Michigan Lady Bird Deed: Avoid Probate on Your Home

If you own a home in Michigan and you do not have a Lady Bird deed, your house is going through probate. Probate in Michigan typically takes 7 to 12 months, costs 3 to 5 percent of the home's value in attorney and court fees, and creates a public record that turns into junk mail and scam calls for your kids for years. A Lady Bird deed fixes all of that, costs about $30 to record, and you can do it yourself with the right document. This is the single most useful piece of estate planning most Michigan homeowners can do, and almost nobody knows about it because attorneys do not advertise the option that pays them the least.

What a Lady Bird Deed Actually Does

A Lady Bird deed (its formal Michigan name is an "enhanced life estate deed") is a regular deed with three special features built into the legal language:

1. You keep full ownership and control of the home for the rest of your life. You can sell it, refinance it, rent it, give it away, or do nothing. You do not need anyone's permission.
2. You name a remainder beneficiary -- typically your children, or your spouse, or a trust. They get the home automatically when you die.
3. You can change your mind any time. You can revoke the deed, replace it with a new one naming different beneficiaries, or sell the house and the remainder beneficiary's interest disappears with it.

The "Lady Bird" name comes from a 1980s estate planning attorney who used a hypothetical example involving President Lyndon Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson to explain it. The nickname stuck. Only five states recognize this kind of deed. Michigan is one of them.

Why Michigan Homeowners Use One

It avoids probate entirely on the most valuable thing you own

When a Michigan homeowner dies without planning, the house has to go through probate before it can transfer to the heirs. The Michigan probate process for a home of average value (say, $250,000) typically takes 7 to 12 months. Statutory probate fees alone start around $300, and attorney fees often range from 2 to 5 percent of the home's value. On a $250,000 home, that is $5,000 to $12,500 evaporating before your kids see a dime. A Lady Bird deed transfers the home automatically the moment you die, no probate required. Your kids file an affidavit with the county and the home is theirs.

It protects the home from Medicaid estate recovery

Michigan's Medicaid Estate Recovery Program is required by federal law to recover the cost of long-term care from a Medicaid recipient's estate after they die. Under MCL 400.112g, Michigan can only recover from assets that pass through probate. Anything that bypasses probate is generally beyond the state's reach. A Lady Bird deed transfers the home outside probate -- which means the state cannot place a lien on the house or force a sale to repay Medicaid costs.

This matters more than people realize. A six-month nursing home stay in Michigan can run $50,000 to $70,000 paid by Medicaid. Without a Lady Bird deed, the state can come after the home to recover that money. With one, the home goes to your kids cleanly.

It does not trigger the five-year Medicaid lookback

This is the part that surprises most Michigan families. If you simply add your kids to the deed as joint owners, or sign a regular life-estate deed, Michigan Medicaid treats that as a partial gift and counts it against the five-year lookback rule. That means the gift can disqualify you from Medicaid for years.

A Lady Bird deed is different. Because you keep absolute power to sell or revoke, MDHHS does not consider it a completed transfer. The State Bar of Michigan Journal has confirmed this directly: "Because the grantor retains unrestricted rights to the property, a conveyance by ladybird deed is not a disposition for purposes of Medicaid." You can sign one today and apply for Medicaid next month with no penalty.

It preserves the step-up in basis

When your kids inherit the home through a Lady Bird deed, they get the home at its value on the date of your death (the "stepped-up basis") for capital gains purposes. If they sell it for that same value, they owe zero capital gains tax. By contrast, if you simply gift the home to them while you are alive, they take your original cost basis -- which on a Michigan home you bought in 1990 might be $80,000. If they sell for $300,000, they owe capital-gains tax on $220,000. A Lady Bird deed avoids that mess entirely.

It keeps you in control

Most Michigan homeowners who hesitate to do estate planning are afraid of giving up control. With a Lady Bird deed, you give up nothing while you are alive. You can sell, refinance, rent, or change your beneficiary at any time without anyone's signature.

Lady Bird vs. Traditional Life-Estate Deed

This is the most expensive mistake Michigan DIYers make. Search "Michigan life estate deed template" online and you will find dozens of forms. Most of them are traditional life-estate deeds, not Lady Bird deeds. They look almost identical. The legal effect is completely different.

The single legal phrase that turns a regular life-estate deed into a Lady Bird deed is the language reserving to you the "absolute power to sell, mortgage, lease, convey, or otherwise dispose of the property without the consent of the remainder beneficiaries, even if such disposition extinguishes their interest entirely." Without that exact concept, you have a regular life estate and you have triggered all the bad consequences in the table above.

Lady Bird vs. Living Trust

If you have done any estate-planning research, someone has probably tried to sell you a revocable living trust. A trust does the same job as a Lady Bird deed for your house, plus more. But it costs more.

