On the basis of these factual findings, the probate court authorized the guardian to consent to the procedure for the ward. MPAS appealed in the Genesee Circuit Court, which affirmed. The Court of Appeals denied leave to MPAS, which then applied for leave to appeal to this Court. On remand, the Court of Appeals reversed the decision of the probate court . We granted the guardian leave to appeal, and now reverse.
Probate courts are courts of limited jurisdiction.
Const 1963, art 6, ' 15. The jurisdiction of the probate court is defined entirely by statute. That act applied to mentally defective persons. It was replaced by 1929 PA 281, allowing sterilization of insane and mentally ill persons to prevent them from procreating. While these later acts authorized the application by a parent for sterilization of a child, as was the case in Smith , the bulk of applications, as the parties here agree, came from the administrators of various institutions for the sterilization of the wards under their care.