Bloomfield Hills, MI, Probate

If you live here in Bloomfield Hills, you know what a special place this is and how important it is to preserve your piece of it and pass it down to your chosen heirs. The best way to do that is to hire a skilled estate planning law firm experienced in every aspect of probate law.

Our probate lawyers can handle estate and trust administration, negotiations with creditors or between beneficiaries, and litigation to resolve disputes. Bingham Legal Group PC is a probate law firm serving Bloomfield Hills, MI. Our legal team has over 60 years of combined legal experience. If you need guidance to help you settle an estate or someone to represent you in probate litigation, our lawyers can help. Contact Bingham Legal Group PC today.

Probate Law Services in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

Bingham Legal Group PC provides a broad range of probate law services, including:

• Helping a personal representative understand and carry out their fiduciary obligations
• Advice and assistance with estate administration
• Probate and trust administration
• Preparation and filing of probate documents
• Negotiations with the estate’s creditors
• Resolution of disputes between beneficiaries of the estate
• Probate litigation
• Guardianship and conservatorship

Estate Administration

Choosing the right executor for your estate is largely a matter of trust. For this reason, many people choose a close friend or family member. This person may not have any experience administering an estate and is also likely grieving their loss while trying to figure out how to correctly perform this demanding task.

If you find that you have been designated as someone’s executor, a probate law firm can help by advising and assisting with estate administration, probate, and trust administration as needed. That way, you can be confident of fulfilling your fiduciary responsibilities while still taking the time to grieve and comfort family members through this challenging time.

Preparing and Filing Probate Documents

As the personal representative, you must initiate probate by completing an Application for Informal Probate and/or Appointment of Personal Representative. The Application will include the names and addresses of the heirs, and a copy of the death certificate must be attached, along with a copy of the will. If there was no will, you would mark the appropriate section in the Application to advise the court.

If the estate is valued at $51,000 or less (in 2025), you may be eligible to apply for an informal probate process. The estate value that qualifies for informal probate changes frequently, so it’s best to consult a probate attorney to determine whether the estate you’re administering could qualify.

It’s important to fill out probate documents correctly. If this prospect seems overwhelming or stressful, a probate law firm can prepare all the required documents for you and file them before the deadline.

Fiduciary Obligations of a Personal Representative in Michigan

The process of administering and settling an estate is known as probate. The person responsible for settling an estate is the personal representative or executor. If you’ve been appointed as a personal representative, you are a fiduciary. Michigan law defines “fiduciary” as a person who has a position of trust and confidence of the person for whom they’re acting. In this case, the “person” is the deceased’s estate. The fiduciary has a legal duty to act in the best interests of the estate in all matters.

The fiduciary of an estate must fulfill several duties. These include:

• Filing documents to initiate probate
• Gathering and valuing the deceased’s assets, including bank accounts, investments, and real estate
• Doing whatever is necessary to manage those assets, such as paying bills or collecting rent
• Sending notice of the death to all known creditors
• Posting a newspaper ad to inform any unknown creditors
• Paying off all debts
• Filing tax returns
• Paying taxes
• Maintaining accurate records
• Distributing the estate’s remaining assets as indicated in the will
• Closing the estate

Under Michigan law, an executor is a fiduciary. That means your actions as the estate’s personal representative must be impeccable. You must manage the estate’s affairs in the best interests of the estate rather than your own interests. The first step in meeting this standard is to ask a probate lawyer to explain your fiduciary obligations so you know exactly what you need to do. Your probate lawyer will review the whole process with you, explaining your responsibilities and what the law firm can do to help you meet them.

Negotiations With Creditors

The estate’s creditors naturally want to be paid what they are owed, but that doesn’t mean you should just pay them whatever they ask. It’s essential to first verify that the debt is valid, that the amount the creditor is asking for is correct, and that they have completed whatever service they want you to pay them for.

Sometimes, it may not be in the estate’s best interest for you to pay the full amount the creditor is requesting. You may be able to settle the debt by offering a lower lump sum. A probate law firm can assist you with negotiations, so you can resolve the estate’s debts while preserving as much of the estate’s wealth as possible for the beneficiaries. Creditors are often happy to accept a lower amount if they can get paid immediately.

Disputes and Litigation

How can you settle an estate promptly and fairly when there are disputes between the beneficiaries? For instance, a family member may dispute the validity of a revised will, or two family members may disagree about how to interpret an ambiguous passage. These disputes can easily escalate and cause long-term hard feelings between family members, so it’s best to prevent that if you can.

A probate law firm can arrange mediation or negotiation to settle disputes as quickly as possible. Some disputes cannot be resolved without probate litigation. In a mediation, a neutral third party works with the opposing parties to attempt to reach a compromise. If mediation and/or negotiations fail, and only litigation will resolve the issue, then you should select a probate lawyer who is comfortable in the courtroom. The lawyers at Bingham Legal Group PC see probate court as a second home, and we are always ready to go to trial if needed.

Contact a Bloomfield Hills, Michigan Probate Lawyer Today

It’s a genuine honor to be appointed as the personal representative of an estate, but that honor comes with some heavy responsibility. The best way to meet that responsibility is to seek the help of a skilled probate law firm with every aspect of this demanding task.

An experienced law firm can help you fill out your forms correctly, file them in probate court on time, resolve disputes with creditors or between beneficiaries, and defend the estate’s interests in court if necessary. Don’t try to shoulder this heavy burden on your own.

Bingham Legal Group PC is a probate law firm serving Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. We can help with any probate law or estate planning issue, preventing problems from happening or resolving them successfully when they do. We’re always happy to represent an estate in court, fighting for the rights of the person who established the estate. If you need help with probate law in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, contact Bingham Legal Group PC today.