The court cannot force you to accept a fiduciary appointment. If you are nominated to serve as personal representative of an estate or in another fiduciary capacity, you may decline so that another individual may be appointed. If no individual wishes to serve as fiduciary, the court may appoint a public administrator to serve.

Yes, a fiduciary may sell real estate. However, depending upon the type of estate, you may be required to obtain a court order before you can proceed.

If you were appointed personal representative of an unsupervised estate that was started informally, all you need are your letters of authority to proceed with a real estate sale. However, if you are a fiduciary of an estate started formally or a conservatorship (adult or minor), you must obtain a court order before selling the real estate.

Yes, depending on the circumstances, a first and second extension may be granted over the telephone. A third extension may be granted as well, but it must be in writing.

A fiduciary may be removed by a judge at a court hearing. Any interested person may petition the court to modify or terminate the fiduciary's appointment.

The petitioner must attend the hearing. All interested persons must be notified; however, they are not required to attend.

To update your Letters of Authority you must bring in your expired letters with the raised seal and file any required annual reports or accounts.

You may obtain a copy of your Letters at any time for a $12 fee as long as you are current on required filings.

If you move out of state, you may still serve as fiduciary, but you must notify the court of your new address and telephone number.

Fiduciaries may be dismissed when they have failed to complete all that is required by the court. After a dismissal, a fiduciary may be reinstated if he/she complies with the court. Proceedings may also be dismissed. For example, a petition may be dismissed if the petitioner fails to appear at the hearing or fails to serve interested persons.

Fiduciaries will be discharged when they have complied with all of the court requirements. After a fiduciary is discharged, the file may be closed or another fiduciary may be appointed to act as successor fiduciary.

If a person is entitled to VA benefits, the VA must be included on the petition for guardianship or conservatorship and must be served as an interested person.

An inventory contains all of the estate's assets and liabilities valued at the date of death (for estates) or date of qualification of the conservator (for conservatorships). The gross estate fee, for a deceased estate, will be calculated from the inventory form.

All you need to do is present the inventory to the probate counter and a staff member will calculate the fee for you.

• Gross Estate Fee Schedule

The filing of an inventory is only required for supervised estates or conservatorships. It must be shown to the court on unsupervised estates, but it does not need to be filed. However the court will accept the Inventory for filing on unsupervised estates, if the personal representative requests.

If you have an attorney, contact them for instructions. If you do not have an attorney, please read the Notice of Deficiency and file the needed documents with the Oakland County Probate Court.

You will be reinstated if you file the deficient paperwork timely and otherwise comply with the court's orders.

Fiduciaries are suspended when they fail to file the required paperwork timely.

You must file the delinquent paperwork immediately and otherwise comply with the courts orders.

If you have been suspended, you are not automatically discharged. The court will give you time to correct the deficiency. If you comply with the court within the given time frame your fiduciary powers will be reinstated.

If you fail to file the required paperwork, the court may give you an extension. However, if you do not act timely you may be dismissed and the file may be administratively closed.

An OSC is a court order requesting that you appear before the judge to explain why your file is deficient.

If you do not show up for an OSC hearing, you may be found in contempt of court, you may be fined, and you may have a bench warrant issued for your arrest.

You may be arrested if you have a bench warrant against you.

No, if you file the paperwork, the court will dismiss the OSC hearing.