What Happens When Someone Dies Without a Will in Michigan?

When a Michigan resident dies without a valid will, the estate is described as intestate. Michigan law—not the family—provides the default rules for who inherits probate property.

A probate estate may still require appointment of a personal representative, notice to interested persons, inventory and administration before property can be distributed. Who qualifies as an heir depends on the decedent’s surviving family relationships.

Not every asset necessarily passes through probate. Joint ownership, beneficiary designations, trusts and other transfer mechanisms can change the analysis, so the first step is usually identifying what the decedent owned and how each asset was titled.