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Keweenaw County, MI Probate Information
Quick facts
| Item | Keweenaw County information |
|---|---|
| Court | Keweenaw County Probate Court |
| Courthouse address | Keweenaw County Courthouse, 5095 Fourth Street, Eagle River, MI 49950 |
| Mailing address | Use the courthouse address. No separate probate mailing address is published. |
| Phone | (906) 337-1927. This is the probate line, not the general courthouse line. |
| Fax | (906) 337-2253. The court publishes this as a contact fax, but does not say filings may be faxed. |
| [email protected]. The court publishes this office mailbox for questions, but does not say filings may be emailed. | |
| Hours | Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., closed legal holidays. Keweenaw County advises calling before traveling if it is stormy or you are coming a considerable distance. |
| Filing cost | For 2026 filings, opening a decedent estate costs $175.00, made up of $150.00 under MCL 600.880 plus $25.00 under MCL 600.1986. The estate also owes an inventory fee under MCL 600.871. |
| Local probate forms | None published. Keweenaw uses the statewide SCAO probate forms at https://www.courts.michigan.gov/SCAO-forms/Estates-Trusts/. |
| E-filing status | MiFILE is live for Keweenaw County Probate Court. Attorneys must file through MiFILE. Filers who are not attorneys may use MiFILE, but do not have to. |
| Case lookup | No online case lookup is published for Keweenaw probate files. Call the probate court at (906) 337-1927. |
| Remote appearance | No local video-hearing instructions are published. Uncontested decedent-estate petitions and motions are presumed to use videoconferencing under MCR 5.140, but the court decides how a hearing will be held and must give joining instructions. |
| Online payment | The probate office publishes an online payment page at https://pay.govpros.us/mi/keweenaw/probate. A service fee is added by the payment service. Call before using it for a filing cost. |
| Website | https://www.keweenawcountyonline.org/department-probate.php |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
Before you choose a Michigan probate path, make a practical list of what the person owned, what was jointly owned, what had a beneficiary, what debts exist and whether any Keweenaw County real property needs to be sold or retitled. That asset picture determines whether the probate register in Eagle River can handle an informal filing, whether a judge hearing is needed, or whether a small-estate option fits.
Sunset can help with that first estate settlement step by searching across 2,300 institutions for accounts, insurance and other assets, then organizing what you find into the probate packet you can review before calling Keweenaw County Probate Court at (906) 337-1927.
Which court handles jurisdiction
Keweenaw County Probate Court at the Keweenaw County Courthouse in Eagle River serves all Keweenaw County estates. Keweenaw County lists five townships: Allouez, Eagle Harbor, Grant, Houghton and Sherman. Houghton Township is in Keweenaw County, but Houghton County is a different county with a different courthouse.
Venue for the first informal or formal probate proceeding is the county where the decedent was domiciled at death, or, if the decedent was not domiciled in Michigan, a county where the decedent had property at death (MCL 700.3201). For a Michigan resident domiciled in Keweenaw County, file in Eagle River, not in Houghton County.
The jurisdiction process
- Build the estate inventory first. List assets, debts, real property, co-owned property and beneficiary designations so you can decide whether to use informal probate, formal probate, assignment of property or transfer by affidavit.
- Choose the statewide SCAO form for the path. Common estate forms include PC 558 for informal probate, PC 559 for formal probate, PC 556 for assignment of property, PC 565 for heirs, PC 571 for acceptance of appointment and PC 572 for letters of authority.
- File with the probate register at Keweenaw County Probate Court, Keweenaw County Courthouse, 5095 Fourth Street, Eagle River, MI 49950. Attorneys file through MiFILE. A self-represented personal representative may use MiFILE but should call (906) 337-1927 to ask how the court wants a paper filing delivered.
- Pay the court cost that applies. For 2026 filings, opening a decedent estate costs $175.00 under MCL 600.880 and MCL 600.1986, and the estate also owes the inventory fee under MCL 600.871. A Petition and Order for Assignment, PC 556, has a $25.00 filing cost under MCL 600.880, plus the inventory fee.
- Give the required notices. In an informal proceeding, written information of the probate must be given within 28 days after informal probate is granted (MCL 700.3306). After appointment, the personal representative handles creditor notice under Michigan law.
- Handle any hearing. Informal applications are acted on by the probate register when the requirements are met, so many routine matters do not require a judge appearance. If a hearing is set, ask how it will be held, because uncontested decedent-estate petitions and motions are presumed to use videoconferencing under MCR 5.140, but the court controls the hearing format.
