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Michigan · Southeast Michigan · #711
Livingston County, Michigan
Between Detroit and Lansing in southeast Michigan's lake country, Livingston County has been Michigan's fastest-growing county for most of the past two decades - a suburban destination for Detroit and Lansing commuters who have made Howell and Brighton among the most sought-after addresses in the state for families seeking lower density at reasonable commute distance.
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Office: Livingston County Emergency Management – confirm current contact via milivcounty.gov.
Sheriff: Livingston County Sheriff’s Office – 150 S Highlander Way, Howell, MI 48843 | Office (517) 546-2440 | Non-emergency (517) 546-9111 | Tip Line (517) 546-8477 | Jail (517) 546-2445; Sheriff Michael Murphy (joined the department in 1990 as a Corrections Deputy, appointed Sheriff in November 2016, elected January 2017); established 1836; 165 full and part-time staff; jail processes over 5,000 inmates annually with a rated capacity of 411 and average incarceration length of 14 days, offering AA/NA, church services, counseling, and GED-completion programs. Hours: Mon-Thu 7 AM-5:30 PM, Fri 7 AM-5 PM.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-96 and US-23 serve Howell, the county seat, in southeastern Michigan.
Notes: Livingston County EMS covers 584 square miles across 16 townships, two cities, and two villages, serving a population of roughly 194,000.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Livingston County Courthouse – Howell, MI 48843.
Notes: Howell’s downtown reflects its 19th-century roots, with brick storefronts dating to the 1870s and the still-active Howell Opera House (opened 1906). The Howell Melon Festival, first held in 1961, remains a beloved summer tradition drawing roughly 50,000 visitors annually. The Howell Nature Center, founded in 1963, operates as a comprehensive wildlife rehabilitation, education, and recreation facility and includes a working wildlife infirmary for injured and orphaned animals.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Livingston County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via milivcounty.gov. The Livingston County Veterans Memorial, built in the 1940s, lists county residents who died in service from WWI through Iraq and Afghanistan.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Confirm current Howell-area public library address/phone via milivcounty.gov.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Howell Opera House, Howell Nature Center, and the historic downtown Howell district (with its Sunday Farmers Market by the courthouse) are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine Howell Melon Festival tradition and the Howell Nature Center’s wildlife rehabilitation mission are among the most distinctive local facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Livingston County Equalization Department – confirm current contact via milivcounty.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Livingston County Animal Shelter – Howell, MI 48843; rescues and shelters roughly 2,200 stray, unwanted, abandoned, neglected, and injured animals annually; strays held 4-7 days per Michigan law before becoming eligible for adoption; adopters must be 18+ with valid ID (landlord approval required for renters); Hours: Mon-Fri 11 AM-5 PM, Sat 11 AM-3 PM.
Livingston County Humane Society – 2464 Dorr Rd, Howell, MI 48843 | (517) 552-8050; a separate 501(c)(3) nonprofit, not affiliated with the county shelter or any other humane organization.
Howell Nature Center Wildlife Infirmary – (517) 548-5530; rehabilitates injured/orphaned wildlife (does not accept bats, skunks, raccoons, starlings, pigeons, or house sparrows).
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Livingston County – confirm current contact via milivcounty.gov.
NOTES: Livingston County is the seventh and final county in the seventh batch of the Michigan v2 A+ sourced redo. The genuine Howell Melon Festival tradition and the Howell Nature Center’s wildlife rehabilitation mission are among the most distinctive local facts covered anywhere in this project. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Livingston County
Livingston County’s growth is the Detroit and Lansing metro suburban story told in Howell and Brighton and Green Oak Township – communities that offer what outer suburban ring counties always offer: newer housing, more land, better schools (by reputation and test scores), and the perception of safety and quiet that drives American residential choice patterns. The county is genuinely beautiful in the Michigan fashion, with numerous kettle lakes, the Huron River’s headwaters, and rolling glaciated terrain that gives the landscape more visual interest than the Detroit flatlands.
