If you have landed here, someone you love has probably died, and now you are staring at a question nobody prepares you for: do you need a probate attorney in Michigan, or can you handle this yourself? It is a fair question, and the honest answer is not the one most law firms give you.
Here is the truth. Some Michigan estates are simple enough that you do not need an attorney at all. Others will punish you, financially and personally, if you try to go it alone. The trick is knowing which situation you are in before you make a decision you cannot undo.
This guide walks through both: when a do-it-yourself approach is reasonable, when professional representation is essential, and the specific mistakes that cost Michigan families far more than an attorney ever would. At Boroja, Bernier & Associates, we help families across Macomb County, Oakland County, Wayne County, and throughout Southeast Michigan, Central Michigan, and Mid-Michigan, and we would rather tell you the truth than sell you something you do not need.
The Honest Answer: Sometimes No, Often Yes
Probate is the court-supervised process of settling a deceased person’s estate: validating the will if there is one, appointing someone to manage the estate, paying debts and taxes, and distributing what is left to the heirs. Whether you need an attorney depends almost entirely on three things: how large the estate is, what kind of assets it holds, and whether anyone is going to fight.
Most Michigan estates proceed informally under MCL 700.3301 et seq., the streamlined path that avoids most court hearings. Informal does not mean simple, and it does not mean safe to wing it. It means the paperwork, the deadlines, and the personal liability all land on whoever is appointed, with less court oversight to catch mistakes before they become expensive.
In our experience, the people who get hurt in probate are rarely the ones who hired a lawyer. They are the ones who assumed a simple estate would stay simple.
When You Probably Do Not Need a Probate Attorney
Let us start with the good news. There are real situations where hiring an attorney would be overkill.
The estate qualifies as a small estate
Michigan offers simplified procedures for small estates. If the total value of the probate assets is at or below the small estate threshold, currently $50,000 under MCL 700.3982 and MCL 700.3983 and adjusted upward each year for inflation, the estate can often be settled with a sworn small estate affidavit or a petition and order for assignment rather than a full probate. These procedures are built to be accessible. The petition and order for assignment is typically handled by the court clerk without a formal hearing, and there is no requirement to publish notice to creditors.
A word of caution. That $50,000 figure changes annually, so confirm the current number before you rely on it. And the threshold looks only at probate assets, not everything the person owned. If most of the estate passed outside probate, the part that actually goes through court may be smaller than you think. Our Michigan small estates guide walks through how these procedures work in more detail.
Everything passes outside probate
Sometimes there is nothing to probate at all. Assets with a named beneficiary or a survivorship feature skip probate entirely: life insurance and retirement accounts with living beneficiaries, bank accounts with a payable-on-death designation, property held jointly with rights of survivorship, real estate transferred by an enhanced life estate deed (often called a Lady Bird deed), and a funded revocable living trust. If the entire estate is structured this way, probate may be unnecessary, and so is a probate attorney.
There is only a vehicle or watercraft to transfer
Michigan lets families transfer vehicles and watercraft without probate up to certain limits, currently $100,000 in aggregate value for vehicles under MCL 257.236 and a higher threshold for watercraft under MCL 324.80312, both adjusted over time. The transfer runs through the Secretary of State, not the probate court. If a car or a boat is the only thing in the estate, you almost certainly do not need an attorney.
When You Almost Certainly Need a Probate Attorney
Now the harder truth. The moment an estate involves any of the following, the value an attorney provides usually dwarfs the cost.
There is real estate in the estate
Real property is the single most common reason a do-it-yourself probate goes sideways. Transferring a house through probate requires the estate to be properly opened, the personal representative properly appointed, and the deed properly drafted and recorded. A mistake in the chain of title can surface years later when the family tries to sell, costing far more than doing it right the first time.
The estate is larger than the small estate limit
Once the probate estate exceeds the small estate threshold, you are into full probate administration, with all of its deadlines and duties. The personal representative must notify heirs and devisees within 14 days of appointment under MCR 5.304(A), prepare and file an inventory within 91 days under MCL 700.3706, publish and serve notice to creditors under MCL 700.3801, and properly allow or disallow claims, where a disallowed claim is barred only if the creditor fails to sue within 63 days under MCL 700.3806. Miss one of these and the consequences land on you personally.
Someone is fighting, or might
If there is any whiff of a dispute, a contested will, a sibling who feels cheated, an heir nobody can find, or a second marriage with stepchildren, you want an attorney before the first filing, not after. Will contests and family disputes are litigation, and litigation is not a place to learn on the job. The earlier you have counsel, the more options you have.
There are debts, a business, out-of-state property, or Medicaid recovery
Complexity multiplies risk. An insolvent estate, where debts exceed assets, requires careful prioritizing of creditors, and paying the wrong one first can make the personal representative personally liable. A closely held business needs valuation and a plan for continuity or sale. Property in another state usually triggers a second, ancillary probate. And if the deceased received Medicaid benefits, Michigan’s estate recovery program under MCL 400.112g may have a claim against the probate estate. Each of these is a place where good advice pays for itself.
