As Personal Representative do I have the right to know about the Deceased’s life insurance?

In Michigan, when you are the personal representative of a decadent’s estate, handling the Michigan probate court system and Michigan estate administration, a common question is to what information is the personal representative entitled to?

A personal representative is only entitled to handle assets that are passing through the Michigan probate court system.  Most life insurance will avoid Michigan probate due to having a named beneficiary.  However, if the there is no named beneficiary for the life insurance then the personal representative may have to include the account in probate and put the information on the probate inventory.

We help our clients avoid the Michigan probate process by setting up revocable living trust based Michigan estate plans. When necessary or referred to us, we assist our clients with handling Michigan probate estates in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, and Lapeer counties.

-Christopher J. Berry, Esq.
Michigan Probate Lawyer