Q: Mother recently passed. Estate qualifies for small estate administration in Michigan using Assignment of Property.

A: A petition and order for assignment is one of two Michigan small-estate procedures that can be used when a deceased's probate property is less than $27,000. The other is an affidavit for delivery of certain assets to decedent's successor. You would only use these procedures if the decedent left probate assets at death that require a court order of some type to transfer ownership.

Here, your question states that the decedent had a trust, and also conveyed assets using Payable on Death beneficiary designations. It's not clear whether there are any probate assets which require transfer using probate procedures at all. The best answer to your question is that you should make an appointment with a local probate attorney to review the situation, to review the deceased's estate plan documents, and review the deceased's assets to see how those assets did or did not transfer upon death. Your attorney can then advise you about what documentation various entities might require to change mailing addresses, update names on accounts, and so forth. Generally speaking there is no one hard and fast rule about what various entities require - it depends on the asset involved, and it depends on the policies and procedures of the entity you are dealing with, who you will need to ask in each case.

A: Mr Harris is right, but I have found the Post Office (particularly) can be 'dense' and insist on seeing letters of authority before they will do 'anything' -- depending on the local postmaster etc. Go to the post office and try to put in a forwarding order or contact the utilities etc., and see what they tell you then go to a local attorney to determine what makes sense and whether or not such actions would be 'worth it'

Get that local advice as it will vary from one location to another! Detroit is not Naubinway and the two don't 'work' the same!