Under Michigan’s Estates and Protected Individuals Code (EPIC), a testamentary devise of categories of personal property — each prefaced with the word “my” and intended for a specific, named devisee — constitutes a specific devise rather than a general devise.

In this dispute over the division of the decedent’s financial accounts, the probate court properly placed a restriction on the funds that the respondent had received as a designated beneficiary on certain accounts, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled.

The Court of Appeals reversed the Trial Court’s denial of grandparenting time because, under Michigan’s grandparenting time statute, MCL 722.27b, the opportunity to be heard includes at a minimum the right to testify.

Respondent parents did not abandon their child and DHHS failed to make reasonable efforts to remove the child. Therefore, the COA affirmed the trial court’s decision to decline jurisdiction.

The Court of Appeals vacated the Trial Court’s decision because the Brazilian birth certificate identifying Defendant as Father was not sufficient to establish his parentage and therefore the entry of the Uniform Child Support Order (UCSO) was erroneous. 

The Court of Appeals concluded that failure to release a notice of lis pendens following dismissal of claims upon which alleged interest was premised warranted a finding of malice, even if the initial filing was not malicious or false.