Making a Will

A will is a document that lets you choose what happens to your things after you pass away. You can leave instructions for your family about who gets your house, money, and other belongings. If you have kids under 18 years old, you can also pick someone you trust to take care of them.

Every state has its own laws about what makes a will legally valid. This article and the Do-It-Yourself Will tool have information about making a will for people who live in Michigan.

You do not have to make a will. If you die without a will, the law says that your closest family members get your belongings, and a judge will pick someone responsible to look after your children. Having a will gives you control over these choices.

Who Can Make a Will?

You can make a will if you are at least 18 years old, understand what you are doing, and make it by your own free choice. This is called having mental “capacity” to sign a legal document.

Mental Capacity Requirement

To have the mental capacity to make a will, you must understand:

• You are creating a document that gives away your belongings after you die
• What you own and approximately how much it is worth
• Who your family members are
• What having a will means

Your Will Must Be Your Free Choice

A will is only valid if you make it by your own free choice. No one can force you or pressure you into writing your will or deciding what to put in it. It’s okay to talk to your family about your choices and get help writing your will but no one should pressure you about what to put in it.

If someone is trying to force you to write your will their way, there are lawyers who might be able to help you for free. Use the Guide to Legal Help to find out if a legal aid office near you might be able to help.

What Can a Will Include?

There are detailed requirements for the things that must be in a will for it to be legally valid. Since this can be complicated, Michigan law also created a form will. This is a fill-in-the-blank form that is a legally valid will if you fill it out correctly and sign it in front of two witnesses.

The form has some limits, but it is an easy tool for some people who want a will and do not have access to a lawyer who can make a more customized will.

This will can name the person who should distribute your property after you die. This person is called the personal representative. You can also:

• choose who will take care of your children if they're under 18
• leave money to up to two people or charities
• give specific personal items like furniture or jewelry to anyone you want

The rest of your property will go to your spouse if you have one. If you are not married your leftover property will be split equally between your children. If you don't have a spouse or children when you die, your property goes to your other relatives.

The form keeps things simple, but being simple also means it has some limits. For example, you can only give money to two people or charities outside of your family, and you can't choose different ways to split up your remaining property - it must go to your spouse and children according to the form's rules.

You can create your form will using Michigan's Do-It-Yourself Will tool. Once you fill it out and sign it with two witnesses, your will becomes legal. You do not need a notary and the will does not impact your property until you die.

Choosing a Personal Representative

A will can name a personal representative to handle your affairs after you die. Some states call this person an “executor.” Michigan doesn't use the term executor, but the personal representative does the same job. This person makes sure your property goes to the right people and meets all the legal requirements.

Your personal representative must be 18 or older at the time they serve as personal representative. They should be someone who stays organized and handles paperwork well, since they'll need to complete forms and keep records for the court. They should also handle disagreements fairly and make decisions the way you would want. Most people choose a trusted family member or close friend. Some people name a bank as their personal representative, but banks usually charge fees for this service.

Your personal representative doesn't have to live in Michigan, but it often works better if they do since they will handle tasks in Michigan. You can name a backup personal representative in your will in case your first choice is not available.

You should talk with the person you want to name as your personal representative before you make your will. Make sure they are willing to take on this responsibility. They should also know that you have a will and where to find it after you die.

Talking about wills and end-of-life decisions can feel uncomfortable. If you need help starting these talks, visit TheConversationProject.org for guidance.

Signing Your Will

You must sign your will in front of at least two witnesses. If you have a third person who is willing to be a witness, three witnesses is even better.

Witnesses must be 18 or older. You should choose responsible adults. If someone challenges your will after you die, the judge may need to speak to your witnesses. The judge might ask them questions about whether you seemed confused or if anyone forced you to sign.

What to Do with a Will After You Sign It

Store your will securely and make sure your family knows where it is. Your loved ones can only follow your wishes after you die if they know about your will and can find it.

You can file your will with the county probate court where you live for $25. The court can’t give copies of the will to anyone except you while you are living. After you die, your family can bring your death certificate to the probate court to get a copy.

If you don't file your will with the court, put it somewhere safe and tell your family where it is. Some people use bank safe-deposit boxes. But banks need a court order before letting anyone open your box after you die. This means extra paperwork for your family.

No matter where you choose to store your will, you might also want to give a copy to the person you named as personal representative.

