Who We ARE

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Who We ARE *

The Michigan Judicial Probate Integrity Project Wants to Bring Back Integrity Through Accountability

The Michigan Judicial Probate Integrity Project (MJPIP) is a grassroots, volunteer—led effort dedicated to exposing systemic failures in Michigan’s Probate courts and advocating for meaningful reform. We are working together to protect the elderly and disabled who are being harmed in our probate courts.

We would like to see the pilot program that the Michigan Elder Justice initiative implemented in 4 counties spread to include all of Michigan. Together we hope to be a protect vulnerable adults, support families, and expose judicial misconduct within Michigan’s probate courts. Our work is grounded in research, lived experience, and the shared stories of countless families who have faced unlawful, unethical, or retaliatory practices in a court system that lacks meaningful oversight.

We exist because Michigan’s probate courts hold enormous power—yet operate with almost no transparency or accountability. This has created an environment where vulnerable adults can be isolated, estates can be depleted, families can be silenced, and statutory rights can be ignored without consequence.

We are here to change that.

We are Michigan families who have personally experienced:

• Judicial misconduct

• Statutory violations

• Abuse of discretion

• Improper use of the Mental Health Code

• Isolation of vulnerable adults

• Retaliatory sanctions or contempt threats

• Hearings without recordings or notice

• Estate exploitation under court control

Our experiences are not isolated. They form a pattern repeated across the state, in county after county, courtroom after courtroom.

Through documentation, FOIA requests, public records, interviews, and firsthand accounts, we are building the most comprehensive picture of probate-related judicial misconduct Michigan has ever seen.

Why We Started This Project

The Michigan Judicial Integrity Project began after families discovered that the systems meant to protect vulnerable adults were instead allowing:

• Misuse of guardianship and conservatorship

• Backdated or altered court orders

• Improper appointments of guardians, GALs, or conservators

• Unlawful isolation from family

• Lack of due process

• Denial of evidence and testimony

• Zero consequences for court actors violating the law

When families sought help through official channels—APS, SCAO, the Judicial Tenure Commission, the Attorney Grievance Commission—they found doors closed, cases dismissed, or concerns ignored.

It became clear:

Michigan has no functioning accountability system for probate courts.

That is when this project was born.

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