The DIY Mistakes That Cost Families the Most
When do-it-yourself probate goes wrong, it usually goes wrong the same way. The most common and most expensive mistakes we see:
Missing a deadline. The 14-day heir notice and the 91-day inventory are not suggestions. A personal representative who misses them can be removed, surcharged, or held personally responsible for the resulting harm.
Distributing too early. Hand out the assets before the creditor period closes, then watch a valid claim arrive, and the personal representative may have to pay it out of pocket. Michigan treats a personal representative who breaches these duties as personally liable under MCL 700.3712.
Assuming a will avoids probate. It does not. A will is a set of instructions for the probate court. The assets a will controls are precisely the assets that go through probate.
Filing the wrong way in the wrong court. Choosing formal proceedings when informal would do, or filing in the wrong county, adds months and cost to an estate that did not need either.
Underestimating the paperwork. Letters of Authority, inventories, accountings, notices, and receipts all have to be done correctly and on time.
A will does not avoid probate. A will is a letter to the probate judge. If keeping your family out of court is the goal, that is a planning conversation to have long before anyone dies.
Who Actually Pays the Attorney (It Is Not You)
Here is something most people get wrong: in a probate administration, the attorney is generally paid by the estate, not out of the heirs’ own pockets. Reasonable attorney fees and the personal representative’s reasonable compensation under MCL 700.3719 come out of estate assets before anything is distributed.
Michigan has no statutory percentage fee schedule for probate attorneys. Fees must simply be reasonable under the Michigan Rules of Professional Conduct, and the court keeps authority to review them. Most Michigan probate work is billed hourly, with a straightforward administration commonly landing between $10,000 and $15,000 depending on complexity. We break down what drives those numbers up or down in a separate guide to Michigan probate costs. Either way, the cost of competent help comes from the estate, and it is almost always less than the cost of cleaning up a do-it-yourself mistake.
How Michigan Courts Make DIY Harder Than It Looks
Even a straightforward estate runs into the realities of how Michigan probate courts actually operate. Oakland County requires electronic filing through the statewide system and is strict about original wills, and same-day Letters of Authority are no longer available there for informal applications. Macomb County does not accept filings after 4:00 PM and will not take them by email or fax, and certain account filings must be made in person. None of this is insurmountable, but it is the kind of friction that turns a quick errand into a wasted afternoon when you do not know the local rules. An attorney who practices in these courts every week does.
One detail that trips families up: Letters of Authority do not legally expire, but most banks will not honor them unless they were issued recently, which often means returning to court for refreshed letters before funds are released.
Frequently Asked Questions About Hiring a Probate Attorney in Michigan
Often, no. If the probate estate is at or below the small estate threshold, currently $50,000 and adjusted annually, Michigan’s simplified small estate procedures are designed to be handled without an attorney, and many families complete a sworn affidavit or a petition for assignment on their own. If the estate includes real estate or any hint of a dispute, get advice even when the dollar value is low.
Yes. Michigan law allows a personal representative to proceed without an attorney. Whether you should depends on the estate. Simple estates with cooperative heirs and no real property are the best candidates. Once there is real estate, significant debt, a business, or conflict among heirs, doing it yourself exposes you to personal liability that usually costs more than representation would have.
Michigan has no fixed statutory percentage. Most probate attorneys bill hourly, and a straightforward administration commonly runs between $10,000 and $15,000 depending on complexity. Fees must be reasonable, and the court can review them. Importantly, those fees are generally paid from the estate, not by the heirs personally.
The estate. Reasonable attorney fees and the personal representative’s compensation are paid from estate assets before the remaining property is distributed to the heirs. Heirs are not personally responsible for the attorney’s bill.
No. A will does not avoid probate; it directs how the probate court should distribute the assets it controls. Avoiding probate requires planning tools such as a funded revocable living trust, beneficiary designations, joint ownership, or an enhanced life estate deed, all put in place before death.
Speak With a Michigan Probate Attorney
At Boroja, Bernier & Associates, our probate attorneys help Michigan families decide, honestly, whether they need representation at all, and then handle the matters that genuinely require it. We help families in Macomb County, Oakland County, Wayne County, and throughout Southeast Michigan, Central Michigan, and Mid-Michigan settle estates efficiently and avoid the personal liability that catches do-it-yourself executors off guard.
If you are not sure which situation you are in, that is exactly the conversation worth having before you file anything. To schedule a consultation with the Michigan probate attorneys at Boroja, Bernier & Associates, call (586) 991-7611. With our main office in Shelby Township and additional offices in Troy, Ann Arbor, and Lansing, we are here to help.
About the Author
This article was written by Daniel Boroja, Esq., a partner at Boroja, Bernier & Associates PLLC, admitted to the State Bar of Michigan in 2013 (Bar No. P77079). Daniel focuses his practice on estate planning, probate and trust administration, and elder law and Medicaid planning for Michigan families.
