Clear, practical guidance on wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and more — written by a practicing Michigan estate planning attorney.
You can leave money to a Michigan church, college, or favorite cause without shortchanging your kids. The trick is which asset you give from -- a $25,000 IRA beneficiary form update can give 100 percent to charity while saving your kids thousands in taxes. Here is how DIY donors do it right.
Read Full GuideIf you or someone you love has just received a terminal diagnosis, Michigan still gives you options. A handwritten holographic will, a Lady Bird deed, a beneficiary update by phone, and a deathbed gift can transfer assets and bypass probate -- if you do them right. Here is the practical playbook for the last days.
Read Full GuideWithout a durable power of attorney and patient advocate designation, a Michigan probate court appoints a guardian and conservator if you become incapacitated. Two attorney-drafted documents keep your family in charge instead of a judge. Here is exactly how to set them up this weekend.
Read Full GuideYour beneficiary form -- not your will -- controls your 401(k) and IRA. Forget to update it after divorce, name your estate by default, or run into the SECURE Act 10-year rule, and your heirs can lose tens of thousands. Here is the 30-minute DIY fix every Michigan adult should do.
Read Full GuideThe biggest probate fights in Michigan are not about money -- they are about Grandma's ring, Dad's shotgun, the dining room table. MCL 700.2513 gives you a one-page solution: a signed, dated list referenced by your will that controls who gets what. No notary, no witnesses, you can update it any time. Here is exactly how to write one and the mistakes that make it worthless.
Read Full GuideOnly 30 percent of Michigan family cottages make it past the second generation. The new 2024 Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act now lets any single co-owner force a sale of jointly inherited property -- a Michigan cottage held outright by siblings can be torn apart by one dissenting voice. A Cottage Trust avoids this and avoids property tax uncapping (which the LLC structure does NOT). Here are the use rules, cost-sharing structures, and buyout provisions that actually work.
Read Full GuideFederal SSI law caps disabled beneficiaries at $2,000 in countable resources. A single inheritance check can suspend benefits worth $20,000-$50,000 a year. A properly drafted Michigan supplemental needs trust prevents this -- and this is the one area of estate planning where DIY templates are genuinely dangerous because the trust language must satisfy federal SSI rules, federal Medicaid rules, and Michigan trust law simultaneously.
Read Full GuideIn Michigan, your second spouse can legally disinherit your kids from your first marriage even if your will says otherwise. The elective share gives them a statutory claim, stepchildren are legal strangers under intestacy, and verbal promises are unenforceable. Here is what tools actually work -- separate trusts, Lady Bird deeds, beneficiary discipline, prenuptial waivers, QTIP trusts -- and the under-$700 DIY path that covers most blended families.
Read Full GuideAn estimated 30 to 50 percent of Michigan revocable living trusts are partially or completely unfunded when the grantor dies -- which means probate happens anyway. Here is the weekend checklist for retitling your home, accounts, and beneficiary designations into the trust, the Michigan-specific deed and tax rules, and why retirement accounts often should NOT be funded into the trust.
Read Full GuideBank accounts, IRAs, brokerage accounts, and even your car can transfer directly to a named beneficiary in Michigan -- with zero probate, zero attorney fees, and zero waiting period. Here is which form each financial institution uses, what Michigan does for vehicles (no TOD title yet), and the mistakes that send the money to probate anyway.
Read Full GuideIf you die in Michigan without a Funeral Representative Designation, state law decides who picks your casket, burial plot, and cremation -- in the order spouse, kids, grandkids, parents. The 2016 Funeral Representative Designation Act lets you legally name anyone you trust. Here is the form, the law, and how to fill it out yourself.
Read Full GuideA Michigan Lady Bird deed transfers your home to your kids automatically at death, avoids probate (saving 3-5% in fees), protects against Medicaid estate recovery, and costs about $30 to record. Here is exactly what makes it different from a traditional life-estate deed and how to file one yourself with your county Register of Deeds.
Read Full GuideMichigan nursing-home care averages $9,000 to $12,000 per month and Medicare won't cover long-term care. This guide explains the 2026 Medicaid asset limits, the five-year lookback rule, the community spouse resource allowance, and how a Lady Bird deed protects your home from estate recovery -- all without paying a $5,000 elder-law retainer.
Read Full GuideMost Michigan gun owners don't need a gun trust, but if you own NFA items (suppressors, SBRs, machine guns) or plan to buy one, you do. This guide covers when a gun trust is required vs. overkill, ATF Rule 41F compliance, Michigan's Firearm Inheritance Protection Act, and the 2024 firearms safety law updates.
Read Full GuideYour pets can't inherit money directly, but Michigan law under MCL 700.7408 lets you create a legal trust that funds their care for life. This guide covers the updated 2024 Michigan pet trust law, how much money to put in, choosing a trustee and caregiver, and step-by-step instructions for setting one up yourself.
