Michigan small estate affidavit: $53,000 limit for 2026 deaths, 28-day wait, form PC 598

For a death in 2026, Michigan's small estate affidavit (MCL 700.3983, court form PC 598) can be used when the estate has no real property, is worth no more than $53,000 net of liens and encumbrances, and at least 28 days have passed since the death. The $53,000 figure is the statute's $50,000 base multiplied by the 2026 adjustment factor of 1.057 that the Michigan Department of Treasury certified on January 30, 2026, rounded to the nearest $1,000. For a death in 2025 the figure is $51,000.

This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Whether an estate qualifies depends on the facts, and a probate attorney or the county probate court staff can explain the procedures (court staff do not give legal advice).

Figures above were read from MCL 700.3983 and 700.1210 on the Michigan Legislature website, the Treasury notice of January 30, 2026, and a copy of form PC 598 on 2026-10-12. See sources.

The limit depends on the year of death

Section 700.3983(1)(a) requires a sworn statement that "The estate does not include real property and the value of the entire estate, wherever located, net of liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $50,000.00, adjusted as provided in section 1210." Section 1210 says that "Beginning January 1, 2024, those specific dollar amounts must be multiplied by the 2023 cost-of-living adjustment factor for the calendar year in which the decedent dies."

So the figure that applies is the one for the calendar year of the death, not the year the affidavit is signed. The same yearly figure is used for the court's small estate order under section 700.3982, described further down.

Why 2024 has two figures

2024 Public Act 1 amended sections 3982, 3983 and 1210, with immediate effect on February 21, 2024. Treasury's notice explains that the act raised the amount in both sections "from $15,000 to $50,000" and switched them to the 2023 adjustment factor. Deaths from January 1 to February 20, 2024 use the old $15,000 base with the 1997 factor ($28,000). Deaths from February 21, 2024 onward use the new $50,000 base.

The 2026 factor is 1.057. Treasury's notice says the 2023 factor "for the 2026 calendar year is 1.057", based on an average Consumer Price Index of 321.943 for 2025 and 304.702 for 2023. $50,000 times 1.057 is $52,850, which rounds to $53,000. The 2025 factor was 1.029, which gave $51,000.

What the affidavit must say, and who gets it

Under section 700.3983(1), after 28 days anyone who owes the decedent money, or who holds the decedent's tangible personal property or an instrument for a debt, stock or similar claim, must pay or deliver it to a person claiming to be the successor who presents the death certificate and a sworn statement stating all of these:

• The estate has no real property and is within the limit above.
• "Twenty-eight days have elapsed since the decedent's death."
• No application or petition to appoint a personal representative is pending or has been granted in any jurisdiction.
• The person claiming is entitled to the payment or property.
• The name and address of every other person entitled to a share, and the share of each.

Section 700.3983(2) adds that a transfer agent must change the registered owner of a security from the decedent to the successor when shown the same sworn statement.

The court form adds one more statement that is not in the statute's list: "A petition for assignment has not been filed with a court." The form's checkboxes name who may sign as successor: a surviving spouse, an adult child, another heir, a devisee under a will, or a fiduciary or representative of an heir or devisee who has a legal incapacity. It must be sworn before a notary, and a copy of the death certificate is attached.

Nothing goes to the probate court. Oakland County Probate Court's instructions for PC 598 say "Nothing is filed with the court." and that the form is presented to the institutions that hold the assets.

Form PC 598: the current revision

The form's full title is Affidavit of Decedent's Successor for Delivery of Certain Assets Owned by Decedent. The copy we read, hosted by the Institute of Continuing Legal Education, is marked PC 598 (4/24), and its paragraph 4 reads "does not exceed $50,000, adjusted annually as provided in MCL 700.1210." That matches the statute as amended in February 2024. The form itself does not print a yearly dollar figure, so the year-of-death table above is still needed.

We could not read the form on the Michigan courts website itself; that site's robots.txt file disallows automated access.

The court route: petition and order for assignment (MCL 700.3982)

Section 700.3982 lets the probate court order the property turned over without opening a full estate. The court must see evidence about the funeral and burial expenses, and the balance of the gross estate must be within the same yearly limit ($53,000 for 2026 deaths). The property first pays unpaid funeral and burial expenses, or reimburses whoever paid them, and the rest may go to the surviving spouse or, if there is none, the heirs. The form is PC 556, Petition and Order for Assignment.

Unlike the affidavit, this route can include real estate. Since 2024, debt secured by real property in the estate is subtracted from that property's value, up to a cap that is also adjusted each year: $264,000 for 2026 deaths, per Treasury's table. Heirs other than a surviving spouse who qualifies for allowances, and the decedent's minor children, remain responsible for the decedent's unpaid debts for 63 days after the order, up to the value they received. Section 700.3982(4) says that when both procedures are available, "a person, other than the court, shall not require the authorized person to use 1 procedure rather than the other."