Brighton has become a genuine small city with commercial infrastructure, restaurants, and arts events that serve the county’s affluent and well-educated population. Howell, the county seat, is more traditionally Michigan in character with a preserved downtown that serves county government and local commerce. The county has almost no heavy industry – it is primarily residential and commercial – which has given it political autonomy from the union-organized manufacturing culture of adjacent Wayne, Monroe, and Washtenaw counties.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Michigan assesses property at 50% of true cash value, with taxable value capped at the rate of inflation or 5% annually under Proposal A. Property owners may appeal to the County Board of Review. Michigan has an estate tax above $5 million (state level); no Michigan inheritance tax.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
SENIOR SERVICES
Livingston County Council on Aging
2020 East Grand River Avenue, Howell, MI 48843
Phone: (517) 546-3830
Senior transportation, Meals on Wheels, caregiver support, and long-term care counseling.
Senior Services
Livingston County Council on Aging
2020 East Grand River Avenue, Howell, MI 48843
Phone: (517) 546-3830
Senior transportation, Meals on Wheels, caregiver support, and long-term care counseling.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
200 E. Grand River Ave., Howell, MI 48843
(517) 546-0500
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Livingston County Probate Court (estate/probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Livingston County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Livingston County Probate Court Livingston County Courthouse, 204 S. Highlander Way, Suite 2, Howell, MI 48843 (517) 546-3750 Livingston County is between Detroit and Lansing in southeastern Michigan, seated in Howell.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Michigan probate is governed by the Estates and Protected Individuals Code (EPIC), MCL 700.1101 et seq.
Transfer by Affidavit (Small Estate Affidavit) – under MCL 700.3982/700.3983, available when the estate’s gross value (after funeral and burial expenses) doesn’t exceed a threshold that’s adjusted annually for inflation (roughly $50,000-$53,000 in recent years). No real estate can be involved. At least 28 days must pass after death before this affidavit can be used. The affidavit isn’t filed with the court; it’s presented directly to whoever holds the asset (a bank, for instance), along with a death certificate.
Petition and Order for Assignment (PC 556) – a small estate process for estates at or below the same statutory threshold, but this one CAN include real property. An heir or the person who paid the funeral bill files this petition with the probate court; the judge reviews and signs the order, and there’s a filing fee plus a statutory inventory fee based on estate value.
Informal Probate – the standard track for most estates above the small-estate threshold. Filed using Application for Informal Probate and/or Appointment of Personal Representative (PC 558); the court issues Letters of Authority (PC 573) to the personal representative without a hearing when the application is straightforward.
Formal/Supervised Administration – required when the will is contested, there’s a dispute over who should serve as personal representative, or the estate needs ongoing court supervision.
Step 2: filing for probate
Gather the death certificate, the will (if any), and an inventory of the decedent’s assets to determine which path fits.
File the appropriate petition or application with the Probate Court in the county where the decedent lived.
For informal probate, the court reviews the application and issues Letters of Authority appointing the personal representative, typically without a hearing.
The personal representative gathers and inventories assets, notifies and pays valid creditors, and – no earlier than 12 months after appointment – files a Sworn Closing Statement (PC 584) for informal probate, or a Petition for Complete Settlement (PC 585) followed by a court Order of Complete Settlement (PC 586) for formal administration.
What it costs
Michigan probate generally runs 7 to 18 months and costs roughly 3% to 7% of the estate’s value in typical cases.
Filing fees vary by petition type; a statutory inventory fee, set by MCL 600.871, is calculated based on the estate’s total value and applies to most probate filings.
Michigan does not require an attorney for probate, though many people use one for anything beyond a very simple estate.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
150 S. Highlander Way, Howell, MI 48843
(517) 546-2440
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
200 E. Grand River Ave., Howell, MI 48843
(517) 546-0500
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: Livingston County Health Department – confirm current phone via milivcounty.gov.
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Editorial Trust
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Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Howell
Population: 210,000
Area: 567 sq mi
Established: 1836
Tier: 2
Inmate Services
Care Packages
Send care packages to inmates in Livingston County facilities via Amazon.
