Section 257.236 - Procuring title to vehicle acquired by operation of law; validity of registration upon death of owner; application for title by surviving spouse or heir; proof of death; certification; petition(1) If ownership of a vehicle passes by operation of law, upon furnishing satisfactory proof of that ownership to the secretary of state, the person acquiring the vehicle may procure a title to the vehicle regardless of whether a certificate of title has ever been issued. Upon death of an owner of a registered vehicle, the license plate assigned to the vehicle, unless the vehicle is destroyed, is a valid registration until the end of the registration year or until the personal representative of the owner's estate transfers ownership of the vehicle.(2) If an owner of 1 or more vehicles dies and does not leave other property that requires the issuance of letters under section 3103 of the estates and protected individuals code, 1998 PA 386, MCL 700.3103, the owner's surviving spouse, or an heir of the owner in the order specified in section 2103 of the estates and protected individuals code, 1998 PA 386, MCL 700.2103, may apply for a title after providing the secretary of state with proper proof of the death of the registered owner and attaching to the proof a certification that sets forth the fact that the applicant is the surviving spouse or an heir. Upon proper petition, the secretary of state shall provide the applicant with a certificate of title for that vehicle or vehicles, if the total value of the vehicle or vehicles, based on the date of the presented title transfer application, does not exceed the following dollar amount, as applicable: (a) For calendar years through 2023, $60,000.00.(b) For the 2024 and 2025 calendar years, $100,000.00.(c) For the 2026 calendar year and each calendar year thereafter, a dollar amount equal to the product of the dollar amount applicable to the immediately preceding calendar year multiplied by the cost-of-living adjustment factor, rounded to the nearest $1,000.00. Beginning with the dollar amount for the 2026 calendar year and annually thereafter, the department of treasury shall certify and publish the dollar amount applicable for each calendar year no later than September 1 of the prior calendar year.(3) As used in this section:(a) "Cost-of-living adjustment factor" means a fraction in which the numerator is the United States Consumer Price Index for the year before the prior calendar year and the denominator is the United States Consumer Price Index for the 2023 calendar year.(b) "United States Consumer Price Index" means the annual average of the United States Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers as defined and reported by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, or its successor agency.Amended by 2024, Act 2,s 1, eff. 5/21/2024.1949, Act 300, Eff. 9/23/1949 ;--Am. 1957, Act 90, Eff. 9/27/1957 ;--Am. 1961, Act 60, Eff. 9/8/1961 ;--Am. 1962, Act 72, Eff. 3/28/1963 ;--Am. 1976, Act 110, Imd. Eff. 5/2/1976 ;--Am. 1978, Act 544, Eff. 7/1/1979 ;--Am. 1980, Act 398, Eff. 3/31/1981 ;--Am. 1989, Act 189, Imd. Eff. 8/24/1989 ;--Am. 1990, Act 181, Imd. Eff. 7/18/1990 ;--Am. 2000, Act 64, Eff. 4/1/2000.