Iron County Trial Court
State of Michigan

2 S. Sixth Street, Suite 10
Crystal Falls, MI  49920-1413
Fax: 906-875-0656

Probate Division

The Iron County Trial Court's jurisdiction is primarily:

1. ESTATE PROCEEDINGS

A major function of the Probate Division is the court's supervision of the "probating" of wills and the administration of estates and trusts of deceased persons by personal representatives. It is the court's task to interpret last wills in the events of uncertainty or conflict over the will's meaning or to determine rights to an estate where the person had died "intestate" or without a will. This function of the court demonstrates one of the important purposes of courts in our society - they make a formal record of the legal status of property. Proceedings in Probate Division need only review them briefly to determine their legal sufficiency and authenticity or the proceedings may develop into full-scale adversarial proceedings.

2.  GUARDIANSHIPS AND CONSERVATORSHIPS 

The Probate Division is also responsible for appointing guardians and conservators for legally incapacitated adults and minors who cannot make responsible decisions about themselves or their property. In these cases, the trial court judge must decide whether or not the person in question has a mental, physical or legal limitation which requires the judge to appoint a guardian to make decisions concerning the person's health and personal life or appoint a conservator to make responsible decisions concerning management of property and money.

3.  MENTAL HEALTH PROCEEDINGS

Another major function of the Probate Division concerns proceedings under the Mental Health Code. These proceedings pertain to commitment for hospital care of alleged mentally ill persons and guardianship proceedings for the developmentally disabled.

4.  JUVENILE PROCEEDINGS

Juvenile proceedings, as of January 1, 1998, are heard in the Family Division of the Circuit Court.

5. ADOPTION RECORDS INQUIRY

Download our "Release of Information from Michigan's Adoption Record" pamphlet. You will need the following program Acrobat Reader to read this file. Download it free by clicking here.