Estate planning and elder law firm in the Thumb of Michigan, with offices in Cass City, Caro, Reese, Bad Axe and Sandusky and an appointment office in Traverse City. Guides executors through probate, supports trustees administering a trust, and petitions for guardians and conservators for incapacitated adults. Medicaid and long-term care planning is a core part of the practice.
What to Do When Someone Dies in Sanilac County, Michigan
How probate works in Sanilac County: the Probate Court record, what the process costs, and how to file there.
Probate Court Record
Sanilac County Probate Court
Sanilac County
Phone
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-noon and 1:00 PM-4:30 PM
Office
60 West Sanilac Avenue, Room 213, Sandusky, MI 48471
Website
Self-represented filing
Allowed
Self-help forms
Accepted payment
- At the counterProbate estate, conservatorship and guardianship fees can be paid online using pay location code 1563.
Fax
1-810-648-2900
About the court
- The probate office is in Room 213 on the second floor of the courthouse and closes for lunch from noon to 1 p.m. The court also takes wills for safekeeping.
Verified October 15, 2026 · Source
How Probate Works in Sanilac County
Probate is the court-supervised process of settling someone's estate after they die — validating the will, paying debts and taxes, and transferring what's left to the heirs. In Sanilac County, probate runs through the Probate Court at 60 West Sanilac Avenue, Room 213, Sandusky.
The personal representative opens the case, gives notice to heirs and creditors, files an inventory of the estate's assets, settles outstanding debts and taxes, and then distributes the remainder under the will — or under Michigan intestacy law when there is no will.
Most Michigan estates take 7 months to 12 months to move through this process. Creditors have 4 monthsMCL 700.3801, 700.3803, 700.3804, 700.3805, 700.3806; MCR 5.208, MCR 5.106Verified Oct 18, 2026View source to present a claim, counted from the first publication of the notice to creditors.
What Probate Costs in Sanilac County
What probate costs in Sanilac County, Michigan comes down to a handful of line items — the court filing fee, attorney and executor compensation, publication, and sometimes a bond — scaled by the estate's size and whether the will is contested. The case itself runs through the Probate Court at 60 West Sanilac Avenue, Room 213, Sandusky.
Michigan charges $175MCL §§ 600.880(1), 600.1986(1)(a)Verified Oct 17, 2026View source to open probate, the same in every county. Additional filings during administration — inventory, accounting, the final petition — add to the total.
Estimate the costs for this estate:
Attorney fees in Michigan are negotiated, typically 1.7%Modeled estimate under MCR 5.313(A) (attorney entitled to reasonable compensation; MRPC 1.5(a) factors); MCL 700.3721 (court reviews reasonableness of attorney compensation; no statutory percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source to 2.7%Modeled estimate under MCR 5.313(A) (attorney entitled to reasonable compensation; MRPC 1.5(a) factors); MCL 700.3721 (court reviews reasonableness of attorney compensation; no statutory percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source of estate value. Flat-fee arrangements are common for straightforward estates.
Michigan allows executors 'reasonable compensation' — around 2.2%–3.8% of a $500,000 estate, judging by what the states with statutory schedules payMCL 700.3719 (reasonable compensation; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source. Family members who are also beneficiaries often waive the fee — executor pay is taxable income while inheritances are not.
Michigan requires publishing notice to creditors in a local newspaper, and the estate pays for it.
Probate in Michigan typically runs 7 months to 12 months, and costs accrue throughout that period.
How to File Probate at the Probate Court
Probate cases in Sanilac County are filed at the Probate Court. File in person during business hours or by mail.
Can You File Without an Attorney?
In Michigan, informal probate is availableMCL 700.3302Verified Sep 8, 2026View source, and a self-represented executor can usually handle it for a simple, uncontested estate.
For a full cost comparison and filing checklist, see the Sanilac County Self-Filing Assessment.
What to Bring
Filed with the opening petition at the Probate Court: TWO copies of the death certificate (or of alternative documentation of death if no certificate), one of them redacted of protected personal identifying information (MCR 5.302(A)(1); MCL 700.3301, 700.3402); Original will and any codicils, if testate (MCL 700.3301(1)(b)(i), 700.3402(1)(c); MCR 5.302(A)(3)); Testimony to Identify Heirs (PC 565) — mandatory with the commencing application or petition (MCR 5.302(B))MCL 700.3301-700.3311 (informal); MCL 700.3401-700.3414 (formal); MCL 700.3103, 700.3601 (letters)Verified Aug 24, 2026View source.
Death Certificates and the Medical Examiner in Sanilac County
In Michigan a death is registered locally, and in Sanilac County certified copies of the death certificate are issued by County Clerk's Office, Sanilac County as well as by Michigan Department of Health and Human Services - Division for Vital Records and Health Statistics.
Vital Records Office Record
County Clerk
Sanilac County · County Clerk's Office
Phone
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-4:30 PM
Office
60 West Sanilac Avenue, Courthouse, Room 203, Sandusky, MI 48471
Website
Fax
1-810-648-5466
Local rule
- Anyone can purchase a death certificate with the name at the time of death and the date of death.
Certified copy fees
| First certified copy | $20 |
| Each additional copy ordered at the same time | $10 |
Verified November 2, 2026 · Source
Coroner or Medical Examiner Record
Medical Examiner
Sanilac County · Sanilac County Medical Examiner
Phone
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-4:00 PM
Office
171 Dawson Street, Sandusky, MI 48471
Website
Cremation authorization
Signed by this office
Mail and offices
Fax
1-810-648-2646
Verified November 2, 2026 · Source
Transferring Property in Sanilac County
Clearing title to real estate after a death, whether by a personal representative’s deed, an affidavit of survivorship, or a court order, happens at the Register of Deeds.
