What Is a Will, and Why Do I Need One?
A will, sometimes called a last will and testament, is a legal document that gives you the ability to direct what happens to your property and your family after you pass away. It names the people or organizations you want to receive your assets. It can designate a guardian for minor children. And it identifies the person you trust to carry out your wishes.
A will is one of the foundational documents in any estate plan. At Head Murphy Law office, our estate planning attorneys work with individuals and families throughout the Detroit area, including Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties, to create wills that clearly reflect their intentions and hold up when it matters most.
Without a valid will, Michigan’s intestacy laws take over, and the state determines who inherits from your estate. This means the distribution may not reflect what you wanted. Closer relatives inherit first under Michigan intestacy rules, and if there are none, more distant relatives may take from the estate. That could mean an estranged sibling or a distant cousin inherits from your estate instead of the people you care about most.
A well-drafted will accomplishes a number of important things, such as:
This is where many people run into trouble. A will is a powerful tool, but it does not control everything. Several common categories of property pass entirely outside of a will, regardless of what the document says.
Your will does not control assets that already have beneficiary designations. Retirement accounts, life insurance, and payable-on-death bank accounts pass directly to named beneficiaries, outside the will entirely. If those beneficiary designations are outdated, for example listing a former spouse or a deceased parent, the assets go to the wrong person and your will cannot change that.
Other things a will generally cannot do:
Understanding these limitations is not a reason to skip a will. It is a reason to make sure your overall estate plan is coordinated. Your will, your beneficiary designations, your trust documents, and your powers of attorney should all work together. A lawyer at our law firm can help you identify any gaps.
Yes. This point often surprises people who assume estate planning is only for the wealthy or for those with complex financial situations.
Consider a young parent in Dearborn with a modest savings account, a used car, and a two-bedroom house. No trust. No investment portfolio. Just a family and a few possessions. Without a will, if something happens to both parents, a Michigan court decides who raises their children. The state does not know their wishes, their family dynamics, or their concerns about a particular relative. A will can change that.
Or think about a retiree in Macomb County living on a pension and Social Security. They may not have much to leave behind in dollar terms, but they have personal property, sentimental items, and people they care about. Without a will, those items get distributed under intestacy rules, which can lead to family conflict and court involvement.
Estate planning may be as simple as implementing a will or as complex as executing a trust and exploring sophisticated tax or estate planning techniques. In fact, estate planning may be more important with a smaller estate because a larger portion can go toward final expenses and court costs if planning is absent.
Michigan wills include formal wills, holographic wills, self-proved wills, and statutory wills. Each type has different requirements, different strengths, and different risks. Knowing the differences can help you understand what you are signing, and why the type of will you choose matters.
A formal will is the type most commonly used and most commonly type of will admitted to probate. A formal will has several requirements which must be met to be enforceable.
Formal wills are typically prepared by attorneys and offer the most flexibility for addressing complex family situations, specific bequests, and contingency planning. If you have children from a prior relationship, a business interest, real estate in multiple counties, or any situation that does not fit a simple template, a formal will drafted with legal guidance is generally the most reliable option.
A holographic will is entirely handwritten by the person making it. In Michigan, a holographic will is valid if it is entirely in the testator’s handwriting and is dated and signed. It does not need to be witnessed, but the material provisions and the testator’s signature must be in the testator’s handwriting.
The appeal is obvious. No witnesses, no attorney, no formality. But the risks are real. A traditional witnessed will is often less vulnerable to challenge in probate because its execution steps are clear and structured. A holographic will, by contrast, does not require witness signatures to be valid, but because it lacks that formal structure, it can be more prone to disputes over authenticity, testamentary intent, handwriting, or clarity of instructions.
When a holographic will is challenged at Wayne County Probate Court, the burden of proving authenticity falls on those trying to enforce it. That process can be expensive, time-consuming, and emotionally draining for the family members left behind.
Michigan provides a fill-in-the-blank statutory will form created by state law. It is relatively simple to use but allows limited choices. For example, you can only give money to two people or charities outside of your family, and the remainder of your property must go to your spouse and children according to the form’s rules.
