Last Will and Testament for Single Person with Adult and Minor Children
Note: This summary is not intended to be an all-inclusive
discussion of the law of wills in Michigan, but does contain basic and
other provisions. It does not discuss handwritten wills or wills
where the testator cannot sign his or her name.
Who may make a will: An individual 18 years of age
or older who is of sound mind may make a will. 700.2501
Execution and witnessing of wills: A will must be signed
by the testator and witnessed by at least 2 individuals, each of whom signed
within a reasonable time after he or she witnessed either the signing of
the will or the testator's acknowledgment of the will. 700.2502
Simultaneous execution; attestation; self-proving acknowledgment;
witnesses: A will may be simultaneously executed, attested, and
made self-proved by acknowledgment of the will by the testator and 2 witnesses'
sworn statements, each made before an officer authorized to administer
oaths under the laws of the state in which execution occurs and evidenced
by the officer's certificate, under official seal. The will form you have
located contains the self-proving affidavit. 700.2504
Witness; competency; interested: An individual generally
competent to be a witness may act as a witness to a will. The signing of
a will by an interested witness does not invalidate the will or any provision
of it. 700.2505
Choice of law as to execution: A written will is valid
if executed in compliance with section 2502 or 2503, with the law at the
time of execution of the place where the will is executed, or with the
law of the place where, at the time of execution or at the time of death,
the testator is domiciled, has a place of abode, or is a national. 700.2506
Revocation: A will or a part of a will is revoked by
either of the following acts: (a) Execution of a subsequent will that revokes
the previous will or a part of the will expressly or by inconsistency;
or (b) performance of a revocatory act on the will, if the testator performed
the act with the intent and for the purpose of revoking the will or a part
of the will. For purposes of this subdivision, "revocatory act on the will"
includes burning, tearing, canceling, obliterating, or destroying the will
or a part of the will. A burning, tearing, or canceling is a revocatory
act on the will, whether or not the burn, tear, or cancellation touches
any of the words on the will.
If a subsequent will does not expressly revoke a previous will,
the execution of the subsequent will wholly revokes the previous will by
inconsistency if the testator intended the subsequent will to replace rather
than supplement the previous will.
The testator is presumed to have intended a subsequent will to replace
rather than supplement a previous will if the subsequent will makes a complete
disposition of the testator's estate. If this presumption arises and is
not rebutted by clear and convincing evidence, the previous will is revoked,
and only the subsequent will is operative on the testator's death.
The testator is presumed to have intended a subsequent will to supplement
rather than replace a previous will if the subsequent will does not make
a complete disposition of the testator's estate. If this presumption arises
and is not rebutted by clear and convincing evidence, the subsequent will
revokes the previous will only to the extent the subsequent will is inconsistent
with the previous will, and each will is fully operative on the testator's
death to the extent they are not inconsistent. 700.2507
Revocation by change of circumstances: Except as provided
in sections 2802 to 2809, a change of circumstances does not revoke a will
or a part of a will. 700.2508
Revival of revoked will: If a subsequent will that
wholly revoked a previous will is later revoked by a revocatory act upon
the will, the previous will remains revoked unless it is revived. The previous
will is revived if it is evident from the circumstances of the revocation
of the subsequent will or from the testator's contemporary or subsequent
declarations that the testator intended the previous will to take effect
as executed.
If a subsequent will that partly revoked a previous will is later
revoked by a revocatory act upon the will, a revoked part of the previous
will is revived unless it is evident from the circumstances of the revocation
of the subsequent will or from the testator's contemporary or subsequent
declarations that the testator did not intend the revoked part to take
effect as executed.
If a subsequent will that revoked a previous will in whole or in
part is later revoked by another, later will, the previous will remains
revoked in whole or in part, unless it or its revoked part is revived.
The previous will or its revoked part is revived to the extent it appears
from the terms of the later will that the testator intended the previous
will to take effect. 700.2509
Incorporation by reference: A writing in existence
when a will is executed may be incorporated by reference if the language
of the will manifests this intent and describes the writing sufficiently
to permit its identification. 700.2510