• Cost: A Michigan revocable living trust drafted by an attorney runs $2,500 to $5,000. A Lady Bird deed drafted by an attorney runs $500 to $800. A Lady Bird deed using an attorney-drafted DIY kit runs about $30 in recording fees.
• Coverage: A trust holds your home, accounts, vehicles, and personal property. A Lady Bird deed only covers the home.
• Complexity: A trust requires you to retitle accounts and re-deed the home into the trust. Done wrong, the trust is empty and probate happens anyway. A Lady Bird deed is one document, signed once.

For a Michigan homeowner whose biggest asset is the house and who does not have complex inheritance plans for the kids, a Lady Bird deed plus a basic will and durable powers of attorney does the same job as a $5,000 trust at about 6 percent of the cost. For families with multiple properties, businesses, or kids who need staggered inheritance (like a child with addiction issues or a special-needs heir), the trust is worth the money. Pick the right tool for your situation.

Michigan Requirements for a Valid Lady Bird Deed

For a Lady Bird deed to actually work in Michigan, it needs to satisfy four legal requirements. Miss any of them and the deed may be invalid or treated as a regular life estate.

1. Correct legal description

Not your street address, not the description from your tax bill -- the full legal description from your most recent recorded deed (lot, block, subdivision, or metes and bounds). You can pull the legal description from your owner's title insurance policy or from the last deed that transferred the property to you. Pulling it from the wrong source is the #1 reason DIY deeds get rejected by the Register of Deeds.

2. Enhanced life-estate language

The deed must reserve to you the absolute power to sell, mortgage, convey, or revoke without the remainder beneficiary's consent. Generic life-estate templates do not include this. The exact phrasing matters because Michigan courts have ruled that without this language, the remainder beneficiary acquires a vested property interest the moment the deed is signed.

3. Proper execution

Michigan requires the deed to be signed by you (the grantor) in the presence of a notary public. Witnesses are not required by statute, but most title companies prefer two witnesses for added protection. The notary stamp must be visible and the notary's commission must be valid.

4. Recording with the county Register of Deeds

An unrecorded deed provides no protection. You must file the original signed deed at the Register of Deeds in the Michigan county where the property is located. Recording fees are flat $30 in most Michigan counties (Wayne County and Oakland County both use the $30 flat rate as of 2026). Recording typically takes one to two weeks; you will get a stamped copy back.

If your Lady Bird deed transfers the home for "love and affection" (no consideration paid), there is no transfer tax. If you list any consideration, county and state transfer taxes apply at $0.55 per $500 (county) and $3.75 per $500 (state). Most Michigan Lady Bird deeds list zero consideration to avoid the transfer tax.

What It Costs (and What Attorneys Charge)

• Michigan estate planning attorney drafts and records the deed: $500 to $800 in attorney fees, plus $30 to $60 in recording fees. Total: $530 to $860.
• Online template (generic, not attorney-drafted): $20 to $40, plus the risk that the language does not satisfy Michigan's enhanced life estate requirements. Total: $50 to $100, with a real chance of needing to redo it.
• Attorney-drafted Michigan-specific DIY kit (like CreateMIWill): Included with our Will Kit at $89 (which also gives you a will, financial POA, healthcare POA, and HIPAA release), plus $30 to record. Total: $119, and the deed has the right language.

You are paying $400 to $700 for the document itself when you go to an attorney. You are paying $20 with a generic template and risking the language being wrong. The middle path -- an attorney-drafted Michigan-specific template you fill in and record yourself -- is the right move for most homeowners.

Filing It Yourself: Step by Step

1. Pull your current deed. Find your most recent recorded deed (from when you bought or refinanced the home). The legal description on that deed is what goes on your Lady Bird deed. If you cannot find it, your county Register of Deeds website has a free document search by name or address.
2. Get a Michigan-specific Lady Bird deed template. Generic life-estate templates from national document sites do not have the enhanced life-estate language Michigan requires. Use an attorney-drafted Michigan template.
3. Fill in your information. Your name(s) as grantor, your spouse if jointly held, the legal description from step 1, and your remainder beneficiaries' full legal names.
4. Sign in front of a notary. Most banks and credit unions notarize for free if you have an account. UPS Stores charge about $10 to $15. Bring photo ID.
5. Record the deed. Take the original signed deed to your county's Register of Deeds office. Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Kent, Washtenaw -- every Michigan county has one. Pay the $30 flat recording fee. Most counties will hand you a stamped copy back the same day; some mail it in 1 to 2 weeks.
6. Notify your title insurance company. Send a copy of the recorded deed to your title insurance carrier so the policy reflects the new ownership structure. This is not legally required, but it protects you if there is ever a title dispute.
7. Tell your remainder beneficiaries where the deed is. They will need a stamped copy when they go to claim the property. Keep one with your other estate documents.

Total time investment: about 2 hours of your time across two trips. Total cost: $30 to $50 in recording and notary fees if you have an attorney-drafted template.

