Knowledge & Resources
Wills and estate planning
What a will does, how to write one, and what your state requires for it to count.
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Wills and estate planning
What a will does, how to write one, and what your state requires for it to count.
Michigan follows the Uniform Probate Code. Its witnesses do not have to be in the room when you sign, and it accepts handwritten wills if they are dated.
A Michigan will must be in writing and signed by the testator, or signed in the testator's name by someone else in their conscious presence and at their direction. It must then be signed by at least two individuals, each of whom signed within a reasonable time after witnessing either the signing or the testator's acknowledgment of the signature or of the will. Michigan is more forgiving than most on timing: a witness may sign within a reasonable time afterwards rather than at the moment of signing. Having everyone present together is still the safer practice, because it is easier to prove.
MCL § 700.2502(1)
No. Section 700.2502 requires witnesses, not a notary, and notarizing a Michigan will does not substitute for them. A notary appears only in a separate self-proving affidavit, which saves your witnesses from testifying later but does not replace their signatures.
MCL § 700.2502
Yes, with a condition many states do not impose. A will that does not meet the ordinary formalities is still valid as a holographic will, witnessed or not, if it is dated and if the testator's signature and the document's material portions are in the testator's handwriting. Leave the date off and it fails. Michigan also allows intent to be established by extrinsic evidence, including parts of the document that are not in the testator's handwriting.
MCL § 700.2502(2)
An individual 18 years of age or older who has sufficient mental capacity may make a will in Michigan. The statute spells out what that capacity means: the ability to understand you are directing who gets your property after death, to know roughly what you own, to know who your close family are, and to understand the general effect of signing.
MCL § 700.2501
MCL § 700.2502 (Execution; witnessed wills; holographic wills). In writing, signed by the testator (or in their name in their conscious presence and by their direction), and signed by at least two individuals within a reasonable time after witnessing the signing or the acknowledgment.
Links last checked 2026-08-25.
We could not read this statute at its official source, so the summary above is provisional. Confirm it before relying on it.
This is general information about the law, not legal advice, and it has not been reviewed by an attorney licensed in Michigan. Requirements change. Confirm the current rules for your state before you sign.
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