Changing or Canceling (Revoking) a Will

To change or cancel your will (also called revoking a will), you must have mental capacity the same way you must have capacity to make a will. This means that you must understand what you are doing when you revoke your will and what the effect of canceling it will be.

Changing a Will

In most situations, you need to make a new will to change it. Do not cross out words or write changes directly on the statutory will form. This may make your entire will invalid.

When you make a new will using the Do-It-Yourself Will tool, it automatically cancels all previous wills. Remember to destroy your old will and all copies to avoid confusion.

Personal property lists are different. In your will, you can say that you have a separate list of personal property that says who gets each item. This list works differently from your will. You can change or replace this list by signing a new one. You do not need witnesses. Changes to this list do not affect the rest of your will. You can use this list to say who gets personal property such as books, jewelry, clothing, cars, and furniture.

The Do-It-Yourself Will tool creates this list for you. If you only want to update your personal property list, you can fill out the Personal Property Distribution List.

If you change your list, make sure that you give an updated copy to your family so they know about the update. If you stored your will with the county probate court, you should also make sure they have the updated list.

Canceling (Revoking) a Will

If you do not want to change your will and only want to revoke it so that you no longer have a will in place, you can revoke your will by physically destroying it. You can tear it apart, shred it, or draw a big X through the will. If there are copies of the will, you should destroy them, too.

If you deposited your will with the probate court for safekeeping, go to the court with your ID and ask for the will back so that you can destroy it.

How Do Family Changes Affect a Will?

Your family can change after making a will if you get married, divorced, or have a child. If your family changes, it is a good idea to make a new will that has your updated family information.

If you do not update your will, Michigan law makes some automatic changes. These changes help make sure family members are treated fairly.

Getting Married

If you make a will and then get married, Michigan law automatically gives your spouse a share of your estate, even if your will does not mention them. If you signed your will and then got married, your spouse will inherit from your estate as if you had died without a will.

For people who die in 2025, their spouse will inherit the entire estate up to $194,000. The $194,000 amount can change each year based on cost-of-living adjustments. For estates worth more than $194,000, there can be more complicated calculations about how much property each relative gets.

There are some exceptions to what a spouse will get from an estate. Your spouse will not get property that you specifically left to children or grandchildren you had before the marriage. Your spouse might not get an automatic inheritance if:

• Your will shows you wrote it knowing you would marry this person
• The will specifically says it should stay the same even if you get married later
• You already gave your spouse property outside of your will (like jointly owned property or life insurance) that was meant to replace what they would get from your will

Getting Divorced

If you get divorced, Michigan law automatically removes your ex-spouse from your estate planning documents. If you named your spouse as personal representative or left them property in your will, the law will assume you no longer want them to be personal representative and that you do not want to leave them property. Your ex-spouse can still inherit from you or serve as personal representative if your will or divorce judgment specifically says you want them to keep these roles.

Having a Child

If you have a child (by birth or adoption) after making your will and don't update it to include them, Michigan law automatically gives that child an inheritance.

If you had no children when you made your will, the child gets the same share they would receive if you died without a will. If you left everything to the child's other parent, the child may not get anything extra.

If you already had children when you made your will, the new child gets a share of what you left to your existing children in the will. They get a portion equal to the children you named in your will.

Your child might not get an automatic inheritance if:

• Your will shows you left them out on purpose
• You already provided for them outside your will (like through a trust fund or life insurance) as a substitute for including them in your will

What Happens after My Death?

After your death, your family will distribute your property. The property you leave behind is called your “estate.” If the estate is small (worth $51,000 or less for someone who dies in 2025), your family may be able to use a simplified process where the probate court is not involved at all, or only a little bit. The small estate process does not follow the instructions in your will. Instead, your family agrees to divide your property according to state law.

To learn more, read An Overview of Small Estate Processes.

If your estate is too large for the simplified process or if your heirs want to follow your will, your estate will be distributed as part of a probate court case. Probate proceedings can be informal or formal. Most cases start as informal probate cases. Formal probate is only used if there is a disagreement about the will or about how property should be distributed. Read An Overview of Informal Probate and An Overview of Formal Probate to learn about these processes.

If you have minor children and you named a guardian for them in your will, your heirs must file either an informal or formal probate case to give the guardian legal power to care for your children. The guardian you named in your will must file an Acceptance of Appointment form in the probate case.