How Much Does a Probate Lawyer Cost in Michigan? Probate attorney fees in Michigan depend on the specific details of the estate and how complicated the proceedings will be. Attorney fees in the state can cost anywhere from four to eight percent of the estate value.
Just for an example, take a look at California's statutory fee schedule:
Who Pays for a Probate Attorney?
You can use estate assets to pay the bill, before inheritors get anything. Lawyers usually use one of three methods to charge for probate work: by the hour, a flat fee, or a percentage of the value of the estate assets. Your lawyer may let you pick how you pay—for example, $250/hour or a $1,500 flat fee for handling a routine probate case.
The state probate tax is 10 cents per $100 of the estate value at the time of death. The local probate tax is 3.33 cents (one third of 10 cents) per $100 of the estate value at the time of death. The recording fee is $13 for the first four pages of the will, $13 for the List of Heirs, and $1 for each additional page.
Probate Court In an estate of value of less than $1,000.00, $5.00 plus 1% of the amount over $500.00. In an estate of value of $1,000.00 or more, but less than $3,000.00, $25.00. In an estate of value of $3,000.00 or more, but less than $10,000.00, $25.00 plus 5/8 of 1% of the amount over $3,000.00.
Ancillary probate normally requires a lawyer in the state in which the probate is being executed in order to complete. Real Estate Probate – If a property is valued below $22,000, a spouse or any surviving heirs can petition a probate court to have the estate probated.
However, Rule 1.5 of the Michigan Professional Rules of Conduct does not permit a lawyer to charge based on the value of the assets in the estate. In most cases, Michigan probate lawyers charge an hourly fee for services relating to probate and estate administration.
Assets owned in the deceased's name only (such as real estate, bank accounts, stocks and bonds) and personal property exceeding $15,000 generally have to go to probate court. Michigan law also allows for a streamlined probate process in the case of smaller estates under a certain value.
The simple answer is... yes! For the vast majority of probate cases, a lawyer is not required to probate a will. In fact, anyone can interact with the court system and you can do probate without a lawyer.
In the best of circumstances, when everything goes smoothly, the probate process takes at least seven months to complete. A delay due to the nature of the estate or other issues can extend that time by months or even years, depending on what causes the delay.
The fees for probate and estate administration can vary widely depending on who does it, whether that be a solicitor, probate specialists or a bank. The cost for these range between 2.5 to 5% of the value of the estate.
How do you start the Probate process in Michigan? Probate must go through the county Probate Court in which the decedent resided at the time of their death. Once you determine whether you need a formal or informal probate proceeding, you need to file a petition with the county Probate Court to get the process started.
In Michigan, you can make a living trust to avoid probate for virtually any asset you own—real estate, bank accounts, vehicles, and so on. You need to create a trust document (it's similar to a will), naming someone to take over as trustee after your death (called a successor trustee).
In general, non-probate assets are those that have a beneficiary or payable-on-death designation. These can include life insurance policies, bank accounts or brokerage accounts with a transfer-on-death designation, some retirement assets like 401k accounts, or jointly-owned property.
If you die without a will in Michigan, your assets will go to your closest relatives under state "intestate succession" laws.
Before being granted probate, you'll need to sign a declaration of truth - the probate registry will tell you how they want you to do this. You won't need to go anywhere to sign in person. You'll need to send some documents with the forms, including: the original will (if there is one) and three copies.
It is hard to tell you in a blog post just what your probate matter will cost. Especially with regard to legal fees, the answer depends on a number of factors, including:
As of this writing, attorney Suzy Fanning’s hourly rate is $350, which reflects her decades of experience concentrating exclusively in probate law, including complex and disputed cases. Probate and administration work done by our knowledgeable paralegal is charged at $180.
There is a filing fee of $150 that accompanies an application to open a probate estate. If the petition to appoint a personal representative is not included with the application to open probate, there is a $20 fee to later petition to appoint a personal representative. Other filings typically carry a modest fee as well.
Probate is the court-supervised process of settling the decedent’s debts and distributing the remaining assets to heirs or beneficiaries. The probate process can be overwhelming, ...
