Former owners of homes that Michigan counties took for unpaid taxes between 2013 and 2020, and the heirs of those owners, have until November 23, 2026 to file a claim in two class action settlements over surplus sale money. The deadline was pushed back from July 16 by a court order dated August 25. Claims cover homes in 28 counties that later sold for more than the back taxes, fees and costs owed.
When a county forecloses and sells a home, the sale price can exceed what the owner owed. The lawsuits argued that counties kept the difference. The settlement website says that if an owner’s property was foreclosed on by one of the listed counties from 2013 to 2020 and sold for more than the unpaid taxes, fees and costs, that owner is a member of the class.
The people affected are former owners, the heirs of owners who have died, and anyone authorized to act for an owner or an estate. Each has to file a claim by November 23. Otsego County’s settlement page says plainly that the claims deadline is November 23, 2026, and the claim can be filed online or printed and mailed.
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Which 28 counties are covered?
The settlement website lists the counties: Alcona, Alpena, Arenac, Bay, Clare, Cheboygan, Crawford, Genesee, Gladwin, Gratiot, Huron, Isabella, Jackson, Lapeer, Lenawee, Macomb, Midland, Monroe, Montmorency, Ogemaw, Oscoda, Otsego, Presque Isle, Roscommon, Saginaw, Sanilac, St. Clair and Tuscola.
Two cases cover them. The website lists the Fox case, Case No. 1:19-cv-11887, for all counties other than Cheboygan and Monroe, and the Arkona case, Case No. 1:19-cv-12372, for Cheboygan and Monroe. OpenClassActions notes that Washtenaw County was named in the Fox case but is not one of the participating counties, so a foreclosure there is not covered.
How much can a claim pay, and what does it cost?
The settlement website says class members can generally recover 125 percent of their property’s surplus proceeds, minus attorneys’ fees and costs, and that the figure is subject to certain adjustments. No total fund is stated, so the payment depends on what each property sold for.
Fees come out of that. OpenClassActions reports that interim class counsel has asked for 20 percent of the amounts paid, and the court decides at the final approval hearing on January 22, 2027 at 3:00 p.m. in Bay City, at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. That hearing falls two months after the claim deadline, so claims have to be in well before the judge rules.
The notice also warns that payments can shrink. If someone else with an interest in the same property brought a claim under Michigan’s Public Act 256, a claimant may receive nothing or a limited amount. The notice still says it usually makes sense to file a settlement claim in that situation.
What do heirs need to send in?
Heirs and representatives can file, but they must back the claim up. According to OpenClassActions, that means supporting documents such as proof of heirship, a court appointment or a power of attorney.
The claim form is online at the website’s claim page, and a paper form can be printed and mailed. RG/2 Claims Administration runs the settlement. It can be reached at 1 (866) 742-4955 or [email protected], and it can mail a copy of the notice and claim form to anyone without a Unique ID.
The deadline to exclude oneself or object to the settlement was April 30, 2026, and it has passed. Owners who did not opt out then are in the class, and the claim deadline is the one that matters now.
What happens if the November 23 date is missed?
The date has moved once already. The August 25 order shifted it from July 16, and November 23 is the date the county and settlement pages now list. The January 22 hearing is set to decide fees and final approval, so the claim date comes first and stands on its own.
For heirs, the open question is documentation, not eligibility. A family that lost a home to a county sale between 2013 and 2020 has to decide who in the family files, which papers prove the connection, and how to log the claim. The administrator’s phone line is the official place to ask what a particular estate needs.
Filing for the Michigan surplus money as an heir?
A claim sent without proof of heirship, or sent after November 23, can leave surplus sale money with the county after the 2013 to 2020 foreclosures. The deadline has already moved once, and the January 22, 2027 hearing will not reopen it for families who miss it.
The Settlement & Refund Recovery System includes a step-by-step filing walkthrough and a claim log and payment tracker, so a family can record who filed, which documents went in and when a payment is due. It also carries the four-date rule for reading a settlement notice, which separates the November 23 claim date from the January 22 hearing.
Log the Michigan surplus claim and heir paperwork in the Settlement & Refund Recovery System →
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