Deeds and other real property documents for Sanilac County are recorded with the Register of Deeds at Courthouse, 60 West Sanilac, Sandusky, MI 48471. Phone: 1-810-648-2313. Hours: Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-noon and 1:00 PM-4:30 PM.
Documents submitted by mail go to P.O. Box 168, Sandusky, MI 48471.
The Register of Deeds charges $30 flat, regardless of page count.
Recording Office Record
Register of Deeds
Sanilac County
Phone
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-noon and 1:00 PM-4:30 PM
Office
Courthouse, 60 West Sanilac, Sandusky, MI 48471
Website
P.O. Box 168
Sandusky, MI 48471
Fax
1-810-648-5461
Recording fees
| Flat fee (any length) | $30 |
MCL 600.2567(1)(a); MCL 600.2567a
Verified October 16, 2026 · Source
Forms that put a death on the title
- Free forms: Affidavit of Death Form · Affidavit of Heirship Form
Probate Attorneys Serving Sanilac County
Michigan allows informal probate, so many families settle straightforward estates in Sanilac County without hiring an attorney. A probate attorney earns the fee when the estate is contested, includes a business or out-of-state real estate, has unclear or insolvent debts, or when beneficiaries disagree.
Probate attorney fees in Michigan are based on reasonable compensation, billed hourly or as a flat fee. Ask a Sanilac County firm to quote a structure up front.
A probate attorney files the petition with the Probate Court, publishes the required creditor notices, prepares the inventory and accounting, handles creditor claims and tax filings, and guides the final distribution. They represent the personal representative — not the beneficiaries — a distinction that matters if a dispute develops.
Bad Axe firm founded in 1978 whose three attorneys practice mainly in Huron, Sanilac and Tuscola Counties. Walks estate administrators and executors through probate, including paying the estate's debts, determining heirs, distributing assets and accounting. Also drafts wills and trusts and advises on Medicaid, special needs trusts and estate-tax planning.
Saginaw firm founded by Albert A. Smith in 1939, with offices in Saginaw, Frankenmuth and Alma serving Mid-Michigan and the Thumb. Handles probate and trust administration, guardianships and conservatorships, and probate litigation, and drafts wills, living trusts, special needs trusts and Medicaid and long-term-care plans for aging clients.
Lapeer firm in the Secretary of State Building, serving Lapeer, Genesee, Oakland, Tuscola, and Sanilac counties. Attorneys Martin W. Hable and Kristina L. Frew handle probate matters and draft wills, trusts, and financial and medical powers of attorney. The firm also prepares Medicaid spend-down plans and applications for families facing nursing home costs.
East Lansing elder law and probate firm with offices in Battle Creek, Jackson, Saginaw, Southfield, Ann Arbor, Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids. Helps fiduciaries with inventories, accountings and creditor claims, and its litigation team handles will and trust contests over undue influence, capacity and breach of fiduciary duty, guardianships and elder financial exploitation.
East Lansing firm with a second office in Mt. Pleasant, practicing in the probate courts of Ingham, Clinton, Eaton, Isabella and other mid-Michigan counties. Represents personal representatives, trustees and beneficiaries in probate and trust administration, from marshalling assets to notice to creditors and estate taxes. Also litigates will contests, trust disputes and undue influence claims.
Firm listings are for informational purposes only. SimplyTrust does not endorse or recommend any specific firm or attorney. Contact firms directly to verify their current practice areas and availability.
Legal Sources
(9)·
- MCL §§ 600.880(1), 600.1986(1)(a)
- MCL 700.3301-700.3311 (informal); MCL 700.3401-700.3414 (formal); MCL 700.3103, 700.3601 (letters)
- MCL 700.3302
- MCL 700.3719 (reasonable compensation; no statutory percentage)
- MCL 700.3801, 700.3803, 700.3804, 700.3805, 700.3806; MCR 5.208, MCR 5.106
- MCL 600.2567(1)(a); MCL 600.2567a
- Sanilac County Probate Court, official page
- Sanilac County Register of Deeds, official page
- Sanilac County vital records and death investigation offices, official page
Data sourced from Michigan statutes and official state code. Fee percentages are modeled estimates; each figure's note says how. How we research.
Tools for Settling an Estate in Michigan
Free tools for settling an estate in Michigan: whether probate is needed, executor and trustee pay, creditor deadlines and taxes. Run each tool for Michigan.
How Do I Settle an Estate?
Settling an estate in Michigan: the personal representative files the estate inventory within 91 daysMCL 700.3706, 700.3707, 700.3708Verified Sep 15, 2026View source of appointment; creditors have 4 monthsMCL 700.3801, 700.3803, 700.3804, 700.3805, 700.3806; MCR 5.208, MCR 5.106Verified Oct 18, 2026View source to present claims; a simple estate closes in 5 months to 7 months.
See the Steps
How Do I Settle a Trust?
Settling a trust in Michigan happens outside court: the trustee acts under the state's Uniform Trust CodeMCL 700.7101 et seq.Verified Oct 17, 2026View source, notifies the beneficiaries within 63 daysMCL 700.7814, 700.7905; MCL 700.7109Verified Sep 15, 2026View source, then pays the debts and distributes under the trust's terms.
See the Steps
Can I Self-File Probate?
In Michigan, informal probate is availableMCL 700.3302Verified Sep 8, 2026View source, and a self-represented executor can usually handle it for a simple, uncontested estate.
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