What does your vote mean when you vote for a probate judge in Michigan?

While many of us have made up our minds about how we're voting in the major midterm races, some races further down the ballot might not get our full attention until we're actually filling out the ballot.

Probate judge is often one of those overlooked races.

We're breaking down how to navigate your local probate judge race with some help from the candidates and outgoing judge in Washtenaw County so you can cast your ballot with confidence in the 2026 midterms.

"They'll be taking on my probate, which is the guardianships and the conservatorships. The other half will be a domestic docket, the divorce docket," said retiring Washtenaw County probate judge Julia Owdziej.

When families need to figure out who's going to make decisions for their loved ones if they can't make them on their own, or who gets what during a divorce, probate judges like Owdziej get to work.

"So, a family member often comes in and asks to be their guardian because they can't speak for themselves anymore and make medical decisions. So, they come in and ask to be guardian of that person. It's protecting those vulnerable people," she said.

Her role isn't just limited to probate work either.

"We're a unified county in Washtenaw County, so probate judges can do what circuit judges do, and circuit judges can do what probate judges do," Owdziej said.

She says it's a nonpartisan role, and probate judges are supposed to be unbiased, but much like how a football game might be called differently by different referees, different probate judges can have different tendencies.

"It's very hard for folks to know who to vote for. I would look at their website, I would look at their experience, look who's endorsing them, temperament, patience," Owdziej said.

For the two candidates running to replace her, one has experience that will help with a unified probate and criminal docket, while the other has years of experience working directly with probate judges and those who go before them.

"I'm the only candidate that's done criminal defense, personal protection orders, civil work, civil litigation, family law litigation," said Washtenaw County probate judge candidate Jennifer Lawrence.

"I've been doing this for 10 years. My background in social work along with my background in probate law has uniquely qualified me for this seat," said Washtenaw County probate judge candidate Alethia Battles.

While most of our counties in Southeast Michigan have probate judges up for election, only Washtenaw and Oakland Counties have races with more candidates than open positions. Those are the voters who will have a choice to make.