In our office, an experienced paralegal handles those straightforward tasks which do not require an attorney’s attention. That allows us to provide excellent service without charging our clients more than necessary, while also freeing up the attorney to address those matters which do require her knowledge.
Michigan probate courts are required by law to collect an inventory fee as an expense of administration of decedents’ estates. The Michigan court system offers an inventory fee calculator to help personal representatives get a sense of what an estate can expect to pay in inventory fees.
It probably won’t surprise you that the larger and more complex an estate, the higher legal fees are likely to be. Some states allow an attorney to charge a percentage of the gross value of probate assets. Michigan does not. Most Michigan probate attorneys charge an hourly fee for their work on a probate case. The services of a probate attorney are considered to be a benefit to the estate. That means that they are generally payable from estate assets, not out of the personal representative’s pocket.
Since Michigan probate attorney fees are paid before the beneficiaries receive their inheritances , you may be concerned that hiring an estate administration attorney will cut into the money your loved one's family receives. It is true that attorney fees come out of the same pool of money and assets as inheritance. However, an estate administration attorney is often able to take advantage of informal probate proceedings and negotiate with creditors on behalf of the estate to make the most of those funds. In addition to saving a personal representative time and trouble, hiring a lawyer can often reduce the amount your loved one's estate pays to debt collectors or the state.
It is that person's responsibility to oversee estate administration and make sure everyone gets the money or assets to which they are entitled. If your relative's estate is large, or includes many creditors, the work can become overwhelming quickly. A Michigan probate attorney can help you administer the estate. That includes:
After a loved one's death, many personal representatives don't realize just how many bills, fees, and costs must be paid out of their family member's estate. Before the beneficiaries receive their inheritances, the probate court and your estate administration attorney will make sure the estate pays for:
A Michigan probate attorney can help you administer the estate. That includes: Creating an inventory of the estate's assets and debts. Establishing the value of the homes, vehicles, jewlery, and other property within the estate. Filing the appropriate paperwork and appearing in probate court.
Unpaid creditors including a mortgage, auto loan, credit cards, or other bills. Fees earned by the personal representative. Estate taxes. Once all those expenses are paid, the rest is distributed to the beneficiaries named in a person's will.
Court costs based on the size of the estate (known as the inventory fee)
However, if an attorney represents the estate in another type of case, such as a wrongful death case or personal injury lawsuit, proceeds from that suit can be used to pay probate costs and attorney fees.
Looking for advice on how to set up your estate to reduce or perhaps entirely avoid probate fees? Fortunately, there are a number of strategic ways you can put an Estate Plan in place that allows you to do just that.
Why would you want to avoid or simplify the probate process? In short, because probate can be an utter nightmare for your loved ones. It’s often time-consuming, expensive and very stressful for those left to navigate it.
Surety Bonds offer insurance that protect the estate against anything questionably done by a representative throughout the process. If a bond is required, the amount is typically determined by the estimated size of the estate. Executors can charge a fee to be reimbursed for most expenses they incur.
Probate can take anywhere from a few months to several years to fully complete. For most estates of average size, the process will range from six months to two years. If an estate is especially large, if any heirs contest anything, or if beneficiaries cannot be found, things will take longer.
Executors can charge a fee to be reimbursed for most expenses they incur. This can include the cost for any travel needed, to pay for tax prep, to buy any supplies, or for anything else required to settle an estate. Executors can also be reimbursed a fair fee for the job they do as a representative of an estate.
Perhaps one of the biggest drawbacks to probate is the cost . And the more it costs, the less inheritance your beneficiaries will receive. Total cost can widely vary, depending on a number of factors including: But there are some things you can count on being fairly consistent in the probate process.
Create a Trust - Trusts avoid probate, making the process of settling an estate simpler, cheaper, and for some people, most importantly, more private. Trusts are not public at all, whereas probate is a public proceeding. If you’re concerned about privacy, creating a Trust can kill the proverbial two birds with one stone by allowing your estate to avoid probate fees and keep things private.
The most common rate (reported by 35% of readers) was between $300 and $400, although half of readers paid less than that. Only 15% paid $400 or more per hour.
