SB 585

Act No. 68
Public Acts of 2026
Approved by the Governor
July 21, 2026
Filed with the Secretary of State
July 23, 2026
EFFECTIVE
DATE: July 23, 2026
state of michigan
103rd Legislature
Regular session of 2026
Introduced by Senators Irwin, Johnson, Polehanki, Chang,
Klinefelt, McMorrow, Geiss, Santana and Shink
ENROLLED SENATE BILL No. 585
AN ACT to amend 1998 PA 386,
entitled �An act to codify, revise, consolidate, and classify aspects of the
law relating to wills and intestacy, relating to the administration and
distribution of estates of certain individuals, relating to trusts, and
relating to the affairs of certain individuals under legal incapacity; to
provide for the powers and procedures of the court that has jurisdiction over
these matters; to provide for the validity and effect of certain transfers,
contracts, and deposits that relate to death; to provide procedures to facilitate
enforcement of certain trusts; and to repeal
acts and parts of acts,� by amending section 5423 (MCL 700.5423), as amended by
2012 PA 173.
The People of the State of
Michigan enact:
Sec.
5423. (1) Subject to a limitation imposed under section 5427, a conservator has
all of the powers conferred in this section and the additional powers conferred
by law on trustees in this state. In addition, a conservator of the estate of
an unmarried minor, as to whom no one has parental rights, has the powers,
responsibilities, and duties of a guardian described in section 5215 until the
individual is no longer a minor or marries. The parental rights conferred on a
conservator by this section do not preclude a guardian�s appointment as
provided in part 2.
(2) Acting reasonably in an effort to accomplish the purpose
of the appointment and without court authorization or confirmation, a
conservator may do any of the following:
(a) Collect, hold, or retain estate property, including land
in another state, until the conservator determines that disposition of the
property should be made. Property may be retained even though it includes
property in which the conservator is personally interested.
(b) Receive an addition to the estate.
(c) Continue or participate in the operation of a business or
other enterprise.
(d) Acquire an undivided interest in estate property in which
the conservator, in a fiduciary capacity, holds an undivided interest.
(e) Invest or reinvest estate property. If the conservator
exercises the power conferred by this subdivision, the conservator must invest
or reinvest the property in accordance with the Michigan prudent investor rule.
(f) Deposit estate money in a state or federally insured
financial institution including one operated by the conservator.
(g) Except as provided in subsection (3), acquire or dispose
of estate property, including land in another state, for cash or on credit, at
public or private sale, or manage, develop, improve, exchange, partition,
change the character of, or abandon estate property.
(h) Make an ordinary or extraordinary repair or alteration in
a building or other structure, demolish an improvement, or raze an existing or
erect a new party wall or building.
(i) Subdivide, develop, or dedicate land to public use; make
or obtain the vacation of a plat or adjust a boundary; adjust a difference in
valuation on exchange or partition by giving or receiving consideration; or
dedicate an easement to public use without consideration.
(j) Enter for any purpose into a lease as lessor or lessee
with or without option to purchase or renew for a term within or extending
beyond the term of the conservatorship.
(k) Enter into a lease or arrangement for exploration and
removal of a mineral or other natural resource or enter into a pooling or
unitization agreement.
(l) Grant an option involving disposition of
estate property or take an option for the acquisition of property.
(m) Vote a security, in person or by general or limited
proxy.
(n) Pay a call, assessment, or other amount chargeable or
accruing against or on account of a security.
(o) Sell or exercise stock subscription or conversion rights.
(p) Consent, directly or through a committee or other agent,
to the reorganization, consolidation, merger, dissolution, or liquidation of a
corporation or other business enterprise.
(q) Hold a security in the name of a nominee or in other form
without disclosure of the conservatorship so that title to the security may
pass by delivery. However, the conservator is liable for an act of the nominee
in connection with the stock so held.
(r) Insure the estate property against damage or loss or the
conservator against liability with respect to third persons.
(s) Borrow money to be repaid from estate property or
otherwise.
(t) Advance money for the protection of the estate or the
protected individual, and for all expense, loss, or liability sustained in the
estate�s administration or because of the holding or ownership of estate
property. The conservator has a lien on the estate as against the protected
individual for such an advance.
(u) Pay or contest a claim; settle a claim by or against the
estate or the protected individual by compromise, arbitration, or otherwise;
and release, in whole or in part, a claim belonging to the estate to the extent
that the claim is uncollectible.
(v) Pay a tax, assessment, conservator�s compensation, or
other expense incurred in the estate�s collection, care, administration, and
protection.
(w) Allocate an item of income or expense to either estate
income or principal, as provided by law, including creation of a reserve out of
income for depreciation, obsolescence, or amortization, or for depletion in
mineral or timber property.
(x) Pay money distributable to a protected individual or the
protected individual�s dependent by paying the money to the distributee or by
paying the money for the use of the distributee to the distributee�s guardian,
or if none, to a relative or other person having custody of the distributee.
(y) Employ a person, including an auditor, investment
advisor, or agent, even though the person is associated with the conservator,
to advise or assist in the performance of an administrative duty; act upon the
person�s recommendation without independent investigation; and, instead of
acting personally, employ an agent to perform an act of administration, whether
or not discretionary.
(z) Employ an attorney to perform necessary legal services or
to advise or assist the conservator in the performance of the conservator�s
administrative duties, even if the attorney is associated with the conservator,
and act without independent investigation upon the attorney�s recommendation.
An attorney employed under this subdivision must receive reasonable
compensation for the attorney�s employment.
(aa) Prosecute or defend an action, claim, or proceeding in
any jurisdiction for the protection of estate property and of the conservator
in the performance of a fiduciary duty.
(bb) Execute and deliver an instrument that will accomplish
or facilitate the exercise of a power vested in the conservator.
(cc) Respond to an environmental concern or hazard affecting
property as provided in section 5424.
(3) A conservator shall not sell or otherwise dispose of the
protected individual�s principal dwelling, real property, or interest in real
property or mortgage, pledge, or cause a lien to be placed on any such property
without approval of the court. The court shall only approve the sale, disposal,
mortgage, or pledge of or lien against the principal dwelling, real property,
or interest in real property if, after a hearing with notice to interested
persons as specified in the Michigan court rules, the court considers evidence
of the value of the property, which must include an appraisal of the value of
the property conducted within the preceding 6 months by a professional licensed
under article 26 of the occupational code, 1980 PA 299, MCL 339.2601 to
399.2637, and otherwise determines that the sale, disposal, mortgage, pledge,
or lien is in the protected individual�s best interest. If the court approves a
sale of the principal dwelling that is less than the appraised value of the
property, the court shall explain on the record why the sale is in the
protected individual�s best interest.
This act is ordered to take
immediate effect.
Secretary of the Senate
Clerk of the House of
Representatives
Approved___________________________________________
____________________________________________________
Governor