eFiling - Probate Court

Application for Informal Probate and/or Appointment of Personal Representative

• Same day Letters of Authority will no longer be available. 

For Testate (with a Will) Estates

• A copy of the Will needs to be filed via TrueFiling along with all other opening documents. 
• These documents will be placed in a hold queue until the original will is received. 
• The filer will have 14 days from the date of filing, to provide the original Will to the Oakland County Probate Court.
• The original may only be submitted via mail or in person at the Probate Counter.
• Once the original Will is filed, the will and the opening documents will be retrieved from hold for processing. 
• Failure to provide the Original Will within the allotted time will result in the rejection of the filing.
• If the Will filed as an “original”, but is determined to be a copy, it will be returned.
• If the 14 days expires without the submission of the original will, the filing will be rejected.
• Filing fees will be refunded if the filing is rejected, however, there will be a non-refundable 3% transaction fee. Once the documents are processed and accepted, your Letters of Authority will be available for purchase on-line via the probate court website, using Court Explorer.   

PLEASE NOTE: If you file the Original Will with the Oakland County Probate Court prior to filing your Application for Informal Probate and/or Appointment of Personal Representative, your documents will be able to be processed and your Letters of Authority available for purchase, faster.

Inventory -Presented- (DE only)

An inventory may be presented or efiled for an unsupervised estate only. An inventory may be presented in person, by mail, or through efile using the “inventory submitted” code.  The fee for a presented inventory may be calculated by the Probate Fee Calculator.  However, since the gross estate fee cannot be paid at the time the inventory is presented for efiling, the gross estate fee must be paid in person or by mail at a later date.  To present and pay the gross estate fee at the same time, it must be done by mail or in person.    

Inventory – Filed (DA and DE)

An inventory must be filed in a supervised Estate and may be filed in an unsupervised estate.  If the inventory is being filed and the gross estate fee paid at the same time, the gross estate fee may be paid through efile (which would include an extra processing fee).  If the gross estate fee is not paid at the time the inventory is efiled, the fee must be paid in person or by mail at a later date.

When filing a 7-Day Order or Objections to a 7-Day Order, pursuant to MCR 2.602 (B) (3), check the emergency box on the Tru-File page to route the documents to the proper queue.  The Emergency Supplemental Form (PEMH  1137) is not required.  You must serve the Notice and Order before submitting in Mi File and have your own Proof of Service form.  Serving at the time of filing via Mi File and using the generated Proof of Service will not be accepted.  When filing Objections to a 7-Day Order, the filing fee for the Objection is $20.

Letters of Authority and copies may be requested in person, by mail, or online from the Probate Court website via Court Explorer.  Certified documents will contain electronic seals, pursuant to MCL 565.232.  

All filers are required to protect personal identifying information (PII).  When documents containing confidential information (ex. bank statements, death certificates) are being submitted through MiFILE, the PII document should be submitted separately, but in the same bundle.

The court file number should be added to the top of confidential documents, before they are scanned.

Your hearing may be held either in-person or remotely, depending on the matter and the assigned judge. Please be sure to check your Notice of Hearing.

When filing an emergency petition, the petitioner should check the emergency box on the Tru-File page.   The Emergency Petition Supplemental Form (PEMH 1137) is required, which must be filed separately and captioned as Miscellaneous document.  The word emergency must be typed onto the comment line.  Once the filing is reviewed by the assigned judge, the petitioner will be contacted by the judge’s chambers who will instruct the filer if/ when the emergency hearing will be held.

**If you are appointed temporary guardian, special conservator, or special personal representative, once the order is entered, you must file  your Acceptance of Appointment and API/ MC 97a form to obtain your letters of authority, which can be done online or in person at the probate counter.  Once the Acceptance and API/MC 97a forms have been filed, you may purchase your Letters of Authority from the counter or through the court website at www.oakgov.com/probate, via Court Explorer. 

The requirements for a fee waiver remains the same, but the form has been modified on MiFILE.  Filers now have the option of stating they are exempt from fees, using #6 Miscellaneous reasons, such as a government agency – (APS/ CPS/ MHHS), for Mental Health 2nd and Continuing Petitions and Professional guardians for guardianship accounts

• eFiling is required for all case types for case initiation and subsequent filings on all Probate Court matters by using MiFILE.
• Every filer must register with MiFILE.
• If Service is selected during file submission, service on the selected parties is made at the time of submission. The system will generate a Proof of Service document that will be filed into the court file.
• Payment is applied to the filer's credit card at the time of submission. If a document is rejected, the payment will be refunded.
• Statutory document filing fees are subject to a credit card transaction fee of 3%.
• Filings that are submitted up to 11:59 p.m. will be accepted as of that business day. Filings submitted after 11:59 p.m. on a Friday, or a weekend, or if submitted on a holiday, will be accepted the following business day.
• To avoid the rejection of documents, be sure there are no blank or extraneous pages (ex. instructions for completing form) submitted with the filing.

The Criminal Search Request form (PEMH 1148) is available on the court website.  When submitted, the form should be coded MISC and ICHAT typed on the Comment Line type to be routed to the proper queue.  Be sure to check the Confidential box when submitting.

