Your Will Won't Keep Your Family Out of Michigan Probate Court
You signed a will. Maybe you even had it notarized. And you assumed your family was covered.
But under Michigan's Estates and Protected Individuals Code (EPIC), a will is just a letter of instruction to the probate court. Every solely owned asset named in that will still goes through court-supervised administration — an 8-to-12-month process that can cost 4% to 8% of your estate's value. Your family can't touch the house, can't close accounts, and can't move forward until the court signs off.
Meanwhile, if your spouse gets rushed to the ER tonight and you haven't signed a Patient Advocate Designation — not a "healthcare proxy," not a "living will," but the specific Michigan document under MCL 700.5506 — the hospital calls the probate court. Not you.
The Michigan Estate Alignment System
The Michigan Basic Estate Planning Kit is built on one principle: the documents that matter are the ones that bypass the court entirely.
Generic national templates give you a fill-in-the-blank will and call it done. This kit gives you the complete Michigan-specific toolkit — Lady Bird deeds, POD designations, Patient Advocate forms, self-proving affidavits, and the asset alignment strategies that actually keep your family out of probate court.
Every instruction references the Michigan statute it's built on. Every threshold uses the 2026 numbers. Every form follows the execution rules your county probate court enforces.
What's Inside the Kit
- 15-chapter Michigan estate planning guide — covers intestacy rules (MCL 700.2102), will requirements (MCL 700.2502), trust options, Lady Bird deeds, Patient Advocate Designations, guardian nominations, digital assets, Medicaid planning, blended family strategies, post-divorce cleanup, and interstate relocation
- Lady Bird deed walkthrough (standalone printable) — step-by-step guidance on Michigan's Enhanced Life Estate Deed under Land Title Standard 9.3, the tool that transfers your home outside probate while you keep full ownership and control during your lifetime
- Patient Advocate Designation guide (standalone printable) — Michigan's single-document approach to medical decisions, end-of-life preferences, and organ donation, with the specific witness restrictions that generic forms miss, plus fillable contact fields
- Self-proving affidavit reference (standalone printable) — the MCL 700.2504 process that makes your will self-proving, eliminating the need for witnesses to appear in court during probate
- Non-probate transfer strategy map (standalone printable) — asset-by-asset alignment worksheet mapping POD accounts, beneficiary designations, joint tenancy structures, and trust funding so nothing falls through the cracks
- Medicaid estate recovery playbook (standalone printable) — how MDHHS recovery claims work, why they only reach probate assets, how Lady Bird deeds protect your home, and what the 5-year lookback period means for your timing
- Blended family protection plan (standalone printable) — how to prevent Michigan's default intestacy splits from disinheriting your biological children when you remarry, with discussion prompts for the conversation with your spouse
- Post-divorce cleanup checklist (standalone printable) — account-by-account guide to the beneficiary designations that Michigan law does not automatically update after divorce
- 2026 thresholds quick reference (standalone printable) — all Michigan estate planning dollar amounts, intestacy splits, and filing fees on one reference card
- 20-item estate planning checklist — a prioritized action list you can work through in a single weekend, covering every document, account, and designation that needs to be aligned
Who This Kit Is For
- Homeowners worried about probate — your home is your biggest asset, and without a Lady Bird deed or trust, it goes through court. The kit shows you exactly how to move it out of the probate estate while keeping full control.
- Parents of minor children — if you haven't nominated a guardian under MCL 700.5202, a judge who has never met your family decides who raises your kids. The kit walks you through both the guardian nomination (physical care) and trustee designation (financial management).
- Blended families — Michigan's intestacy rules split your estate between your current spouse and children from a prior relationship using a formula that almost never matches what you intended. The kit shows you how to override the default with planning tools that protect everyone.
- Recently divorced individuals — MCL 700.2807 revokes spousal designations in wills and trusts, but it does not touch ERISA-governed retirement accounts. If you haven't updated your 401(k) beneficiary, your ex-spouse may still inherit it. The kit includes a post-divorce cleanup checklist.
- New Michigan residents — your out-of-state will is probably valid, but your healthcare proxy isn't a Patient Advocate Designation, your executor isn't a Personal Representative, and Michigan doesn't recognize TOD deeds. The kit includes a relocation review checklist.
Why Free Templates Fall Short in Michigan
Michigan Legal Help (michiganlegalhelp.org) offers free form-fillers — but they give you raw statutory forms without strategic guidance. You get the court paperwork for filing a will, but no help deciding whether a will is even the right tool for your situation.
LegalZoom and Rocket Lawyer sell generic national templates for $99 to $249 — but they don't know about Lady Bird deeds, Michigan Land Title Standard 9.3, or the specific witness restrictions on Patient Advocate Designations. Their "Michigan" version is a national template with the state name swapped in.
County probate clerks can take your filing, but they are legally barred from explaining whether you should file in the first place.
This kit fills the gap: Michigan-specific strategy at a fraction of an attorney's $1,500-to-$3,000 fee, covering every tool the courts actually recognize.
Satisfaction Guarantee
If the kit doesn't give you a clear, actionable plan for your Michigan estate within 30 days, email us for a full refund. No forms to fill out, no questions asked.
— Less Than One Hour of Attorney Time
Michigan estate planning attorneys charge $1,500 to $3,000 for a basic will and trust package. This kit gives you the knowledge to understand every tool they'd recommend — and to handle the straightforward parts yourself.
Download the free Michigan estate planning checklist to see where your plan stands right now. When you're ready for the step-by-step instructions, the full kit is waiting.