When you file for informal probate administration, you will need to fill out SCAO form PC 557. We’re happy to give you this form free of charge if you’re navigating through the informal probate administration process in Royal Oak, MI. With all of these forms you are responsible for, we strongly urge you to work with a lawyer who can guide you through this difficult, confusing, and unintuitive process.
This particular form is used in a very narrow context: this notice of intent is the alternate way to open up the informal probate administration. Rather than having all of the renunciations, you provide notice to the people affected that have a right to notice under Michigan statute. If they fail to act within that time, then you can open the estate informally with the help of a local probate attorney.
All of these state court administrative order or office forms are created by various statutes, like MCL 700.3310 and MCR 5.309. You have to understand the mechanics of these statutes and court rules to properly navigate through this process. Not every estate should go through informal probate administration. Usually, when the family is in great harmony, there’s not a lot of complexity to administering assets. There are no threats of family fights or lawsuits over the admission of a will.
You have to be selective on when to go through informal probate in Royal Oak because there is no final adjudication of the will. It is largely open-ended, but it allows for people to administer their probate estate without a lot of court intervention. Let’s work our way through the form so you know what you are getting into.
The top left corner is where you put the county where the estate is located, and the top right corner is the case number. You may find it odd that the form has a spot for the case number because, when you file the notice of intent, there hasn’t been a case number assigned in probate court. The number is likely added after you have filed it with the probate court. In this particular case, you can skip the section for the case number.
The next section is the name of the person that has died. It then asks if you (the person filling out the form) request informal appointment as personal representative of the estate, and if you are, then you fill out the relevant application that is attached.
The notice is served upon each person whose right to an appointment is higher or equal to your own. For example, under Michigan laws of intestacy, assuming there’s no will, there is a prioritization statute. This requires you to understand the mechanics of who is entitled to notice of appointment of informal probate. People often get this part wrong – even some lawyers.
As long as you get renunciations or give notice of intent to those people of equal or higher right to appointment, then you can move forward. The court will act upon the application until 14 days after the notice is mailed out, or seven days after, if the notice was personally served. You can do this by mail or personal service of the notice of intent. Once the time period expires, the court can appoint the individual through informal probate.
The form will then list the actions you can take. You can pay a filing fee and file a petition for formal probate to appoint a personal representative. You can pay a filing fee with an application of your own seeking appointment. You can also file objections to this process, but you must do it in a way that assures the informal process will come to an end and then become a formal process.
The form provides that you can contact an attorney for representation. A personal representative has the right to hire counsel and have those expenses paid from the estate, but everyone else has to pay those legal fees out of their own pocket. If you receive this form, you must decide if you trust that person to serve as personal representative, and whether it is a good idea for that person to be without court supervision during informal probate administration in Royal Oak.
The court cannot provide legal advice. People often think that court personnel can give them legal advice or help, when they actually cannot. Only a lawyer can do that, and that’s why we urge people to work with a skilled probate practitioner.
There will then be a section for the date, the name of the person filling it out, and the attorney’s information, if there is one.
You will then find a section that provides notice to the applicant. When you ask the court for the informal probate and appointment of personal representative, you attach the notice of intent and the proof of service, and identify whether it’s done by mail, personal service, or publication under the particular court rule.
As you can see, there is a lot to consider, and this is just basic information about this particular form. Administering asset in informal probate can be challenging as well. If you need help with applying for informal probate administration in Royal Oak, call The Probate Pro now and learn why we are a trusted ally when it comes to all probate matters.