Estate Planning in Michigan

A plain-language overview of the core estate planning documents in Michigan: wills, trusts, financial powers of attorney, and patient advocate designations, what each does, and how each must be signed.

This guide is written for people in Downriver (Wayne County), Monroe County, and elsewhere in Michigan.

Why Plan Ahead

An estate plan says who receives your property, who manages your affairs if you cannot, and who speaks for you about medical care. Without a will, Michigan's intestacy rules in the Estates and Protected Individuals Code (EPIC) decide who inherits. If you become unable to manage your finances or make medical decisions and have no documents in place, your family may have to ask the probate court to appoint a guardian or conservator, which takes time and involves court oversight.

Wills

A will names who receives your property and who serves as your personal representative to handle your estate. In Michigan, a standard will must be (MCL 700.2502):

In writing
Signed by you, or by someone else in your conscious presence and at your direction
Signed by at least two witnesses, each of whom signs within a reasonable time after seeing you sign or hearing you acknowledge your signature or the will

Michigan also recognizes a handwritten (holographic) will, even without witnesses, if it is dated and your signature and the material portions are in your handwriting. Because a homemade will can raise questions later, many people prefer a witnessed will.

A will generally takes effect through probate, the court process for estate administration. A will does not control property that passes by beneficiary designation, joint ownership with survivorship rights, or a trust.

Trusts

A revocable living trust holds property during your life and passes it to your beneficiaries afterward under the trust's terms. You can usually serve as your own trustee while you are able, and name a successor trustee to take over if you become unable to manage it or after your death. Property that is properly transferred into the trust can usually pass without probate, and the trust's terms generally stay private.

A trust only controls what is actually titled to it, so funding it is an important step. Many plans pair a trust with a short pour-over will to catch anything left out.

Financial Power of Attorney

A power of attorney names an agent to handle your finances, such as paying bills, managing accounts, and dealing with property. Michigan's Uniform Power of Attorney Act took effect July 1, 2024 (MCL 556.201 and following). Under that law (MCL 556.204 and 556.205):

A power of attorney must be signed by you, or by someone you direct to sign in your conscious presence.
To be durable, meaning it keeps working if you become incapacitated, it must either be acknowledged before a notary or signed in front of two witnesses who also sign. A witness cannot be an agent named in the document.
A power of attorney signed the right way is durable unless it says it ends on your incapacity.
A notarized signature is presumed genuine. A witnessed-only signature does not get that presumption, so notarizing is often the more practical choice.

Patient Advocate Designation

A patient advocate designation names a person to make medical treatment decisions for you when you are unable to participate in them (MCL 700.5506). It must be in writing, signed, dated, executed voluntarily, and signed in front of two witnesses. A witness cannot be your spouse, parent, child, grandchild, sibling, presumptive heir, known devisee, physician, or patient advocate, or an employee of your life or health insurer, of a health facility treating you, or of certain other care providers.

Your patient advocate must sign an acceptance before acting (MCL 700.5507). Before your patient advocate can act, the designation must also be made part of your medical record with your attending physician, your mental health professional, the facility where you are staying, or the mental health program or hospital treating you, as applicable (MCL 700.5506). The document can state your wishes about care and treatment. A patient advocate can make a decision to withhold or withdraw treatment that could allow you to die only if you have expressed in a clear and convincing manner that the advocate is authorized to make that decision and that you understand the decision could or would allow your death.

Beneficiary Designations

Life insurance, retirement accounts, and many bank accounts pass by beneficiary designation, not by your will. Review these when you make or update your plan so they match your wishes.

Keeping Your Plan Current

Review your plan after major life events such as marriage, divorce, a death in the family, a move, or a significant change in assets. Keep originals somewhere safe, give copies of your patient advocate designation to your advocate and doctor, and tell the people you named where to find your documents.

How I Can Help

If you have an estate planning need in Downriver (Wayne County), Monroe County, or nearby, I can review your situation, explain the process and your options, and represent you and help you through each step.

Call (734) 775-9327 or use my contact form for a free consultation.

This guide is general information about Michigan law, not legal advice. Laws change, and every case is different. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.