Macomb County's instructions also say that "fee waivers cannot be accepted on Small Estates." Fees and filing practice can differ by county.

Who publishes the yearly figure, and when

Section 700.1210(3) gives the job to the Department of Treasury, which "shall publish the cost-of-living adjustment factor" each year, with results "rounded to the nearest $1,000.00 amount." The statute does not set a month after 2001. The notices we found were all signed in the second half of January:

As of 2026-10-12, no figure for 2027 deaths has been published. Based only on the dates above, the 2027 notice would appear in late January 2027; the statute does not require that timing.

Official pages that still show old figures

These pages were live on 2026-10-12. For a 2026 death, each would lead a reader to a figure other than the current one.

Other Michigan transfers with their own rules

• Cash and clothing held by a hospital, nursing home, morgue or police (MCL 700.3981). The holder may give the decedent's wearing apparel and up to $1,500 in cash, adjusted under section 1210, to a spouse, child or parent who gives identification and a sworn statement. Treasury's table lists $2,000 for 2025 and 2026 deaths.
• Wages and fringe benefits (MCL 408.480). An employer pays unpaid wages and fringe benefits to the surviving spouse, then children, then parents, then siblings, unless a written contract, policy or plan says otherwise, or the employee filed a signed designation with the employer and letters of administration are not required. The section states no dollar limit.
• Vehicles at the Secretary of State (MCL 257.236). If no other property requires letters of authority, the surviving spouse or an heir can get the title when the total value of the vehicles is within the limit: "For the 2024 and 2025 calendar years, $100,000.00." From 2026 the amount is adjusted each year, and Treasury must "certify and publish the dollar amount applicable for each calendar year no later than September 1 of the prior calendar year." The Secretary of State's form is TR-40, Certification for the Heir to a Vehicle; it refers to "the amount set forth in MCL 257.236" without printing a figure.

What we could not confirm

• The vehicle limit for 2026 and 2027 under MCL 257.236. We searched michigan.gov for Treasury's certification and did not find it; the Secretary of State's TR-40 form and titles FAQ do not state a figure.
• The revision date of PC 598 and PC 556 on the Michigan courts website. Its robots.txt disallows automated reading, so the 4/24 revision comes from the copy hosted by the Institute of Continuing Legal Education, and we did not read PC 556 at all.
• Treasury's 2025 notice on michigan.gov. We read the copy posted by the Oakland County Probate Court; its figures match Treasury's 2026 notice and the Macomb County table.
• The real property debt deduction for January 1 to February 20, 2024. Section 700.3982(5) says the deduction applies "Beginning January 1, 2024," while Treasury's table shows none before 2024 Public Act 1 and Macomb County lists it as not applicable for those dates.
• Several other county probate court pages (Kent, Berrien and Allegan) refused our automated requests, so we did not check what they show.

Michigan is one of the ten states in our small estate limits by state table. For other states see the California and Texas pages, and how we check.

Sources

• MCL 700.3983, collection of personal property by sworn statement - Michigan Legislature, read 2026-10-12
• MCL 700.3982, court order distributing small estates - Michigan Legislature, read 2026-10-12
• MCL 700.1210, cost-of-living adjustment - Michigan Legislature, read 2026-10-12
• MCL 700.3981, delivery of cash and wearing apparel - Michigan Legislature, read 2026-10-12
• MCL 257.236, vehicle title after the owner's death - Michigan Legislature, read 2026-10-12
• MCL 408.480, wages and fringe benefits of a deceased employee - Michigan Legislature, read 2026-10-12
• Estates and Protected Individuals Code cost-of-living adjustments, notice signed January 30, 2026 - Michigan Department of Treasury (PDF), read 2026-10-12
• Treasury's EPIC cost-of-living notice signed January 31, 2025, as posted by the court - Oakland County Probate Court (PDF), read 2026-10-12
• Treasury's EPIC cost-of-living notices for 2021, 2019 and 2018 - 2021 (PDF), 2019 (PDF), 2018 (PDF), Michigan Department of Treasury, read 2026-10-12
• Form PC 598 (4/24), Affidavit of Decedent's Successor for Delivery of Certain Assets Owned by Decedent, approved by SCAO - copy hosted by the Institute of Continuing Legal Education (PDF), read 2026-10-12
• Small Estates / Petition for Assignment Instructions and threshold table - Macomb County Probate Court, read 2026-10-12
• Instructions for Completing PC 598 (PEMH 1142, 3/25) - Oakland County Probate Court (PDF), read 2026-10-12
• Disposition of Small Estates, brochure #3 (03/13/2025) - Oakland County Probate Court (PDF), read 2026-10-12
• Exceptions to Probate - Oceana County Probate Court, read 2026-10-12
• TR-40, Certification for the Heir to a Vehicle - Michigan Department of State (PDF); titles FAQ - Michigan Department of State, read 2026-10-12

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