Most of what an adult child needs to know about Michigan estate and incapacity planning concentrates in a few documents and one distinctive real-property tool — the Ladybird deed. Michigan’s lack of state estate or inheritance tax means the planning conversation is about process, not tax minimization.
The four documents to have in place this year
1. Michigan Statutory Durable Power of Attorney
Michigan provides a statutory short-form Durable POA under MCL 700.5501 et seq.1 Michigan banks and brokerages broadly accept the statutory form. The POA should be:
- Durable— survives your parent’s incapacity. The default under the statute.
- Signed by your parent before two witnesses and a notary.
- Drafted with care around “hot powers” — gifts, beneficiary changes, trust amendments — which require explicit grants under the Michigan statute.
2. Michigan Patient Advocate Designation
Michigan treats medical decision-making separately from financial decision-making. The Patient Advocate Designation under MCL 700.5506 et seq. names a Patient Advocate to make medical decisions when your parent cannot communicate.2 The Designation:
- Must be signed by your parent in front of two competent witnesses (not the Patient Advocate, and not the spouse/parent/child/grandchild/sibling of the Patient Advocate).
- Becomes effective when a doctor determines the parent is unable to participate in medical decisions.
- Can include specific instructions about end-of-life care, life-sustaining procedures, and withholding/withdrawing treatment. Michigan has clear statutory rules for authorizing the Patient Advocate to act on such instructions.
Pair the Patient Advocate Designation with a Michigan POST (Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment) form for residents in care facilities — portable medical orders.
3. Last Will and Testament
Michigan wills are governed by the Michigan Estates and Protected Individuals Code (EPIC), MCL 700.1101 et seq. The will must be signed by the testator and witnessed by two competent witnesses. Michigan recognizes self-proving affidavits, which streamline probate.
4. Ladybird deed (Enhanced Life Estate Deed)
The Ladybird deed is a Michigan-favored real-property instrument. Structure:
- Your parent deeds the home to themselves for life, with the unrestricted power to sell, mortgage, or revoke during life.
- At death, the property automatically passes to the named remainder beneficiaries — outside probate.
- Because the parent retained full lifetime control, the deed is generally not a completed gift for tax or Medicaid purposes — meaning it doesn’t trigger the Medicaid look-back penalty if structured correctly.
Michigan is one of a handful of states that clearly recognize the Ladybird deed.3It’s one of the simplest probate-avoidance tools available and is often appropriate even for families that don’t otherwise need a full revocable trust. Have a Michigan attorney draft and record it.
No state estate tax, no state inheritance tax
Michigan has neither a state estate tax nor a state inheritance tax. The Michigan estate tax was effectively repealed in 2002 (final tied to the federal pickup credit; when the federal credit was eliminated in 2005, the Michigan tax ceased).4 The federal estate tax still applies above ~$13.99M per individual in 2025, so the vast majority of Michigan families face no estate-level tax at all.
Planning is about probate avoidance, incapacity coverage, and family coordination — not tax minimization.
Probate in Michigan: EPIC and the Probate Court
Michigan probate is governed by the Estates and Protected Individuals Code (EPIC), MCL 700.1101 et seq.5 Three main paths:
- Small estate by affidavit.When the gross value of the decedent’s estate is under approximately $28,000 (adjusted annually for inflation;). Resolved by affidavit without formal probate.
- Summary administration / summary proceedings. Available when the estate doesn’t exceed reasonable funeral expenses plus statutory exemptions. Streamlined court process.
- Informal or formal proceedings.The default for most uncontested estates is informal probate through the Probate Court — less court supervision, typically resolves in months. Formal proceedings are for contested or complex estates.
Even with the streamlined EPIC procedures, probate-avoidance planning — Ladybird deeds, beneficiary designations, joint tenancy carefully used, revocable trusts — remains the higher-leverage move for most families.
The Michigan homestead and property protections
Michigan’s creditor-protection homestead exempts up to $40,475 (single) or $60,725 (married, joint owner) of equity in the primary residence from most creditors under MCL 600.6023. The property- tax homestead (Michigan Principal Residence Exemption) is a separate, smaller property-tax benefit and is essential for most Michigan retirees.
If your parent moved to Michigan from another state
Out-of-state wills are generally valid in Michigan if valid where executed, but a Michigan review is wise:
- Out-of-state POAs are honored but may face friction at Michigan banks. A Michigan Statutory Durable POA reduces friction.
- Health-care directives from other states may not align with Michigan’s Patient Advocate Designation rules. Replace with a Michigan document.
- If the family owns Michigan real property, a Ladybird deed analysis is worth doing — the tool is not available in many states and out-of-state attorneys rarely consider it.
What to do this quarter
- Locate (or create) your parent’s four documents: Statutory Durable POA, Patient Advocate Designation, Will, and (for real property) a Ladybird deed.
- If your parent owns the family home, consider a Ladybird deed for probate avoidance.
- Audit beneficiary designations on every retirement account, life-insurance policy, and POD/TOD account.
- For our companion content on Michigan Medicaid planning and long-term-care funding, see the Michigan Medicaid guide.