
• ☐ Surviving spouse who is not an heir
• ☐ Nominee of a person entitled to appointment
• ☐ Creditor (42 days after death have elapsed)
• ☐ Other: [________________________________]

(e) Petitioner is at least eighteen (18) years of age: ☐ Yes

(f) Petitioner is suitable and not disqualified under MCL § 700.3204: ☐ Yes

(g) The names and addresses of all persons having a prior or equal right to appointment are listed above: ☐ Yes

7. TYPE OF PROCEEDINGS AND ADMINISTRATION

Type of Proceeding:

☐ Formal — Petitioner requests formal probate proceedings before the probate judge (MCL § 700.3401).

☐ Informal — Petitioner requests informal appointment through the probate register (MCL § 700.3301).

Type of Administration:

☐ Unsupervised — Petitioner requests independent administration without ongoing court supervision.

☐ Supervised — Petitioner requests supervised administration under MCL § 700.3501.

8. BOND

(a) ☐ Petitioner requests that bond be set in the amount determined by the Court pursuant to MCL § 700.3601.

(b) ☐ Petitioner requests bond without sureties.

(c) ☐ Petitioner requests waiver of bond because all interested persons consent.

9. PRAYER FOR RELIEF

WHEREFORE, Petitioner respectfully prays that this Court:

(a) Adjudicate that the Decedent died intestate;

(b) Determine the heirs at law of the Decedent;

(c) Appoint Petitioner as Personal Representative of the Estate of the Decedent;

(d) Issue Letters of Authority to Petitioner;

(e) Set bond in a reasonable amount, or waive bond as appropriate;

(f) Grant such other and further relief as this Court deems just and proper.

10. VERIFICATION

STATE OF MICHIGAN )
) ss.
COUNTY OF [________________________________] )

I, [________________________________], being duly sworn, depose and state that I am the Petitioner in the above-captioned matter, that I have read the foregoing Petition, and that the statements therein are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief.

[________________________________]
Petitioner Signature

Subscribed and sworn to before me this [____] day of [________________________________], 20[____].

[________________________________]
Notary Public, State of Michigan, County of [________________________________]

My Commission Expires: [__/__/____]

11. EXECUTION

PETITIONER:

Signature: [________________________________]

Printed Name: [________________________________]

Address: [________________________________]

Telephone: [________________________________]

Email: [________________________________]

Date: [__/__/____]

ATTORNEY FOR PETITIONER (if applicable):

Signature: [________________________________]

Printed Name: [________________________________]

Michigan Bar No. (P-Number): [________________________________]

Firm: [________________________________]

Address: [________________________________]

Telephone: [________________________________]

Email: [________________________________]

ACCEPTANCE OF APPOINTMENT

I, [________________________________], hereby accept appointment as Personal Representative of the Estate of [________________________________], Deceased, and acknowledge my duties and obligations under MCL § 700.3703.

☐ I acknowledge that I must file an inventory within 91 days of appointment (MCL § 700.3706).

☐ I acknowledge that I must publish notice to creditors within specified time frames.

Signature: [________________________________]

Date: [__/__/____]

This petition is subject to review and approval by the Probate Court. Filing fees are due at the time of filing. The SCAO-approved forms (PC 558 for informal, PC 559 for formal) must be used. Consult the local probate court clerk for current filing requirements and fees.