In Michigan, a house in probate is sold by the personal representative the probate court appoints, once the court issues letters of authority, and in most estates (unsupervised ones) the representative can sell without a separate court order. A court order is needed when the letters say the representative has no authority over the real estate, when the will or a court order requires one, or when the buyer is the representative or a close relative.
This guide walks through who can sell, when the court has to approve, how the heirs fit in, the timing set by Michigan law, and the tax and paperwork points that come with an inherited house. It explains the rules; it is not legal advice, and a probate attorney can tell you how they apply to your estate.
Who has the authority to sell a house in probate?
Only the personal representative (the executor, if there is a will). Until the court appoints one and issues letters of authority (SCAO Form PC 572), nobody can sign a listing agreement or a deed for the estate, including the heirs.
Michigan's Estates and Protected Individuals Code gives a personal representative the power to sell estate property, land included, at a public or private sale, for cash or on credit (MCL 700.3715). That power applies unless the will or an order in a formal proceeding restricts it.
The person with first priority to be appointed is the one named in the will, then the surviving spouse if a devisee, then other devisees, then the spouse, then other heirs. The application is filed with the probate court of the county where the person lived.
Informal or formal probate: what changes for the sale?
- Informal probate is handled by the probate register, not a judge. The applicant files Form PC 558 with the will (if any) and a death certificate. Michigan Legal Help lists the filing fee as $175. Once the register appoints the representative, the representative signs an Acceptance of Appointment (PC 571) before acting.
- Formal probate goes before a judge. It is used when there is a dispute, or likely to be one, about the will or who should serve.
Either way, the letters of authority are what a title company asks to see before it insures a sale.
Does the court have to approve the sale?
In most estates, no. Here is when it does:
| Situation | Court order needed to sell? |
|---|---|
| Unsupervised estate, letters with no real estate restriction | No |
| Letters say the representative has "no authority over the estate's real estate" | Yes |
| The will or a formal order requires approval | Yes |
| Supervised estate with a restriction endorsed on the letters | Yes |
| Buyer is the representative, their spouse, child, sibling, parent, agent or attorney | Court approval protects the sale |
| The representative is a state or county public administrator | Yes, after a hearing |
Restricted letters. Form PC 572 has a box that limits the representative's authority over real estate identified on the acceptance of appointment. Read the letters before listing: if the box is checked, the sale needs the court's approval.
Supervised administration. The court orders it when the will directs it or when it is needed to protect the people interested in the estate (MCL 700.3502). A supervised representative still has the ordinary powers, but the court can restrict them, and any restriction is written on the letters (MCL 700.3504). A supervised representative also files an inventory and yearly accounts with the court and needs a court order to distribute the estate.
Selling to family or to yourself. A sale in which the representative has a personal interest, or a sale to the representative's spouse, descendant, sibling, parent, agent or attorney, is presumed to involve a conflict of interest and can be undone by an interested person (MCL 700.3713). It holds if the will authorized it or the court approved it after notice to the interested persons.
How approval works. The representative files a Petition for Approval of Sale of Real Estate (PC 681) with the buyer's name, the price and terms or the purchase agreement, the property's state equalized value from the latest assessment or tax statement, and the liens. The court decides by an Order Regarding Sale of Real Estate (PC 682) and may require a bond. Ask your attorney how long hearings are taking in your county, and write the purchase agreement so the sale is contingent on the order.
Do all the heirs have to agree?
The heirs do not sign the deed: the power to sell belongs to the personal representative. Heirs still have rights that matter to a sale:
- They receive notice of the appointment and a copy of the inventory, which lists the house at its value on the date of death.
- Any interested person can ask the court for supervised administration (MCL 700.3502).
- They can challenge a conflict of interest sale (MCL 700.3713).
- A representative who breaches the duty to the estate, for example by selling for less than the house is worth, is liable to them for the loss (MCL 700.3712).