A statutory will may work for someone with a straightforward family situation and no particular need for customization. But for most people, the limitations are significant. If you have a blended family, a child with special needs, a business interest, or any property arrangement that does not fit the form’s preset structure, a statutory will may not capture what you want.
A pour-over will is used alongside a revocable living trust. The concept is straightforward. If you have a trust but did not transfer all of your assets into it during your lifetime, the pour-over will captures those remaining assets at death and directs them into the trust.
A pour-over will includes a provision that a previously created trust is the beneficiary. While a well-funded trust avoids probate, people sometimes fail to transfer property to their trust. The pour-over will covers any property not transferred to the trust during the grantor’s lifetime and transfers it to the trust for distribution according to the trust’s terms.
Pour-over wills are a common safety net in estate plans that include trusts. They are not designed to stand alone. They work in coordination with the trust document, and both need to be carefully drafted to function as intended.
A testamentary trust will is a will that creates one or more trusts at the time of the testator’s death. It can be used to manage and distribute assets to beneficiaries over time, particularly helpful when dealing with minor beneficiaries or individuals with special needs.
If a parent with young children leaves assets directly to a minor, Michigan law generally requires a conservatorship to manage those funds until the child reaches adulthood. A testamentary trust can avoid that process by placing assets under the management of a trustee you name, with distribution terms you control. For example, you might direct that funds be used for education and living expenses, with full distribution at age 25 rather than 18.
Families in communities like Grosse Pointe, Livonia, and Southfield often use this structure when they want to ensure that an inheritance is managed responsibly rather than handed over in a lump sum to a teenager.
A self-proved will is a formal will that includes an additional affidavit. A self-proved will includes sworn statements by the witnesses and the testator, all swearing that the signing was voluntary, the testator is over 18, there is no duress or undue influence, and the testator is of sound mind.
The practical benefit is significant. When a will is self-proved, the probate court can generally admit it to probate without requiring the witnesses to appear and testify. That saves time, reduces cost, and makes the administration process smoother for the family. Most wills prepared by attorneys in Michigan include this self-proving affidavit as a standard part of the document.
When someone dies without a valid will, the estate is described as intestate. Michigan law then determines who inherits, in what order, and in what proportions. The court appoints a personal representative, often with input from family members, but the court has no way of knowing what the deceased person wanted.
Your assets will be allocated to your closest relatives, which may not align with your wishes. The process can also lead to delays and additional legal complications, as the court will need to appoint an administrator to manage your estate.
Failing to update a will after a major life event is one of the more common problems. A new marriage, the birth of a child, the death of a named beneficiary, or a significant change in assets can all create gaps that a current, properly updated will would address.
Michigan law automatically removes an ex-spouse from estate planning documents after a divorce. 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 serve in those roles, even if you wanted them to.
Retirement accounts and life insurance policies pass directly to named beneficiaries. If those designations are outdated, the will cannot override them. A will that does not address online accounts, cryptocurrency, and digital business interests may leave a personal representative without the legal authority or the practical ability to access and manage them.
A will is one piece of a larger picture. Depending on your situation, a complete estate plan may also include:
A will is just one piece of estate planning and should not be the only document you use. Each document serves a different function, and they need to work together. An effective estate plan not only provides for the disposition of your estate upon your death, but also addresses who will make decisions for you and handle your affairs in the event you are unable to do so on your own. A will is a starting point for that conversation, not the end of it.
An attorney at Head Murphy Law can review your full situation and help identify which documents make sense for your circumstances.
Online templates and fill-in-the-blank forms are widely available and appear easy to use. But working with an experienced law firm like Head Murphy Law means catching limitations, ambiguous language, or execution errors that can create problems years down the road.
At Head Murphy Law, our lawyers understand Michigan estate law and take the time to understand your family situation and desires. Let us draft a will for you that addresses issues a template cannot anticipate: a beneficiary with creditor problems, a child from a prior relationship, a family business, a piece of real estate with an uncertain title, or simply a family dynamic that requires thoughtful language to avoid future conflict.
Contact us today to start the conversation regarding your future. Our wills and estate planning attorneys advise clients throughout the Detroit metropolitan area, including Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties, as well as surrounding communities.
Let us help you move forward with your life; see how we’ve helped families in similar situations through our case results.
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