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Michigan County
Van Buren County, Michigan
Paw Paw wine country and Michigan fruit belt - from Van Buren County's distinction as the heart of Michigan's wine country (the county's sandy lake plain soils and Lake Michigan's moderating climate create ideal conditions for grape cultivation - Van Buren County wineries along the Lake Michigan Shore Wine Trail produce award-winning Rieslings and other varietals that have helped establish Michigan as one of the Great Lakes' premier wine-producing regions) to the Michigan fruit belt (alongside wine grapes, Van Buren County produces significant blueberry, peach, and apple crops in the narrow fruit-growing belt along Lake Michigan's eastern shore, where the lake's thermal influence extends the growing season and moderates winter temperatures).
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Office: Van Buren County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) – 205 S Kalamazoo St, Paw Paw, MI 49079 | (269) 657-7786.
Van Buren County Central Dispatch (911) – 205 S Kalamazoo Street, Paw Paw, MI 49079 | Non-emergency (269) 657-3101; Director Tim McGee.
Sheriff: Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office – 205 S Kalamazoo St, Paw Paw, MI 49079; Sheriff Dan Abbott (with the department since March 1993, started in Corrections, later Deputy and Road Sergeant, elected Sheriff in 2017; Ferris State University Criminal Justice graduate; founded the FTO Program locally, first-ever Deputy of the Year in the department).
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-94 and M-40 serve Paw Paw, the county seat – nicknamed “The Town So Nice, They Named It Twice!” The village, established in 1859, takes its name from the nearby Paw Paw River, itself named for the paw paw fruit by local Indigenous people.
Notes: Van Buren County spans Lake Michigan shoreline communities like South Haven to inland cities including Paw Paw and Hartford.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Van Buren County Courthouse – Paw Paw, MI 49079.
Notes: Paw Paw is genuinely the heart of Michigan’s wine country, home to the state’s two oldest wineries, sitting just feet apart on South Kalamazoo Street: St. Julian Winery & Distillery, Michigan’s oldest, largest, and most-awarded winery – founded in 1921 by Italian immigrant Mariano Meconi (initially as Border City Wine Cellars in Windsor, Ontario, later moved to Detroit in 1933-34 and finally to Paw Paw in 1936) and still family-owned across four generations – and neighboring Warner Vineyards, roughly 85 years old and known for a flagship sparkling brut that has been served at the White House and two Super Bowls. Paw Paw hosts an annual Wine & Harvest Festival each September.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Van Buren County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via vanburencountymi.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Confirm current Paw Paw-area public library address/phone via vanburencountymi.gov.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: St. Julian Winery & Distillery, Warner Vineyards, and Paw Paw’s historic downtown (Village Hall is one of four buildings on the National Register of Historic Places) are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine “Michigan’s oldest winery” distinction and Paw Paw’s wine-country heritage are among the most distinctive local facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Van Buren County Equalization Department – confirm current contact via vanburencountymi.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Van Buren County Animal Control – 58040 C.R. 681, Hartford, MI 49057 | (269) 621-4624 | Fax (269) 621-3964 | After-hours (269) 657-3101; works with local rescues to place animals; adoption applications available online. Hours: Mon-Sat 9 AM-5 PM, closed Sunday.
Al-Van Humane Society (AVHS) – 07591 Blue Star Memorial Hwy, South Haven, MI 49090 | (269) 637-5062; a separate no-kill nonprofit serving both Allegan and Van Buren Counties, rehoming roughly 600 animals annually across both counties.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Van Buren County – confirm current contact via vanburencountymi.gov.
NOTES: Van Buren County is the fifth county in the twelfth and final batch of the Michigan v2 A+ sourced redo. The genuine “Michigan’s oldest winery” distinction and Paw Paw’s wine-country heritage 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 Van Buren County
Van Buren County is southwest Michigan’s Lake Michigan Shore wine trail and fruit belt county – the sandy soils and lake-moderated climate that produce exceptional wine grapes and blueberries define a county whose agricultural and viticultural identity makes it one of Michigan’s most distinctive food and wine destination counties along the Lake Michigan shoreline.
Paw Paw (the county seat, population ~3,500) is Van Buren County’s governmental hub and wine country center, with South Haven serving as the county’s Lake Michigan resort and blueberry capital community.
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Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Van Buren County Assessor at 212 E. Paw Paw Street, Paw Paw, MI 49079, phone 269-657-8242. MI assessed at 50% of true cash value.
Courts & Legal
Van Buren County Probate Court at 212 E. Paw Paw Street, Paw Paw, MI 49079, phone 269-657-8218, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
212 Paw Paw Ave., Paw Paw, MI 49079
(269) 657-8218
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Van Buren County Probate Court (estate/probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Van Buren 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
Van Buren County Probate Court Van Buren County Courthouse Annex, 2nd Floor, 212 Paw Paw Street, Paw Paw, MI 49079 Van Buren County is in southwestern Michigan on Lake Michigan, seated in Paw Paw.
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
205 S. Kalamazoo St., Paw Paw, MI 49079
(269) 657-3101
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
212 Paw Paw Ave., Paw Paw, MI 49079
(269) 657-8218
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
MI DHHS — Southwest Region
(269) 657-5574
Bronson LakeView Hospital
bronsonhealth.com (Paw Paw — quality community hospital; Bronson Health affiliate)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Van Buren/Cass District Health Department – confirm current phone via vanburencountymi.gov.
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Editorial Trust
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Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Paw Paw
Population: 77,000
Area: 611 sq mi
Established: 1837
Tier: 2
Public Records
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