You have just been appointed as a fiduciary on behalf of a person and/or estate. Should you accept the appointment of fiduciary, you will need to let the probate court know. The proper way to inform the probate court is by filing the Acceptance of Appointment form. By filling out this form, you will be able to inform the court you are accepting the appointment and will agree to file reports, perform all required tasks associated with the role and submit to personal jurisdiction of the court.
How to Complete an Acceptance of Appointment
The Acceptance of Appointment form is a State Court Administrative Office form. If you need to download the form for free, click here to get a free form of the Acceptance of Appointment. Much like the other State Court Administrative Office forms, the Acceptance of Appointment is pursuant to various statues and court rules.
The Acceptance of Appointment for example, is pursuant to MCL 700.3601, which states:
(1) Prior to receiving letters, a personal representative shall qualify by filing with the appointing court any required bond and a statement of acceptance of the duties of the office.
(2) In filing the statement of acceptance, the personal representative may exclude from the scope of the personal representative’s responsibility, for a period not to exceed 91 days, real estate or an ownership interest in a business entity if the personal representative reasonably believes the real estate or other property owned by the business entity is or may be contaminated by a hazardous substance, or is or has been used for any activity directly or indirectly involving a hazardous substance, that could result in liability to the estate or otherwise impair the value of property held in the estate. The personal representative must identify the real estate or ownership interest being excluded and shall specify the time period of exclusion.
(3) If the personal representative identifies excluded property under subsection (2), the personal representative’s responsibilities extend to the excluded property at the end of the exclusion period or upon the personal representative’s notice to the court of acceptance of that property, unless, before the end of the exclusion period, the personal representative requests the court to appoint a special personal representative with respect to the excluded property or to exercise administrative authority over the excluded property by direct judicial order.
(4) In response to a request by the general personal representative under subsection (3), the court may do either of the following:
(a) Appoint a special personal representative with the duty and authority to collect and manage the excluded property, but only to the extent necessary for proper settlement of the estate and to preserve, account with respect to, and distribute or otherwise dispose of the excluded property as directed by the general personal representative or other court order.
(b) Directly administer the excluded property by judicial orders without the appointment of a personal representative with respect to the property.
In addition to this statute, the Acceptance of Appointment form is pursuant to MCL 700.3602, MCL 700.5214, MCL 700.5301, MCL 700.5307, MCL 700.5412, MCL 700.7202 and MCR 5.501. If you need a deeper dive into this form, view the video below. Darren Findling of The Probate Pro covers everything you’ll want to know about this form.
