The MI COA has ruled, for the first time, that the preponderance of the evidence standard applies in Special Immigrant Juvenile proceedings because the statute is silent on this issue.

Even though a guardian may delegate tasks, a question remains in no-fault cases about whether a guardian improperly delegated certain tasks.

The trial court properly denied a motion to dismiss a petition for continuing mental-health treatment, even though the petition did not strictly comply with the statutory requirements.

A widow who filed for divorce more than one year before her husband’s death qualifies as his surviving spouse for inheritance purposes, the Michigan Supreme Court has ruled.

The Michigan Court of Appeals reversed the protective orders that were issued in these consolidated appeals, ruling the probate court “put the cart before the horse”.

The Michigan Court of Appeals has upheld a probate court order granting a paternal grandparent’s petition to be named guardian of her son’s two minor children.

In this parenting-time dispute, the trial court improperly 1) treated the guardian ad litem (GAL) as a lawyer-guardian ad litem (LGAL) and 2) denied the parties’ right to question the GAL at a hearing.

A probate court erred by appointing a divorced couple as the co-personal representatives of their deceased daughter’s estate.

The probate court properly issued a permanent injunction to prevent the Lenawee Community Mental Health Authority from transferring a protected individual to another facility.

A probate court should not have appointed a conservator for a 74-year-old woman who suffered some minor memory problems and math difficulties.

Unless the Probate Court finds that an elderly woman’s son cannot provide for her care, custody and control, the son should be appointed her permanent guardian.

A guardianship and conservatorship petition filed by the adult children of a protected individual shouldn’t have been disqualified based on speculation that they were “too young”.

A Michigan lawyer was not automatically prohibited by the attorney ethics rules from being named as a beneficiary in a will and trust that he prepared for his client.

Michigan is on the cutting edge when it comes to probate law, recently becoming the first state in the nation to recognize a note left on a cell phone as a valid “digital will.”

EPIC deals with, among other things, the appointment of guardians for incapacitated individuals. EPIC provides a list of people who can be appointed as a ward’s guardian.