How to Revoke a Michigan Will: The 3 Ways That Actually Work (and the 2 That Don't)

You signed a will fifteen years ago. The named executor is your old college roommate -- you have not spoken in eight years. The biggest beneficiary is your ex-wife. The home you mentioned has been sold. The lawyer who drafted it retired. Now what? In Michigan, revoking an old will is straightforward once you understand the rules -- but DIY revocations fail more often than amendments do, because Michigan has a strict three-method list under MCL 700.2507. Skip the formalities and your old will may still control. This guide explains exactly what works, what does not, the case law that has trapped DIY testators, and the safe Michigan playbook for replacing an old will.

The 30-Second Answer

Michigan recognizes exactly three ways to revoke a will: (1) execute a new will that revokes the old one (the safest and most common); (2) physically destroy the original will with intent to revoke (burning, tearing, canceling, obliterating); and (3) automatic revocation by divorce under MCL 700.2807 -- which only revokes the provisions for the ex-spouse and their relatives, not the entire will. Marriage does NOT revoke a will in Michigan. Verbal statements do NOT revoke a will. Lost wills are presumed revoked if they were last in the testator's possession, but the presumption can be rebutted.

What MCL 700.2507 Actually Says

The Michigan revocation statute is short. From MCL 700.2507:

1. 700.2507(1)(a): A will is revoked by "execution of a subsequent will that revokes the previous will or a part of the will expressly or by inconsistency."
2. 700.2507(1)(b): A will is revoked by "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."
3. 700.2507(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."

That is it. Two methods listed in the statute. A third method (revocation by divorce) lives in a separate section, MCL 700.2807. Everything else -- crossing things out, writing on a photocopy, telling people you "ripped it up," handwritten letters -- is litigation bait. Per the analysis at Resnick Law's Michigan revocation guide, "Only original wills are recognized" for revocation by physical act.

Method 1: Execute a New Will

This is the safest, cleanest, and most common method. You draft and sign a new Michigan will that includes language like: "I hereby revoke all prior wills and codicils." The new will replaces the old one entirely. If the new will is properly executed under MCL 700.2502 (in writing, signed by the testator, and signed by two witnesses or notarized as a holographic will with the material portions in the testator's handwriting), the old will is dead.

One subtlety: under MCL 700.2507(3), the new will only "replaces" the old will if it makes a complete disposition of the testator's estate. If the new will only addresses some assets (say, a single bequest of jewelry), Michigan courts presume it supplements rather than replaces the old will. Both wills then control, with the new one taking priority on overlapping provisions. To avoid confusion, every new will should include an explicit revocation clause.

Method 2: Physical Act With Intent

MCL 700.2507(1)(b) lets you revoke a will by burning, tearing, canceling, obliterating, or destroying it -- provided you do so with the intent to revoke. The critical word is "intent." A will that gets shredded by accident is not revoked. A will found in a fire-damaged house may or may not be revoked depending on whether the testator started the fire on purpose.

Practical rules for revocation by physical act:

• It must be the original. Tearing up a photocopy does nothing. Per In re Windham Estate (Mich App 2010), altering a copy of a will is "insufficient to establish a revocatory act."
• Intent matters more than damage. The burn, tear, or cancellation does NOT have to touch the words. Writing "VOID" across the front of the original with a marker IS a cancellation. Tearing a corner with intent IS a revocatory act. Per the statute itself: "whether or not the burn, tear, or cancellation touches any of the words on the will."
• Someone else can do it -- but only in your conscious presence and at your direction. So if you are bedridden, you can ask your son to tear up the will while you watch.
• Document the act. Even though Michigan does not require witnesses to revocation, having one or two adults witness you destroying the will and sign a written statement is excellent evidence if anyone ever challenges.

The risk with revocation by physical act: if you only have one copy of the will and you destroy it, you may also have destroyed evidence of what you wanted. This is fine if you immediately sign a new will to replace it. Less fine if you die before doing so, because Michigan intestate succession (see our intestate guide) then takes over.

Method 3: Automatic Revocation by Divorce

Michigan's MCL 700.2807 -- the "revocation on divorce" statute -- automatically revokes certain provisions of a will the moment a divorce judgment becomes final. You do not have to do anything. The law treats your ex-spouse, and your ex-spouse's relatives, as if they predeceased you for purposes of the will.

