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MICHIGAN LEGAL INFORMATION
Last Will and Testament Statutes
Link to the Michigan Statutes online which contain the portion of the Probate Code dealing with last wills.
American Bar Association Guide to Wills and Estates
American Bar Association, Estate Planning
Selected Michigan Statutes
- MCL 700.2501 Will; maker. An individual 18 years of age or older who is of sound mind may make a will.
- MCL 700.2502 Execution; witnessed wills; holographic wills.
(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) and in sections 2503, 2506, and 2513, a will is valid only if it is all of the following:
- In writing.
- Signed by the testator or in the testator's name by some other individual in the testator's conscious presence and by the testator's direction.
- Signed by at least 2 individuals, each of whom signed within a reasonable time after he or she witnessed either the signing of the will as described in subdivision (b) or the testator's acknowledgment of that signature or acknowledgment of the will.
(2) A will that does not comply with subsection (1) is valid as a holographic will, whether or not witnessed, if it is dated, and if the testator's signature and the document's material portions are in the testator's handwriting.
(3) Intent that the document constitutes a testator's will can be established by extrinsic evidence, including, for a holographic will, portions of the document that are not in the testator's handwriting.
- MCL 700.2503 Writings intended as wills. Although a document or writing added upon a document was not executed in compliance with section 2502, the document or writing is treated as if it had been executed in compliance with that section if the proponent of the document or writing establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the decedent intended the document or writing to constitute any of the following:
(a) The decedent's will.
(b) A partial or complete revocation of the decedent's will.
(c) An addition to or an alteration of the decedent's will.
(d) A partial or complete revival of the decedent's formerly revoked will or of a formerly revoked portion of the decedent's will.
- MCL 700.2504 Self-proved will.
(1) A will may be simultaneously executed, attested, and made self-proved by acknowledgment of the will by the testator and 2 witnesses' sworn statements, each made before an officer authorized to administer oaths under the laws of the state in which execution occurs and evidenced by the officer's certificate, under official seal, in substantially the following form:
I, ________________________, the testator, sign my name to this document on __________, _____. I have taken an oath, administered by the officer whose signature and seal appear on this document, swearing that the statements in this document are true. I declare to that officer that this document is my will; that I sign it willingly or willingly direct another to sign for me; that I execute it as my voluntary act for the purposes expressed in this will; and that I am 18 years of age or older, of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence.
(Signature) Testator
We, ________________________ and ________________________, the witnesses, sign our names to this document and have taken an oath, administered by the officer whose signature and seal appear on this document, to swear that all of the following statements are true: the individual signing this document as the testator executes the document as his or her will, signs it willingly or willingly directs another to sign for him or her, and executes it as his or her voluntary act for the purposes expressed in this will; each of us, in the testator's presence, signs this will as witness to the testator's signing; and, to the best of our knowledge, the testator is 18 years of age or older, of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence.
Signature (Witness)
(Signature) Witness
The State of _______________________________
County of _________________________________
Sworn to and signed in my presence by ___________, the testator, and sworn to and signed in my presence by ________________ and _______________ , witnesses, on ___________________________ [month/day] , __________ [year].
(SEAL) Signed
(official capacity of officer)
- MCL 700.2505 Witnesses.
(1) An individual generally competent to be a witness may act as a witness to a will.
(2) The signing of a will by an interested witness does not invalidate the will or any provision of it.
- MCL 700.2507 Revocation by writing or by act.
(1) A will or a part of a will is revoked by either of the following acts:
- Execution of a subsequent will that revokes the previous will or a part of the will expressly or by inconsistency.
- Performance of a revocatory act on the will, if the testator performed the act with the intent and for the purpose of revoking the will or a part of the will or if another individual performed the act in the testator's conscious presence and by the testator's direction. For purposes of this subdivision, “revocatory act on the will” includes burning, tearing, canceling, obliterating, or destroying the will or a part of the will. A burning, tearing, or canceling is a revocatory act on the will, whether or not the burn, tear, or cancellation touches any of the words on the will.
(2) If a subsequent will does not expressly revoke a previous will, the execution of the subsequent will wholly revokes the previous will by inconsistency if the testator intended the subsequent will to replace rather than supplement the previous will.
(3) The testator is presumed to have intended a subsequent will to replace rather than supplement a previous will if the subsequent will makes a complete disposition of the testator's estate. If this presumption arises and is not rebutted by clear and convincing evidence, the previous will is revoked, and only the subsequent will is operative on the testator's death.
(4) The testator is presumed to have intended a subsequent will to supplement rather than replace a previous will if the subsequent will does not make a complete disposition of the testator's estate. If this presumption arises and is not rebutted by clear and convincing evidence, the subsequent will revokes the previous will only to the extent the subsequent will is inconsistent with the previous will, and each will is fully operative on the testator's death to the extent they are not inconsistent.
- MCL 700.2508 Revocation by change of circumstances. Except as provided in sections 2802 to 2809, a change of circumstances does not revoke a will or a part of a will.
- MCL 700.2801 Effect of divorce, annulment, decree of separation, bigamy, and absence.
(1) An individual who is divorced from the decedent or whose marriage to the decedent has been annulled is not a surviving spouse unless, by virtue of a subsequent marriage, he or she is married to the decedent at the time of death. A decree of separation that does not terminate the status of husband and wife is not a divorce for purposes of this section.
(2) For purposes of parts 1 to 4 of this article and of section 3203, a surviving spouse does not include any of the following:
- An individual who obtains or consents to a final decree or judgment of divorce from the decedent or an annulment of their marriage, which decree or judgment is not recognized as valid in this state, unless they subsequently participate in a marriage ceremony purporting to marry each to the other or live together as husband and wife.
- An individual who, following an invalid decree or judgment of divorce or annulment obtained by the decedent, participates in a marriage ceremony with a third individual.
- An individual who was a party to a valid proceeding concluded by an order purporting to terminate all marital property rights.
- An individual who, at the time of the decedent's death, is living in a bigamous relationship with another individual.
- An individual who did any of the following for 1 year or more before the death of the deceased person: (i) Was willfully absent from the decedent spouse; (ii) Deserted the decedent spouse; (iii) Willfully neglected or refused to provide support for the decedent spouse if required to do so by law.
Library of Informational Legal Articles
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