Each district has one judge, and each of the remaining counties has one or more judges depending in large part on the population and caseload within the county. Probate judges are elected for terms of six years in non-partisan elections. A candidate must be a qualified elector, a resident of the probate district or county, a lawyer who has been licensed to practice law for at least five years and under 70 years of age. Salaries for probate judges are set by the legislature. When most people think of probate court, they think about the probate of the estates of decedents.
Probate court does include that function, but it is also a lot more.
The probate of estates and the supervision of trusts makes up about one third of what a probate court does. When someone dies and is either a resident of a Michigan county or owns property in that county and is not a resident of Michigan, the probate court for that county must probate the decedent's estate. This means that the court must appoint a personal representative for the estate and admit the will of the decedent, if any. The personal representative must then gather the assets, pay the bills and distribute the residue of the estate to the parties entitled to it either as beneficiaries under the will or heirs if there is no will. When the probate court supervises a trust, it makes sure that the terms of the trust are carried out.