What gets revoked automatically:

• Bequests to your ex-spouse
• Appointment of your ex-spouse as personal representative (executor)
• Appointment of your ex-spouse as trustee, guardian, conservator, or patient advocate
• Bequests to your ex-spouse's relatives (parents, siblings, children from a prior marriage who are not also your children)
• Most non-ERISA beneficiary designations on life insurance, IRAs, and POD/TOD accounts
• Joint tenancy with right of survivorship between ex-spouses -- which becomes a tenancy in common

What does NOT get revoked:

• Provisions for children you had with the ex-spouse (per Greenleaf Trust's analysis, "children of the marriage would not be removed from the governing instrument after a divorce")
• The rest of the will (so if you also named your sister or your kids in the will, those provisions still control)
• ERISA-governed pension and 401(k) beneficiaries (federal law overrides Michigan revocation)
• Irrevocable trusts or court-ordered divisions of property

The trap: automatic revocation under MCL 700.2807 only revokes what it revokes. Your old will might be reduced to a hollow shell -- "I leave everything to my (now ex-) wife. If she predeceases me, my brother in Florida." After divorce, the ex-wife is treated as predeceased, so the brother in Florida inherits everything. If you would rather it go to your kids, you need a new will. Per Divorce.law's Michigan estate-planning-after-divorce guide, "Within 60 days, execute a new will with updated beneficiary provisions, personal representative designation, and guardian nominations if applicable."

Two Things That Do NOT Revoke a Michigan Will

Marriage Does NOT Revoke a Will

Pre-2000 Michigan law sometimes treated marriage as a revoking event. EPIC (the current code, enacted in 2000) changed that. Marriage does NOT revoke a will in Michigan. If you signed a will before getting married and the will makes no provision for your new spouse, your new spouse can take an "omitted spouse share" under MCL 700.2301 (essentially the intestate spousal share), but the rest of the will still controls. The cleanest fix is a new will after marriage.

Crossing Out / Marking Up a Photocopy

Many Michigan testators try to "revoke" by crossing out language in a photocopy of the will and initialing the changes. This does NOT work. Per In re Windham Estate and In re Smoke Estate, Michigan courts have repeatedly refused to enforce mark-ups on photocopies as revocations. Only the original counts. And even on the original, crossing out individual provisions ("partial revocation") often creates ambiguity that ends in litigation. Always use Method 1 (new will) when you want to change specific provisions.

Three Michigan Cases That Show Where DIY Revocation Fails

In re Windham Estate (Mich App 2010): Testator marked up a photocopy of her January 2003 will and wrote separate letters and a card suggesting changes. Heirs argued these constituted revocations. The Court of Appeals refused, finding no "clear and convincing evidence" that the testator intended any of the writings to revoke. The original 2003 will controlled. Lesson: do not rely on annotations to photocopies, casual letters, or cards.

In re Smoke Estate (Mich App 2007): Testator wrote letters that the proponent argued were a holographic will revoking his 1977 will. The court applied the "will saving" statute (MCL 700.2503) but still found no clear and convincing evidence that the letters were intended to revoke. The 1977 will was admitted to probate. Lesson: vague writings -- "I want my brother to get more" or "the will is wrong" -- without explicit revocation language are not revocations.

Wills and Trusts -- Divorce -- EPIC (Mich App 2021): A divorced decedent's will named his ex-wife and her biological daughter (his stepdaughter) as beneficiaries. Per MCL 700.2807(1)(a)(i), the divorce revoked dispositions both to the ex-wife AND to the ex-wife's biological daughter (who was not the decedent's biological child). The stepdaughter inherited nothing. Lesson: divorce can quietly disinherit stepchildren you actually wanted to keep -- you must redo the will if you want those provisions to survive.

