Twenty-five years turning probate information into practical understanding.
Mike McKenzie brings twenty-five years of probate experience to his work as an author, entrepreneur, educator, and solution provider. He co-founded the same nationwide probate-information company and, for nearly twenty-five years, helped lead the work of collecting, organizing, and delivering probate information to professionals who serve estates across the country.
Managing information on that scale gave Mike an unusual view of how probate unfolds in real life. Each court record represented more than names, dates, and documents. Behind it was a family adjusting to a death, an executor accepting unfamiliar responsibilities, beneficiaries waiting for answers, and professionals trying to help an estate move forward properly.
Mike worked with executors, families, and professionals to resolve data-related questions and problems. Across 4 million probate records retrieved over a 25-year period and more than 5,000 customer and executor contacts shared by Mike and Leon, he saw recurring patterns across estates of different sizes, locations, family structures, and levels of complexity. People wanted to know what happens next, why the process takes time, who has authority to act, and how to make responsible decisions without creating unnecessary conflict.
That experience shapes Mike’s practical, down-to-earth communication style. He believes people understand difficult subjects more easily when information feels like a conversation instead of a lecture. This solution-provider’s perspective helps give the Probate Happens™ series its clear, approachable, fireside voice.
Today, Mike writes with his father, Leon, to help families see probate as both a process and a human experience. His goal is to help readers feel less intimidated, ask better questions, work more confidently with attorneys and other professionals, and move forward with patience, understanding, and respect for everyone involved.