For Updated Letters:

Once the annual report and/or the annual account have been filed and accepted by the probate court, the Letters of Authority will be available for purchase through Court Explorer.  Please allow 24 hours to process the Letters of Authority.

For Initial Appointments:

After the hearing, the order of appointment will be e-filed with the court.  The appointed fiduciary will be responsible for e-filing their Acceptance of Appointment (PC 571) and the Addendum To Protected Personal Identifying Information- API (MC 97a) forms.  Once the forms have been accepted by the court, copies of the Letters of Authority will be available for purchase through court explorer.  Please allow 24 hours to process the Letters of Authority.

The certified letters of authority will contain electronic seals, pursuant to MCL 565.232.

** Please note that if multiple fiduciaries are appointed, Letters of Authority cannot be issued until all fiduciaries have e-filed both their Acceptance of Appointment and MC 97a forms.  All qualifying documents must be filed at the same time. 

There are multiple online resources that you can reference to prepare yourself and your staff for MiFILE. Below are some helpful links to some of these resources:

• MiFILE Filer Informational Website

• MiFILE Resources

• MiFILE Quick Reference Guide

• MiFILE Tutorials

• What’s New with MiFILE?

• MiFILE Filer Demonstration

When filing Objections, check the emergency box on the Tru-File page  to route the documents to the proper queue.  The Emergency Supplement Form (PEMH 1137) is not required; however, the Objection form (PC 694) is required as the initial page to the objections. The filing fee for the Objection is $20.

If a case is an existing file, the individual may pay at the cashier, by using MC 514, Receipt of Prepaid Filing Fees for MiFile Transactions, which can be obtained in the E-Service Room.  

If the case is a new file, the filer must complete form MC 514, Receipt of Prepaid Filing Fees for MiFile Transactions which can be obtained in the E-Service Room.  The court staff will enter the filer’s information and give the filer the case number.  The filer will then file the MC 514 form with their documents in the MiFile in the E-Service Room. 

To re-open a case, the filer must file the documents into the existing case using the original file number. If the case has been closed for more than 10 years, before filing the reopening documents, the filer must contact the probate court by phone at (248) 858-0260 or by email at probatecourt@oakgov.com to be able to access the existing file number.

Documents submitted for efiling are reviewed and if not accepted for filing, the submission will be rejected. The reason for the rejection will accompany the rejection notification.  

If the filing had a filing fee, the filing fee will be refunded, however, there will be a non-refundable 3% transaction fee charged to the filer’s account. 

When the requester is not a current party but wants e-service on future filings (i.e. attorneys entering limited appearances, interested parties, etc.), form MC 507 must be completed. There is no filing fee.

The form should be used in conjunction with an “Add Party to Case” request in Tru-File, to create the connection between the party in MiFILE and the court’s case management system.  The filer must be a registered MiFILE user. Once added, the filer will be electronically served at the email address on their MiFILE account.  

If you have e-filing questions for the Probate Court's staff, please call 248-858-0260. For technical support, call TrueFiling customer care at 1-855-959-8868 or email at mifile@imagesoftinc.com.

Application for Informal Probate and/or Appointment of Personal Representative

• Same day Letters of Authority will no longer be available. 

For Testate (with a Will) Estates

• A copy of the Will needs to be filed via TrueFiling along with all other opening documents. 
• These documents will be placed in a hold queue until the original will is received. 
• The filer will have 14 days from the date of filing, to provide the original Will to the Oakland County Probate Court.
• The original may only be submitted via mail or in person at the Probate Counter.
• Once the original Will is filed, the will and the opening documents will be retrieved from hold for processing. 
• Failure to provide the Original Will within the allotted time will result in the rejection of the filing.
• If the Will filed as an “original”, but is determined to be a copy, it will be returned.
• If the 14 days expires without the submission of the original will, the filing will be rejected.
• Filing fees will be refunded if the filing is rejected, however, there will be a non-refundable 3% transaction fee. Once the documents are processed and accepted, your Letters of Authority will be available for purchase on-line via the probate court website, using Court Explorer.   

PLEASE NOTE: If you file the Original Will with the Oakland County Probate Court prior to filing your Application for Informal Probate and/or Appointment of Personal Representative, your documents will be able to be processed and your Letters of Authority available for purchase, faster.

Inventory -Presented- (DE only)

An inventory may be presented or efiled for an unsupervised estate only. An inventory may be presented in person, by mail, or through efile using the “inventory submitted” code.  The fee for a presented inventory may be calculated by the Probate Fee Calculator.  However, since the gross estate fee cannot be paid at the time the inventory is presented for efiling, the gross estate fee must be paid in person or by mail at a later date.  To present and pay the gross estate fee at the same time, it must be done by mail or in person.    

Inventory – Filed (DA and DE)

An inventory must be filed in a supervised Estate and may be filed in an unsupervised estate.  If the inventory is being filed and the gross estate fee paid at the same time, the gross estate fee may be paid through efile (which would include an extra processing fee).  If the gross estate fee is not paid at the time the inventory is efiled, the fee must be paid in person or by mail at a later date.