The Safe DIY Revocation Playbook

If you want to be sure a Michigan will is fully and unambiguously revoked, follow this sequence:

1. Locate the original will. If you cannot find it, that is your first problem -- per MCL 700.2507, the will is presumed revoked if it was last in your possession and cannot be found. But the presumption is rebuttable, and a copy held by your old attorney could still be probated.
2. Draft and sign a new Michigan will that includes an express revocation clause and a complete disposition of your estate. Two witnesses required (or notarized as a statutory holographic). Use a template from the CreateMIWill Will Kit or any properly-formatted Michigan template.
3. Physically destroy the original old will in front of two adult witnesses. Shred it. Burn it. Tear it into a dozen pieces.
4. Collect all copies from anyone who may have one -- former attorney, safe deposit box, family members -- and destroy them.
5. Notify anyone who knew about the old will (the old executor, the old beneficiaries) that there is a new will. You do not have to share its contents, just that the prior will is no longer effective.
6. If you used the probate court will-deposit option (MCL 600.880c), file a notice of revocation and a copy of the new will.
7. Document everything. Date when you signed the new will, date when you destroyed the old, signed statements from the destruction witnesses. Store this with the new will.
8. Update beneficiary designations on life insurance, retirement accounts, and POD/TOD accounts. Per MCL 700.2807, these are revoked by divorce automatically -- but if your revocation is not due to divorce, the old designations still control until you change them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to file my revocation with a Michigan probate court?

No, unless your original will was filed for safekeeping under MCL 600.880c. Most Michigan wills are never filed with a court during the testator's lifetime, so revocation is also a private act.

Does crossing out a beneficiary's name in my original will work?

It can, but it is risky. Partial revocation by cancellation is recognized under MCL 700.2507(1)(b), but courts often find ambiguity. A better approach is a properly-drafted codicil ("I hereby strike Article III, Paragraph 2 of my will dated...") or a new will entirely.

What if my will is in a safe deposit box at a bank that closed?

The bank's successor institution still holds the box contents. Contact them or the Michigan Department of Treasury's Unclaimed Property division. If the original truly cannot be located, see our trust amendment guide for what happens with lost original documents.

If I am separated but not divorced, is my spouse still in the will?

Yes. Michigan's revocation-on-divorce statute (MCL 700.2807) only triggers when the divorce judgment becomes final. Separation alone does not revoke. If you want your separated spouse out of the will before the divorce finalizes, you must sign a new will yourself.

Can I revoke my will by telling someone verbally?

No. Michigan recognizes only the methods in MCL 700.2507 (subsequent will or revocatory physical act) and the automatic revocation in MCL 700.2807 (divorce). Verbal statements -- no matter how clear -- do not legally revoke a will.

Does moving out of Michigan revoke my Michigan will?

No. A valid Michigan will remains valid even after you move out of state. Most other states will probate a Michigan will under their own laws if it was valid where signed. That said, moving is a good reason to draft a new will in your new state -- different state homestead, spousal, and tax rules can complicate probate.

What if I revoke a will and never make a new one?

You die intestate. Michigan intestate succession (MCL 700.2102 through MCL 700.2114) controls who inherits. For most Michigan families this means surviving spouse first (with cuts if you have stepchildren -- see our stepparent inheritance guide), then biological/adopted descendants, then parents, then siblings. Often NOT what the testator wanted. Always replace, do not just revoke.

Is a revoked will revivable?

Generally no. Once revoked by physical destruction, a will cannot be revived. If revoked by a subsequent will, revoking the subsequent will does NOT automatically revive the prior will -- the prior will is gone unless re-executed or republished. Per the Michigan Law Review analysis, "There can be no revival of an instrument which has been revoked by some one of the means of physical destruction or cancellation."

What about a codicil -- does that count as revoking my will?

A codicil amends a will, it doesn't revoke it. Multiple codicils can stack. If you have stacked three or more codicils on an old will, you should consider a full new will instead. Codicils must satisfy the same execution formalities as a will (two witnesses or holographic).

Does divorce revoke my trust too?

Yes, the same way. MCL 700.2807 applies to "governing instruments" broadly defined, which includes revocable trusts. The provisions naming your ex-spouse and their relatives are treated as if those people predeceased you. See our Michigan trust amendment guide for how to update trust documents after divorce.

Revoke the Old, Sign the New

Revoking is the easy half. Replacing is the part that matters. A revoked will with no replacement means Michigan intestate succession runs your estate -- and that is rarely what anyone wants. The CreateMIWill Will Kit ($89) includes the express revocation clause, signing and witness instructions, and the five companion documents (durable financial POA, patient advocate designation, HIPAA release, Lady Bird deed template, funeral representative designation) you need for a complete Michigan estate plan.