The state-level rules, including the MRPC 7.2(b) duty to keep advertising records for two years, are in the Michigan guide. This page covers what is different about Detroit: one county with many community names, and two courts that national content tends to merge.
Forty-three communities, one county
Wayne County's own list of its communities runs from Allen Park and Belleville to Wyandotte, and includes Detroit, Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Livonia, Taylor, Westland, Canton Charter Township, Plymouth, and Northville. Readers search with the name of the place they live.
That does not mean a page for every community. A community page earns its place when it has something distinct to say. Otherwise one strong Wayne County page that names the communities you serve does more than a dozen near-copies.
Getting the local court facts right
The Wayne County Probate Court lists its address as 1305 Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, Two Woodward Avenue, Detroit. Under MCL 700.1302(a), the probate court has exclusive jurisdiction over settling a deceased person's estate, for decedents domiciled in the county. Divorce and custody belong to the family division of circuit court under MCL 600.1021(1), a different court.
A page that says "file in Detroit family court" for an estate gets the process wrong, and an AI answer drawn from it will repeat the mistake. We check court names and addresses against the court's own site before they go on yours.
Where Detroit differs
Probate jurisdiction follows the county where the person who died was domiciled. A Detroit firm helping a family whose parent lived outside Wayne County is dealing with a different county's probate court, and the page should say so rather than assume Detroit. The same applies to every county you serve: name each court by its own name.
What we build for Detroit firms
- Practice-area pages that name the Wayne County Probate Court and the circuit court's family division correctly
- A Wayne County page set covering the communities you serve, split only where the content differs
- Answer posts for the local questions clients ask before they call
The estate planning guide and the family law guide show the pages each side of that court split tends to need. Before planning community pages, read whether city pages still work for lawyers.
Common questions
Should I build a page for every Wayne County community?
Only where the page has something distinct to say. Near-identical pages dilute your site. One strong county page that names the communities you serve is usually the better first step.
Does it matter which court my estate page names?
Yes. Estates go to the probate court for the county where the person was domiciled, and divorce goes to the circuit court's family division. Naming the right court is what makes the page worth quoting.