In practice, a representative who shares the price evidence and the offers with the heirs has fewer objections later.
How long does probate take in Michigan?
Michigan law sets these points in time:
- Appointment. Letters of authority issue after the register or the judge appoints the representative and the acceptance is filed.
- Notice to creditors. The representative publishes a notice to creditors. Claims must be presented within four months after the notice is published, or they are barred (MCL 700.3801).
- Inventory. Due within 91 days after the letters are issued (PC 572).
- The sale. It can close at any point after the letters issue, while the estate is still open. Proceeds go into the estate and pay its debts and costs before anything is distributed.
- Closing the estate. An unsupervised estate can be closed by sworn statement no earlier than five months after the representative's original appointment, and only after the creditor period has run (MCL 700.3954).
- Still open after a year? The representative sends the interested persons a notice of continued administration (PC 572).
So the house can be sold within weeks of appointment, while the estate around it takes at least five months to close.
Does the house have to go through probate at all?
Not always. A house generally passes outside probate when it was:
- Owned jointly with a right of survivorship, for example by spouses,
- Held in a trust, or
- Set to pass to a named transfer on death beneficiary.
The Oakland County Probate Court lists these as transfers by operation of law, for an estate of any size.
Small estates. Michigan has two shortcuts, with limits set by the year of death. For a death in 2025, the Oakland County Probate Court lists the limit at $51,000 for both:
- Small estate assignment (MCL 700.3982, Form PC 556): the court assigns the property by order, with no personal representative. It can include real property, and the debt against the real property is subtracted from its value.
- Transfer by affidavit (MCL 700.3983, Form PC 598): no court filing, 28 days after death, but only when the estate has no real property.
The limits are adjusted for inflation each year. Ask the probate court for the figure that applies to the year of death.
The seller disclosure statement
A personal representative who did not live in the house is exempt from Michigan's Seller Disclosure Act: the law excludes transfers "by a nonoccupant fiduciary in the course of the administration of a decedent's estate" (MCL 565.953). A representative who lived there is not covered by that exemption. Either way, a representative who knows of a problem with the house should ask the estate's attorney how to disclose it, and buyers can still inspect.
Taxes when an inherited house is sold
- Basis for the heirs and the estate. The tax basis of inherited property is generally its fair market value on the date of death, or on the alternate valuation date if the estate elects it (IRS Publication 551). A sale soon after death at about that value often shows little or no gain. Inherited property is treated as held more than one year, so any gain is long term (IRS Publication 544). An appraisal as of the date of death helps document the basis.
- Transfer tax. A sale to a buyer is taxed like any other sale, usually paid by the seller at closing. See our transfer tax guide or run the price in the transfer tax calculator.
- Property tax uncapping. When a house is distributed under a will or by intestate succession, it is a transfer of ownership and the taxable value uncaps, unless it goes to the surviving spouse, or the home is residential and goes to the decedent's or the spouse's mother, father, brother, sister, son, daughter, adopted son or daughter, grandson or granddaughter and is not used for a commercial purpose afterward (MCL 211.27a). An heir who keeps the house may therefore keep the capped taxable value. A sale to a buyer uncaps it for the buyer. Our uncapping guide explains what that means for the next owner's bill.
This section explains the rules; it is not tax advice. A tax preparer can apply them to the estate's and the heirs' returns.
Where to file in Metro Detroit
The probate court of the county where the person lived handles the estate:
- Oakland County Probate Court, Pontiac
- Wayne County Probate Court, Detroit
- Macomb County Probate Court, Mount Clemens
Court staff cannot give legal advice. A probate attorney can open the estate, check the letters and handle a petition for approval if the sale needs one.
Selling the house
A probate sale is a regular listing with a few extra documents: the letters of authority, the court order when one is needed, and a purchase agreement that fits the estate's timing. Ask for a written home value estimate from recent MLS sales near the house, checked by a Raven agent, which the personal representative can share with the heirs.