More than half (58%) of the probate attorneys in our national study reported that they offered free consultations. The typical time for these initial meetings was 30 minutes, though the overall average was higher (38 minutes). So when you’re looking to find a good probate lawyer, ask the potential attorneys whether they offer a free initial consultation. Even if they charge for their time , it can be worth your while to meet with more than one lawyer—and to go to the meetings prepared with a list of questions—in order to find the right attorney for your needs.
Nationally, the average minimum hourly rate attorneys reported was $250, while the average maximum was $310. Individual lawyers often charge different rates, depending on the client and the type of service they’re providing. Also, rates vary among attorneys depending on several factors, including:
It shouldn’t be a surprise to learn that large estates tended to pay more for legal services. Big estates are more likely to have complex issues— including taxes and business assets —that require more of an attorney’s time and expertise. Also, some states limit fees according to the size of the estate, allowing attorneys to charge more for larger estates. More than a third (36%) of readers who were settling estates worth $1 million or more said that the estate paid $10,000 or more in legal fees, compared to 18% of those who were handling estates worth less than that.
Paying a percentage-based fee to probate lawyer can be very expensive for the estate, because the percentage is based on the gross value of the probate assets (for instance, the total value of a house, rather than the amount of equity that the estate owns in the property). Even in the states that allow percentage fees, the law doesn’t require this type of fee arrangement. So if you want to preserve the estate’s assets, you should try to negotiate for an hourly or flat fee with any attorney you’re considering.
The attorney’s experience. Not surprisingly, our study showed that hourly rates climbed as probate lawyers had more years in practice. But it’s worth keeping in mind that in this respect, at least, a higher hourly rate doesn’t necessarily translate into a higher total bill. Often, specialists with significant experience in estate administration may be able to answer your questions or handle difficult estate matters more quickly than less-seasoned lawyers.
If you’re serving as an executor, personal representative, trustee, or administrator of an estate, you might need a lawyer’s help with some part of the process. The good news is that estate funds will almost always pay for that help. Still, you don’t want to squander the estate’s money—and you probably want to know what to expect in the way of attorney’s fees. We surveyed readers around the United States who recently acted as executors, personal representatives, trustees, and/or administrators to ask about their fee arrangements with attorneys and their total bills. We then compared the survey results with data on fees reported by probate attorneys across the country. Here’s some of what we found out.
There are 3 instances when Michigan Probate Laws do not require certain assets to go through probate court. They are as follows:
As a result, the court decides who will receive your assets. In this situation, the Probate Court will appoint a Personal Representative to settle the estate according to Michigan law.
If you or a family member passes away in Michigan without the proper legal estate planning documents in place, Michigan Probate Laws will dictate how your estate will be distributed after your death.
If a person dies without a Will, the Probate Court will distribute their money and property to Michigan’s intestacy laws.
The remaining assets that are left over after the decedent dies are distributed according to the Will. If the decedent didn’t make a Last Will before they died, the assets will be distributed according to Michigan law.
In general, there are the 4 major steps in the Michigan Probate process:
A Last Will and Testament in Michigan the Estate Planning document people are most commonly aware of. In general, it dictates who should receive your money and property after you die. It’s important to note that a Will does not avoid Probate Court. After you die, your Will needs to go through the Probate Court in the county in which you live. The Will tells the Probate Court who should inherit your money and property after you die and who should distribute these assets.
Small town rates may be as low as $150/hour; in a city, a rate of less than $200/hour would be unusual. Big firms generally charge higher rates than sole practitioners or small firms, unless a small firm is made up solely of hot-shot specialists.
Using this system, probating a typical California estate with a gross value of $500,000 would cost $13,000 in legal fees—a very large amount given the amount of legal work involved. The estate would do much better if it paid the lawyer by the hour.
These fees are often high under the circumstances because they are calculated based on the gross value of the probate assets, not the net value. For example, if you're handling an estate that includes a house worth $300,000, with $175,000 left on the mortgage, the lawyer's fee would be based on $300,000—not the $125,000 of equity the estate actually owns. And the probate paperwork for a transferring a $1 million house is basically the same as it is for transferring a $150,000 house—so why should the fee be so different?
