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This is the question families ask most often and get the least straight answer to. What follows is general information about how Michigan handles it, not legal advice, and the estate's own attorney is the person whose answer counts.
In Michigan, the person who can sell an estate's belongings is the personal representative, once the probate court has issued letters of authority. Until that happens, nobody has the legal power to dispose of estate property, regardless of who holds a key or who the family agrees should handle it.
In practice, personal property is usually dealt with long before an estate closes. Probate can run many months; the contents of a house rarely wait that long, and they do not need to, once somebody holds the authority to act.
Any company worth hiring will ask who has authority before they schedule anything. If nobody asks, that tells you something. Expect these questions:
The third one catches people out. A specific item left to a named person in the will is not the estate's to sell, and selling it by accident is a genuine problem rather than an awkward conversation.
Verified on 4 August 2026. Each court's own staff can tell you what to file, though they cannot give legal advice.
| Court | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| Oakland County Probate Court | 1200 N. Telegraph Road, Pontiac, MI 48341 | (248) 858-0260 |
| Wayne County Probate Court | 1305 Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, 2 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI 48226 | (313) 224-5706 |
| Macomb County Probate Court | 40 N. Main Street, Mount Clemens, MI 48043 | (586) 469-5290 |
A personal representative owes the estate an accounting, and "we had a sale and split it" is not one. A professional estate sale company produces a settlement statement itemising gross sales, deductions and the net paid to the estate. That document is exactly what an accounting needs, and it is one of the practical reasons to run a proper sale rather than an informal one among family.
Every estate is different, and the difference usually turns on how things were titled rather than on anything obvious. If there is any doubt about authority, timing or who is entitled to what, the estate's attorney is the person to ask, before the sale rather than after it. We are a matching service for estate sale companies. We are not attorneys and nothing here is legal advice.
The personal representative appointed by the probate court, once letters of authority have been issued. Before that appointment nobody has authority to dispose of estate property, even a spouse or a child who has a key to the house.
No. Assets that pass by beneficiary designation, joint ownership or a trust do not go through probate, and Michigan has simplified procedures for small estates. Whether the estate you are dealing with needs formal probate is a question for an attorney, because it depends on what the person owned and how it was titled.
Often yes. Probate can run months, and personal property is usually dealt with well before the estate closes, once the personal representative has authority. What matters is that the person authorising the sale actually holds that authority, and that the proceeds are accounted for to the estate.
Tell us about the home and we will match you with vetted local estate sale companies who will walk it and give you their honest read. Free, and you are never obliged to hire anyone.
Prefer to talk? Call (800) 294-9218
Tell us about the home and we will put two or three vetted companies in front of you, usually within one business day.