- Get certified letters of authority if a personal representative is appointed. PC 572 is the Michigan authority document used to deal with banks, buyers, title companies and other institutions.
- Administer and close the estate. File the inventory information within 91 days after letters of authority under MCR 5.307, pay the inventory fee, distribute property, keep receipts and close through the statewide closing forms that fit the administration.
Forms and documents
Probate forms in Keweenaw County
Keweenaw County Probate Court publishes no local probate form packet, cover sheet or checklist for decedent estates. Estate filings use the statewide SCAO-approved probate forms, and the court's own county forms page does not add a Keweenaw estate form.
| Need | Form or resource | Local note |
|---|---|---|
| Small-estate court assignment | PC 556, Petition and Order for Assignment | Filed with Keweenaw County Probate Court when the Michigan assignment of property path applies. |
| Transfer by affidavit | PC 598, Affidavit of Decedent's Successor for Delivery of Certain Assets Owned by Decedent | Presented to the asset holder, not filed with the court. |
| Informal probate | PC 558, Application for Informal Probate and/or Appointment of Personal Representative | Filed with the probate register in Eagle River or through MiFILE when used by a filer who may e-file. |
| Formal probate | PC 559, Petition for Probate and/or Appointment of Personal Representative | Used when a judge ruling is needed. |
| Statewide form index | https://www.courts.michigan.gov/SCAO-forms/Estates-Trusts/ | Use the SCAO index so you get the current version. |
Local nuance
Keweenaw County-specific considerations
| Local point | What it means for a filing |
|---|---|
| Short public day | The probate counter follows the courthouse hours, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., closed legal holidays. Build travel time around a 4:00 p.m. close. |
| Call before winter travel | Keweenaw County advises calling before traveling when it is stormy or you are coming a considerable distance. For an estate question, call (906) 337-1927. |
| Separate probate line | The probate court uses (906) 337-1927. Do not use the general courthouse line for a first estate question. |
| Part-time probate judge | The county states that one part-time probate judge handles probate and juvenile matters. Routine informal estate work is still presented to the probate register under Michigan law. |
| MiFILE silence on the county page | Keweenaw is live on MiFILE even though the county probate page does not discuss e-filing. Attorneys must use MiFILE. Other filers may use it but do not have to. |
| Payment page | The probate office has an online payment page with a service fee charged by the payment service. Call before using it for a filing cost. |
| No online case lookup | To check a Keweenaw probate file, call the probate court during its published hours. |
Recent updates
Scenarios
| Persona | Likely Keweenaw County path | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse w/ co-owned home | Start by confirming how the home is titled and whether any assets actually need probate. If the home passes outside the estate, the spouse may only need help with accounts in the decedent's name. If an estate must be opened, file in Eagle River with Keweenaw County Probate Court. | Sunset helps identify accounts and ownership, organize the asset list and prepare the probate packet for review before filing. |
| Out-of-state adult child w/ small estate | Call the probate court before traveling to Eagle River. If the estate fits Michigan's small-estate rules for a 2026 death, including the $53,000 figure under MCL 700.3982 and MCL 700.3983, the child may be looking at PC 556 or PC 598 rather than full administration. | Sunset helps sort assets, choose the likely form path and connect the child with a Michigan probate attorney if the court filing or remote-hearing question needs local help. |
| Parent settling predeceased child's estate, home must be sold | A Keweenaw County home that must be sold usually requires authority from the probate court unless title passes outside probate or the assignment of property path fits. File at the Keweenaw County Courthouse and expect title, creditor and sale issues to need careful handling. | Sunset helps gather the asset and debt picture, generate the estate settlement packet and connect the parent with a vetted Michigan probate attorney for the sale and court steps. |
Self-help resources
| Resource | How it helps | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Keweenaw County Probate Court | The local filing counter for Keweenaw County estates. The probate register can explain local filing logistics but cannot give legal advice. | 5095 Fourth Street, Eagle River, MI 49950. (906) 337-1927. [email protected]. https://www.keweenawcountyonline.org/department-probate.php |
| Pay the probate office online | Keweenaw's probate office payment page. A service fee is added by the payment service. | https://pay.govpros.us/mi/keweenaw/probate |
| Michigan Trial Court Directory | The Michigan Judiciary directory page for checking court contact information. | https://www.courts.michigan.gov/trial-court-directory/ |
| Estates, trusts and miscellaneous probate forms | The statewide SCAO probate form index used for Keweenaw estate filings. | https://www.courts.michigan.gov/SCAO-forms/Estates-Trusts/ |
| Inventory fee calculator | The Michigan Judiciary calculator for the inventory fee owed by an estate. | https://www.courts.michigan.gov/courts/trial-courts/inventory-calculator/ |
| MiFILE | Michigan's e-filing system. Keweenaw is live on MiFILE for probate. Attorneys must use it, while other filers may use it but do not have to. | https://mifile.courts.michigan.gov/login |
| Michigan Legal Help | Plain-language Michigan probate and small-estate information. | https://michiganlegalhelp.org/ |
| Legal Services of Northern Michigan, Houghton office | Free civil legal help for eligible residents of Houghton, Baraga and Keweenaw counties. Ask at intake whether your estate question fits its help areas. | 706 W. Sharon Avenue, Ste. 4, Houghton, MI 49931. (906) 482-3908. https://www.lsnm.org/ |
When to hire an attorney
A probate attorney makes sense in Keweenaw County when real property must be sold or title must be cleared, when the estate is too large or too complicated for a small-estate path, when heirs disagree, when a will is challenged, when creditors are active, when the personal representative lives outside the Upper Peninsula, or when the issue must go before the part-time probate judge instead of being handled informally by the probate register. Sunset connects the family to a vetted Michigan probate attorney.
