For attorneys and fiduciaries

This page is written for probate counsel and personal representatives who already understand the mechanics of Michigan title and estate administration. It describes how I work and how a transaction is typically structured.

Michigan probate case types and what each accomplishes for real property

Michigan has several probate proceedings, and they are not interchangeable when it comes to real estate. Informal probate and formal testacy proceedings appoint a personal representative, but the authority to convey real property depends on the scope granted and whether the estate remains open. Supervised administration gives the court ongoing oversight, which can affect the timing of a sale. A petition and order for assignment can assign real property, and the SCAO form provides for it. In practice it rarely reaches a house, because eligibility turns on estate value after funeral and burial expenses and a house of any value exceeds the threshold. The order also assigns only what the petition listed. The relevant question is not whether an estate was opened, but whether the appointed fiduciary had, and still has, the authority to execute and record a deed.

Why an estate can close without conveying the land

An estate closes when the personal representative has completed administration and the court enters an order closing the estate. Closing discharges the fiduciary. It does not, by itself, transfer title to any asset. If no deed was recorded during administration, the real estate remains titled in the name of the deceased. The property was simply not dealt with. Closing the estate without conveying the land is one of the most common reasons a parcel ends up stuck.

What is needed to reopen or obtain authority to convey

If the estate was closed without conveying the property, the path forward usually involves reopening the estate or petitioning for the authority to convey. Reinstatement of a closed estate requires a court order, typically on a showing that further administration is necessary. Once reopened, or if the estate is still open, the personal representative can execute a fiduciary deed. If no personal representative was ever appointed, a proceeding to open the estate, or an alternative proceeding appropriate to the circumstances, may be required. The specific route depends on the facts of the chain of title and the status of the estate.

How Royal Oak Sites typically structures a transaction

I work in one of two ways, depending on what the estate and the fiduciary prefer.

The first is a purchase. If the estate or the fiduciary wishes to sell, and the fiduciary has the authority to convey, I purchase the property directly from the estate under the fiduciary's authority. I take title subject to the curative work, and I handle clearing the record after closing. The estate receives the agreed price, and the fiduciary is relieved of the property.

The second is funding the curative work. If the family or the estate prefers to sell on the open market, I can fund the curative work, the recordings, and any probate steps needed to obtain conveyance authority, so that the estate can sell to a third party. In that structure I am paid a fee for the curative work rather than taking title.

In either structure, the fiduciary's counsel is welcome in every conversation. I am not a lawyer and I do not give legal advice. My role is to identify the break in the chain of title and to carry out the steps that repair it, in coordination with the fiduciary and counsel for the estate.