Mistakes That Make a Lady Bird Deed Worthless

Using a regular life-estate template

This is the most common mistake. Generic life-estate templates do not include the enhanced power-to-revoke language Michigan requires. The result is a regular life estate, which triggers Medicaid lookback, gives the remainder beneficiary a vested interest, and blocks you from selling or refinancing without their permission. Always use a Michigan-specific Lady Bird template.

Using the tax description instead of the legal description

The description from your property tax bill is shorter and often inaccurate. Michigan Registers of Deeds will reject a deed with the wrong legal description, or worse, accept it and create a title cloud nobody notices until the kids try to sell. Always pull the description from the most recent recorded deed.

Not recording the deed

An unrecorded deed sitting in your safe deposit box does nothing. The deed must be filed at the Register of Deeds for the county the property is in. Recording is what creates the public notice that protects the transfer. Without recording, your kids will still have to go through probate.

Naming a minor as remainder beneficiary

If you name a child under 18 directly, they cannot legally take title at your death. The probate court has to appoint a conservator, which costs your family thousands and creates exactly the problem you were trying to avoid. Either name an adult, name a trust for the minor's benefit, or wait until the child turns 18.

Naming a beneficiary without telling them

If your kids do not know they are on a Lady Bird deed, they may not file the affidavit needed to take title. The home sits in legal limbo. Tell your beneficiaries the deed exists and where to find a stamped copy.

Forgetting to update after life changes

Divorce, remarriage, a child predeceasing you, a beneficiary going through a creditor crisis -- any of these are reasons to revoke and replace the existing Lady Bird deed. The deed is fully revocable; just record a new one.

When a Lady Bird Deed Is Not the Right Tool

• Multiple properties, multiple states. If you own real estate in more than one state, a single revocable trust handles them all. Lady Bird deeds only work in Michigan and four other states.
• Beneficiaries with creditor or divorce risk. If your kids have creditors, are in the middle of a divorce, or have addiction or financial-management issues, a trust gives you control over how and when they receive the home. A Lady Bird deed gives them the home outright at your death.
• Special-needs heir. A direct inheritance can disqualify a special-needs beneficiary from Medicaid, SSI, or other benefits. Use a special-needs trust instead.
• Blended family with stepchildren. If you want the home to go to your spouse for life and then to your kids from a previous marriage, a Lady Bird deed cannot do that gracefully. A trust can.

For everyone else -- the typical Michigan homeowner with adult children, an in-tact family, and the home as the biggest asset -- the Lady Bird deed is the right answer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a Lady Bird deed work if I have a mortgage on the home?

Yes. The deed transfers your interest subject to existing liens. Most Michigan mortgages contain a "due on sale" clause but federal law (the Garn-St. Germain Act) prohibits lenders from accelerating the loan when the transfer is to a relative through a Lady Bird deed. Notify your mortgage servicer in writing if you want to be cautious.

Can I name more than one remainder beneficiary?

Yes. You can name multiple children equally, in unequal shares, or with substitute beneficiaries (so if one of them predeceases you, the share goes to their kids). Make sure the language is clear about what happens if a beneficiary dies before you.

Can I change the deed after signing it?

Yes. A Lady Bird deed is fully revocable. To change it, simply record a new Lady Bird deed naming different beneficiaries (or revoke the old one with a quitclaim deed back to yourself). The new deed supersedes the old one.

Will the home get reassessed for property taxes after the deed is recorded?

No. Michigan's Proposal A "uncapping" rules apply to transfers between parties. A Lady Bird deed does not transfer ownership during your lifetime, so there is no reassessment. The actual transfer happens at your death, and Michigan exempts transfers to children and grandchildren from uncapping under MCL 211.27a(7)(g).

Does the homestead exemption transfer to my kids automatically?

The homestead exemption (Principal Residence Exemption) belongs to the owner who lives there. After you die and the home transfers to your kids, they need to file a new PRE form if any of them will live there as a primary residence.

What about a co-owned home -- can my spouse and I both sign?

Yes. If the home is held jointly with rights of survivorship (the most common setup for Michigan married couples), both spouses sign the Lady Bird deed together. The remainder transfers to the named beneficiaries only after both of you die.

Do I still need a will if I have a Lady Bird deed?

Yes. The Lady Bird deed only covers the home. You still need a will to direct your other assets, name guardians for minor children, and appoint a personal representative. You also need durable powers of attorney for finances and healthcare. Think of the Lady Bird deed as one piece of a complete plan, not the whole plan.

What happens if I sell the home?

Nothing. You keep all the proceeds. The remainder beneficiary's interest disappears with the property. If you buy a new home, you would record a new Lady Bird deed for the new property if you want the same protection.

Get Your Lady Bird Deed Done This Week

The Lady Bird deed is the single most useful piece of estate planning for a Michigan homeowner, and it is the cheapest. The CreateMIWill Will Kit includes an attorney-drafted Michigan Lady Bird deed template along with the will, financial power of attorney, healthcare power of attorney, and HIPAA release that every Michigan adult should have. You fill it in, get it notarized, record it at your county's Register of Deeds for $30, and it is done.