How Sunset helps
Find the accounts and assets. Sunset searches across 2,300 institutions to help families find bank accounts, investments, insurance and other assets that may belong in the estate settlement plan.
Generate the probate packet. After the asset picture is clearer, Sunset organizes the information into a Michigan probate packet using the statewide forms that fit the path you are preparing to discuss with Keweenaw County Probate Court.
Find a local probate attorney. If the estate involves Keweenaw real property, a dispute, creditors or a filing that needs legal judgment, Sunset can connect you with a vetted Michigan probate attorney.
Sunset is free for families. Families can use Sunset to organize estate settlement tasks, understand what comes next and decide whether they need attorney help, without paying Sunset a fee.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I file probate in Keweenaw County?
File with Keweenaw County Probate Court at the Keweenaw County Courthouse, 5095 Fourth Street, Eagle River, MI 49950. A Keweenaw County estate is filed in Eagle River when venue belongs in Keweenaw County under MCL 700.3201.
Is Keweenaw County part of a shared probate district with Houghton County?
No. Keweenaw County Probate Court is its own court. Do not file a Keweenaw County estate in Houghton County just because Houghton Township is one of Keweenaw County's townships.
Does Keweenaw County Probate Court use MiFILE?
Yes. Keweenaw County Probate Court is live on MiFILE. Attorneys must use MiFILE. Filers who are not attorneys may use MiFILE, but they do not have to. If you are filing without a lawyer, call (906) 337-1927 to ask how the court wants your papers delivered.
Can I look up a Keweenaw County probate case online?
No online case lookup is published for Keweenaw probate files. Michigan does not offer a statewide online lookup for trial-court probate files. Call the probate court at (906) 337-1927 during its published hours.
What are Keweenaw County Probate Court's hours?
The published hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., closed legal holidays. Keweenaw County advises calling before traveling if it is stormy or you are coming a considerable distance.
Does Keweenaw County have local probate forms?
No. Keweenaw County Probate Court publishes no local probate packet, cover sheet or checklist for decedent estates. Use the statewide SCAO estate forms at https://www.courts.michigan.gov/SCAO-forms/Estates-Trusts/.
How much does it cost to open a probate estate in Keweenaw County?
For 2026 filings, opening a decedent estate costs $175.00 under MCL 600.880 and MCL 600.1986, and the estate also owes the inventory fee under MCL 600.871. The inventory fee is based on the estate's asset value, and the Michigan Judiciary provides a calculator at https://www.courts.michigan.gov/courts/trial-courts/inventory-calculator/.
Can I pay Keweenaw probate costs online?
The probate office publishes an online payment page at https://pay.govpros.us/mi/keweenaw/probate. The payment service adds a separate service fee. Because the page does not list which probate costs can be paid there, call (906) 337-1927 before using it for a filing.
Do I have to travel to Eagle River for a probate hearing?
Ask the court when your filing is scheduled. Keweenaw publishes no local video-hearing instructions, but uncontested decedent-estate petitions and motions are presumed to use videoconferencing under MCR 5.140 unless the court decides otherwise and gives the required access information.
Shaped by the families we've helped
Thank you to the thousands of families who have trusted Sunset to help settle their loved ones' estates. This page is shaped by the questions they actually asked and the obstacles they actually hit — and that hard-won experience is what keeps it accurate, current, and genuinely useful to the families who come next.