The Probate Law Firm of Thav, Ryke & Associates in Michigan is proud to announce the launch of our mobile app. Why is it a good idea for you to download our new mobile app?

Here are some things that our mobile app can do for you:

It all starts with one tap. Download our mobile app today, available on The App Store and Google Play Store.

Remember, when a person dies, that person is called a decedent. A decedent leaves property behind. That property needs to be passed on to those who will inherit it. Our mobile app can help you because the property of the deceased could include:

Real estate (houses and other buildings, land and the things attached to it)

Personal property (furniture, cars, and other things not attached to land)

Bank accounts, Stocks and bonds, and Debts owed to the person

The law spells out how a person’s property must be distributed when that person dies. In Michigan, the probate courts are in charge of making sure a decedent’s estate is distributed correctly. This is called probate administration. The estate includes a lot of the decedent’s property. Some of the property is not part of the estate, and is not distributed through the probate court. The estate does not usually include:

Jointly owned property, Insurance policies, Retirement accounts, or Trusts that are not established by a will

Jointly Owned Property
Jointly owned property is property owned by more than one person. It is generally not included in an estate. Examples of jointly owned personal property are if you and the decedent are both listed on the title of a car or if you have joint bank accounts. When the decedent died, you automatically have full ownership of that property, so it is not part of the estate. You may want to take a copy of the decedent’s death certificate to the bank or Secretary of State office to remove the decedent’s name from the account or car title.

However, sometimes joint ownership is more complex. If you own real property with the decedent, or if you own any type of property with the decedent and someone else, ownership can be hard to understand after a death. Read the article Jointly Owned Property to learn more about this, or use the Guide to Legal Help to find a lawyer or legal services in your area.

Simplified Processes
There are different ways an estate can be administered. If the estate does not have much property in it, you may be able to use a simplified process where the probate court is not involved at all, or only a little bit. The simplified processes are:

Assignment of Property, Transfer by Affidavit, Collect money due from an employer, Transfer a vehicle, Collect personal property

In order to qualify for a simplified process, an estate must be valued at or below $25,000 for a decedent who died in 2022. This number goes up every few years. To learn more about the simplified processes, read the article An Overview of Small Estate Processes.

Administration in Probate Court
If a decedent’s estate has a lot of property, or the heirs want to follow the decedent’s will rather than the legal inheritance formula, the estate will usually be distributed using probate proceedings. Probate proceedings can be informal or formal. Formal proceedings have more steps than informal proceedings. If a dispute over the will or appointing a personal representative is likely, formal proceedings give more oversight and finality than informal ones. Formal proceedings are done in front of a probate court judge. You may want to talk to a lawyer if the administration of the estate might be contested.

Our mobile app can help you when the probate process seems challenging and difficult. Download the app today on Apple iOS or Android:

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