Inherited a House? Start Here.
Whether you're the personal representative, one of several heirs, or just starting to think about what happens to a family home, this isn't about legal advice. It's about figuring out where you actually are, so the next step is obvious instead of overwhelming.
Your answers to the questions below are never saved or sent anywhere — the quiz itself runs entirely on your own screen. The only way any information leaves this page is if you choose to fill out the optional follow-up form after you see your result.
Just Getting Oriented — and That's Exactly Where to Start
If you're early in this, the most important thing to know is that you don't have to solve the legal side, the physical house, and the emotional side all at once, or alone. Michigan probate, personal representative authority, and things like a Lady Bird deed all affect what you can and can't do with a property — and that's genuinely a conversation for an estate attorney first, not a real estate agent. But you don't have to wait until every legal question is answered to start understanding your options for the house itself.
Reach out and I can walk you through what the real estate side actually looks like, and point you toward the right kind of attorney if you don't already have one.
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Mid-Process — Sorting Through the Details
You're in the thick of it: some decisions made, plenty still ahead, and probably at least one disagreement in the family about what stays, what goes, and what the house is even worth. That's normal, not a sign you're doing this wrong. Clearing out a house that's held decades of someone's life is its own project, separate from the sale itself — and it usually goes faster with a plan than by tackling it room by room with no endpoint in sight.
Your house doesn't have to be ready before you call me applies here more than almost anywhere else. Let's talk about what actually needs to happen before this house can be listed, and what can just be handled as part of the sale.
Want this in writing, or want to talk it through? Leave your info and I'll follow up — totally optional, and your result above doesn't go anywhere either way.
Ready to Talk About Listing
Legal authority is in place, and you're ready to move on the house itself. This is where the real estate side of things actually starts: an honest read on condition and value, a plan for anything still in the house, and a timeline that respects what the family's already been through. Let's set up a time to walk through it — in person if you're local, or by phone first if that's easier.
Want this in writing, or want to talk it through? Leave your info and I'll follow up — totally optional, and your result above doesn't go anywhere either way.
Nothing here is legal advice. For questions about probate itself, personal representative authority, or deeds, please talk to a Michigan estate attorney — I'm glad to point you toward one if you need a referral.
Local rules that matter for older, inherited homes
Inherited homes tend to be older, and older homes come with a few Michigan- and Ann Arbor-specific things worth knowing about early, not at closing.
You may be exempt from Seller's Disclosure
Michigan's Seller Disclosure Act generally requires a seller to fill out a disclosure statement, but there's a specific exemption for transfers by a non-occupant fiduciary — which covers a lot of estate sales, since a personal representative selling an inherited property usually didn't live there. This is exactly the kind of thing to confirm with your estate attorney or agent for your specific situation, since exemptions are narrow and it's easy to assume you qualify when you don't.
Proving you have authority to sell
Whoever signs for the sale needs to show they actually have the authority to do so, and the paperwork differs by situation:
- Estate (personal representative/executor): Letters of Testamentary from probate court.
- Trust: a Certification of Trust naming the trustee.
- Power of Attorney: a copy of the POA document itself — note that a POA only lets someone act on behalf of the actual owner; the owner's name (not the POA holder's) is what goes on the sale.
- LLC or other entity: the Operating Agreement or a Statement of Authority.
Title companies will want to see this documentation early in the process, not the week of closing.
If the house is in Ann Arbor
Two things specific to Ann Arbor are worth knowing if the home was built before the mid-1970s:
- Orangeburg sewer pipe. Homes built roughly 1949–1970 in Ann Arbor may have "Orangeburg" (bituminous fiber) sewer laterals, a material the city banned in 1970 after it proved prone to failure. The city doesn't require replacement to sell, but it's worth knowing about before a buyer's inspection surfaces it as a surprise. Ann Arbor keeps records of past sewer replacements you can check.
- Home Energy Rating Disclosure (HERD). Ann Arbor requires most home sellers to get a Home Energy Score before listing and disclose it to buyers — but there's an exemption for certain fiduciary sales covered by the same Seller Disclosure Act exemption above. Worth confirming whether your specific sale qualifies.