Read Full GuideIf something happens to both parents, who raises your kids? Michigan law lets you name a guardian in your will or a separate signed and witnessed document under MCL 700.5202. This guide covers the legal requirements, how to choose the right person, the 14-year-old objection rule, Michigan's new standby guardian law, and step-by-step instructions for doing it yourself.
Read Full GuideYes, you can draft a Michigan will online -- but you still need to print, sign, and witness it correctly. This guide covers what the law requires under MCL 700.2502, the Horton cell-phone-will case, remote notarization, a cost comparison of online will platforms, and a step-by-step process for doing it yourself.
Read Full GuideIn Michigan, you cannot completely disinherit your spouse through a will. The elective share under MCL 700.2202 gives surviving spouses the right to claim a portion of the probate estate, even if the will says otherwise. This guide covers how it's calculated, the trust loophole, filing deadlines, and strategies for both protecting yourself and planning your estate.
Read Full GuideAn estate plan is not a one-and-done document. Here are the 10 life events that require an immediate update, the codicil vs. new will decision, Michigan's 2024 Power of Attorney law changes, and a step-by-step DIY checklist for keeping your plan current without paying attorney fees.
Read Full GuideMost people assume everything goes through probate when someone dies. In Michigan, estates under $53,000 (2026 threshold) with no real property can skip probate entirely using a simple one-page affidavit. This guide walks you through the exact process step by step, compares the two small estate options, and explains what banks actually want to see.
Read Full GuideYou don't need to spend $3,000 on an attorney to get your estate plan done. This guide breaks down exactly what Michigan seniors need, what you can handle yourself with templates, and the one area where professional help is genuinely worth the money. Includes a Lady Bird deed primer, Medicaid basics, and a week-by-week action checklist.
Read Full GuideStepchildren have no automatic inheritance rights under Michigan law. Without proper planning, your children from a prior marriage could be accidentally disinherited when a surviving spouse inherits everything. This guide covers Michigan intestacy rules (MCL 700.2102), the elective share, QTIP trusts, prenuptial agreements, and strategies to protect both your spouse and your children.
Read Full GuideMichigan's Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (MCL 700.1001-1012) controls who can access your email, social media, cryptocurrency, and other online accounts after death. This guide explains the critical "envelope vs. letter" distinction, the three-tier access hierarchy, platform-specific rules for Google, Facebook, and Apple, and the exact language your estate plan needs to include.
Read Full GuideIf you have minor children, estate planning is not optional. Michigan law (MCL 700.5202) lets you name a guardian in your will, but without that document, a judge decides who raises your kids. This guide covers guardian nominations, protecting your children's inheritance with trusts, coordinating life insurance, and the essential documents every Michigan parent needs.
Read Full GuideMichigan probate typically takes 7-18 months and costs 3-7% of the estate value. This guide walks through the step-by-step process, informal vs. formal proceedings, the $53,000 small estate threshold for 2026, and five proven strategies to keep your assets out of probate court entirely.
Read the guideMichigan uses a Patient Advocate Designation instead of a healthcare power of attorney — and has specific legal requirements that generic forms don't meet. This guide covers MCL 700.5506 requirements, witness restrictions, the advocate acceptance rule, end-of-life authorization language, and the most common mistakes that invalidate the document.
Read the guideMichigan law requires a written will, your signature, and two witnesses. But getting those details right — and avoiding the mistakes that invalidate wills — is what this guide is about. We cover MCL 700.2502 requirements, self-proving affidavits, what to include, holographic wills, and an honest comparison of your options.
Read the guideShould you get a living trust or a will? It depends on your situation — and this guide gives you a clear, honest breakdown. We cover Michigan's probate timeline and costs, when a will alone is sufficient, when a trust makes sense, the elective share rules under MCL 700.2202, and a detailed cost comparison.
Read the guideMichigan adopted the Uniform Power of Attorney Act in 2023 (effective 2024). If you signed a POA before then, it may need updating. This guide covers the key changes, new signing requirements under MCL 700.5501, the now-required Agent's Acknowledgment form, gifting power restrictions, and the most common mistakes.
Read the guideMichigan's intestacy laws (MCL 700.2101–2114) decide who inherits your estate when you don't have a will — and the result probably isn't what you'd choose. We walk through the exact distribution formula for every family situation, the real costs of probate, what happens to your minor children, and anonymized examples of what actually goes wrong.
Read the guide67% of Americans have no estate plan. But even families who do have one often make costly mistakes: unfunded trusts, outdated beneficiary designations that override their will, missing healthcare directives, and plans that haven't been reviewed in years. This guide covers each mistake and gives you specific action items to fix them.
Read the guideBrowse our attorney-drafted estate planning document kits — designed specifically for Michigan residents. Starting at $47.