Michigan’s PC 571 form is the one-page Acceptance of Appointment that a newly named personal representative, guardian, or conservator signs and files to formally take on the role. Until the probate court has your signed acceptance in hand, it cannot issue Letters of Authority, and without those letters you have no legal power to act for the estate or protected person.1Michigan Courts. PC 571 Acceptance of Appointment
What You Are Agreeing To
The form is short, but the commitment is not. By signing, you accept the appointment, submit personally to the probate court’s jurisdiction, and agree to file every required report and perform every duty the role carries.1Michigan Courts. PC 571 Acceptance of Appointment That includes inventories, accountings, tax filings, and the fiduciary standard of care that governs how you handle assets. Sign the form only after you have read the court’s appointment order and understand what you are taking on.
Filling Out the Form
You can download the fillable PDF from the Michigan Courts website or pick up a blank copy at your probate court. Every field has to match the court’s existing case record exactly.
- Case caption. Enter the full legal name of the decedent, ward, or protected individual in the “In the matter of” field. Use the same spelling the original petition used.
- Case number and judge. Copy the case number assigned when the petition was filed and the judge’s name. Both appear on any prior order in the case.
- Type of fiduciary. Write in the exact role the appointment order uses: personal representative, successor personal representative, guardian, limited guardian, conservator, and so on.
- Your name and address. Print your full legal name and current residential address with city, state, and zip code.
The body of the form has three numbered statements. Statement 1 identifies your appointed role. Statement 2 asks whether the court has designated you to perform a specific task. Statement 3 is the acceptance itself, where your signature creates the legal obligation.1Michigan Courts. PC 571 Acceptance of Appointment
The Hazardous Property Box
Statement 4 is optional and applies only to personal representatives who believe the estate holds real estate or a business interest that may be contaminated by a hazardous substance. Checking it lets you exclude that specific property from your responsibilities for up to 91 days from your appointment. You have to identify the property and specify the exclusion period on the form. When the window closes, responsibility shifts back to you unless the court appoints a special personal representative for the property or orders administration by judicial direction.2Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 700.3601
Most fiduciaries leave Statement 4 blank. If anything in the estate raises an environmental flag, such as a former gas station or dry cleaner, talk to an attorney before you sign. Once the 91 days run, the liability is yours.
Bond Before Letters Can Issue
The court will not issue Letters of Authority on your acceptance alone if a bond is required. Whether one is required depends on how the estate was opened and what the will says.
In informal proceedings, which cover most straightforward estates, bond is generally not required. The exceptions are a special personal representative, a will that expressly requires bond, and a written demand filed with the register by an interested person whose stake or claim exceeds $30,000.3Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 700.3605
In formal proceedings, the court can order bond at the time of appointment. If the will relieves the personal representative of bond, the court will not require it unless an interested person requests it and the court agrees. A personal representative can also avoid bond by depositing cash or collateral with the county treasurer in an amount the court deems sufficient.
If someone demands bond after you have been appointed, you have 28 days from receiving the demand to post it. Until the bond is in place, your actions are limited to preserving the estate. Missing the 28-day deadline is grounds for removal.3Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 700.3605
Filing the Signed Form
File PC 571 with the probate court that appointed you. MCL 700.3601 requires the acceptance to be on file before letters issue, so file it as soon as the appointment order is entered.2Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 700.3601 You have three options:
- Electronic filing through MiFILE. Michigan’s judiciary e-filing system accepts probate filings from participating courts. As of early 2026, roughly 17 probate courts appear on the MiFILE court list, including Oakland, Ottawa, and Livingston counties. If your court is on the list, upload the signed form through the MiFILE portal.4Michigan Courts. E-Filing Courts in Michigan5MiFILE. Log in – TrueFiling
- In person. Bring the signed original to the Register of Probate during business hours. The clerk file-stamps it and returns a copy to you.
- By mail. Send the signed form to the probate court with a self-addressed stamped envelope if you want a file-stamped copy returned.
PC 571 does not carry its own filing fee. If you file it alongside the initial petition to open the estate, the petition filing fee applies. In one representative Michigan county, that fee is $175, made up of a $150 petition fee and a $25 electronic filing system surcharge. Estate administration fees based on asset value are also assessed under MCL 600.871 and must be paid before the estate closes or within one year of the initial filing.6Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 600.871
Serving Interested Persons
Michigan Court Rule 5.107 requires anyone who files a document with the probate court to serve a copy on all interested persons, and that obligation covers the acceptance of appointment. You also have to serve a copy of any court order you obtain.7Michigan Courts. Michigan Court Rules – Rule 5.107
Under Michigan’s Estates and Protected Individuals Code, “interested person” sweeps broadly and includes heirs, devisees, the surviving spouse, children, creditors, beneficiaries, and anyone with a property right in or claim against the estate. The list can change as the case progresses.8Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 700.1105
Service is excused for any person whose address is unknown after diligent inquiry, for unascertained or unborn persons, and when the court excuses service for good cause. Small estates filed under MCL 700.3982 do not require service at all.7Michigan Courts. Michigan Court Rules – Rule 5.107 Keep proof of service in your file. If an heir later claims they were never notified, that proof is your first defense.
Getting Your Letters of Authority
Once the court has your signed PC 571 and any required bond, the probate register can issue Letters of Authority on Form PC 572. These letters are your working credential. Banks, title companies, hospitals, and government agencies will not recognize your authority without them.9Michigan Courts. PC 572 Letters of Authority
Processing time varies by county. At least one Michigan probate court estimates that letters are entered within two to seven business days of the acceptance and bond filing, whichever is later. Ask the clerk about expedited processing if you need immediate access to estate accounts.
Order several certified copies when the letters issue. Banks almost always require a certified copy, and many want one that is less than 60 days old. The certification fee is $10 per copy plus $1 per page.10Michigan Courts. Probate Court Fee Tables
First Deadlines After You Are Appointed
Your signature on PC 571 starts the clock on duties that follow quickly.
You must prepare an estate inventory within 91 days of the date your Letters of Authority are issued, file it with the probate court on Form PC 577, and send a copy to all presumptive distributees and any interested person who requests it. The 91 days run from the date the letters issue, not the date you signed the acceptance, so track that date carefully.9Michigan Courts. PC 572 Letters of Authority The probate court charges an inventory fee set by MCL 600.871 that scales with estate value, starting at $5 for estates under $1,000.6Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 600.871
If you are serving as personal representative, you are also responsible for the decedent’s final individual income tax return and, where applicable, an estate income tax return (Form 1041) and an estate tax return (Form 706).11Internal Revenue Service. Topic no. 356, Decedents12Internal Revenue Service. Information for Executors13Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 56