If you recently lost a loved one in Michigan and were appointed the personal representative of their estate or are an heir to their estate, you may be wondering how the estate probate process works and how long you should expect the estate settlement process to take.
At the Estate Planning & Elder Care Firm of Michigan, our experienced Clinton Township probate lawyers understand how stressful it can be to navigate the probate process. Our attorneys are committed to helping clients understand the overall probate timeline and complete the probate process as quickly and easily as possible.
Expected Probate Timeline for a Michigan Estate Settlement
There isn’t a standard length for estate settlement. Every estate is different, which means that the time required to complete the probate process can vary significantly. Depending on the specifics of your loved one’s estate, the probate process can take anywhere from a few months to over a year to complete.
The probate process involves a number of steps, and the way your loved one’s estate was set up can impact what those steps are and how long it can take to navigate them. If our firm is handling the probate of your family member’s estate, our team will work with you throughout the process and explain how you can help us move forward with getting their estate settled as quickly and efficiently as possible.
10 Factors That Affect the Probate Timeline in Michigan
Numerous factors can make the Michigan probate estate settlement process go faster or take longer. As a personal representative or heir, you do not have control over all of the factors impacting the state timeline, which can cause frustration when the process takes longer than you expected or would prefer. Factors that commonly affect how long probating a Michigan estate can take include:
Breach of Fiduciary Duty
The personal representative of an estate has specific responsibilities to fulfill, such as identifying all heirs and creditors, creating an inventory of your loved one’s assets, and paying the inventory fees, bills, and estate taxes. If the personal representative delays fulfilling their duties or breaches their fiduciary duties, the probate will take longer to complete than otherwise necessary.
Supervised Probate
If your loved one’s estate requires filing a supervised probate, this will extend the probate timeline. Supervised probate requires attending a court hearing to obtain court approval for many of the steps in the probate process, which takes time to complete.
Size of the Estate
The size of your loved one’s estate will impact how long it could take to complete the probate process. The estate settlement process will likely take longer to complete for larger estates with significant real estate holdings and other assets than for smaller estates.
Intestate Probate
If your loved one died without a will, their heirs will be determined by Michigan’s intestate succession laws. Locating the heirs and administering an intestate probate can be a more complicated and lengthy process than dealing with an estate where the deceased individual has a valid will.
Will Contests
If an heir to the estate raises a will contest or other challenge during the probate process, this will definitely make the probate take longer. Unfortunately, litigation of this type of issue in probate court could take a year or more to resolve.
Estate Debts
All estate debts must be paid before your loved one’s property can be transferred to their heirs. Depending on how organized your deceased family member was, it could take a long time to identify all of their creditors. Additionally, if you must dispute the estate’s liability to pay a bill or the amount of the debt, litigating these issues could further delay the estate settlement process.
Valuation of Assets
Under Michigan law, the personal representative must inventory and value all assets in the probate estate. If there are a lot of assets and some of them are valuable, it could take you longer to file the inventory with the probate court and pay the required inventory fee.
Estate Taxes
If your family member’s estate is large enough, filing an income tax return and paying the taxes the estate owes will be required. Preparing the estate tax documents can take a considerable amount of time.
Out-of-State Property
The Michigan probate timeline could be much longer if your loved one owed property out-of-state. You may have to file a separate probate in the state where the property is located and wait until that probate is completed to finish probating the estate in Michigan.
Your Attorney
The probate lawyer you hire can have an impact on the length of the probate process. At the Estate Planning & Elder Care Firm of Michigan, we will educate you on the probate process and work with you to help resolve any issues with your family member’s estate so you can complete the estate settlement process as quickly as possible.