Many lawyers bill in minimum increments of six minutes (one-tenth of an hour). So, if your lawyer (or a legal assistant) spends two minutes on a phone call on behalf of the estate, you'll be billed for six minutes.
expenses you pay separately, such as court fees, postage, and publication of legal notices. how the lawyer's work will be described on the bills (the work done in each increment of time should be described, so you don't just get a bill for "legal services," "research" or "trial preparation")
A lawyer who does nothing but estate planning and probate will likely charge a higher hourly rate than a general practitioner. The advantage to you is that a specialist should be more efficient. Someone who has steered many probates through the local court has probably learned all the local rules and how to prepare and file documents the way the court likes them.
If your attorney employs less experienced lawyers (associates) and legal assistants (paralegals), their time should be billed at a lower hourly rate. This is very common in firms that do probate work; legal assistants often draw up the routine paperwork.
Flat Fee. Flat fees are another common way probate lawyers opt to receive their payments. Sometimes, lawyers will give you the option between paying them a flat fee or an hourly wage. Flat fees remove the headache of keeping up with billable hours.
A probate lawyer’s fee has to do with where the case gets filed. Attorneys can charge a $250/hour fee in smaller towns or a $5,000 flat fee in a city. In certain states, attorneys can charge a percentage of the estate’s value.
Probate lawyers work to untangle the hard-to-decipher portions of a deceased individual’s will. They usually handle the legalities of changing possession of assets and settling outstanding debts.
Small Estates. Small estates include any of those that are worth a hundred thousand dollars or less. Most small estates will require probate lawyers to be paid a flat fee or an hourly wage. However, just because an estate is small doesn’t mean it will be simple to probate.
How do probate attorneys get paid? Generally, payments for legal counsel can come out of the estate’s value. Before dispersing the assets, courts will expect you to pay your court and legal fees and your taxes and debts.
Letters of administration from the court will get used to change over ownership, and the court will expect proof of every debt payment and asset redistribution.
This payment option is only available in seven states: Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, California, Missouri, Wyoming, and Montana. Paying a percentage of the estate’s value is often extremely costly. The percentage comes from the gross amount of the estate, so even a small percentage can easily be thousands of dollars.
Michigan law imposes substantial fiduciary duties on a person appointed by the probate court to serve as the personal representative of an estate. The laws and procedural rules that apply to probate and estate administration are complex and detailed.
In most cases, Michigan probate lawyers charge an hourly fee for services relat ing to probate and estate administration.
For example, a probate lawyer may be able to negotiate effectively with creditors of the estate to minimize expenses, as well as minimize the length of time it takes to complete probate administration. When necessary, a probate lawyer also can address conflict between beneficiaries and try to resolve issues without going to court. The attorney is someone objective who can help in challenging family circumstances.
At BRMM, our compassion, credentials, and commitment set us apart. Call us at 248-641-7070 to talk with us about matters relating to any area of concern included in our practice. We serve clients in Troy, Oakland County, and surrounding areas, as well as out-of-state clients with estate and probate matters arising in Michigan.
Employ an attorney to perform necessary legal services or to advise or assist the personal representative in the performance of the personal representative's administrative duties, even if the attorney is associated with the personal representative, and act without independent investigation upon the attorney's recommendation. An attorney employed under this subdivision shall receive reasonable compensation for his or her employment.
Under this statutory provision, a personal representative of an estate can pay probate attorney’s fees out of the assets of the estate if they are reasonable. Generally, the reasonableness of fees is determined based on the attorney’s experience or reputation, the difficulty and complexity of tasks performed, rates customarily charged in the locality, and the outcome achieved.
If the last will and testament of a deceased loved one names you as the personal representative of their estate, applying for court appointment as the personal representative means you have significant legal duties relating to the estate. In many cases, it is advisable to hire a probate lawyer to assist you in fulfilling your fiduciary responsibilities. Under Michigan law, the personal representative of an estate can pay the probate lawyer’s fees out of the assets of the estate, as long as the compensation meets certain legal requirements.