Personal Property Memorandum Requirements in Michigan

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law and eligible property

MCL § 700.2513 recognizes a separate written statement or list for tangible personal property that the will does not otherwise specifically dispose of. Money is expressly excluded. The section does not name additional exclusions for business property, securities, title documents, or evidences of debt, but the asset still must be tangible personal property.

Will reference

The testator's will must refer to the writing. It may describe a writing “to be in existence at the time of the testator's death,” so the list may be prepared after the will without executing a new will.

Handwriting or signature at the end

Michigan provides two alternatives. The writing may be in the testator's handwriting, or it may be signed by the testator at the end. Section 700.2513 states no date, witness, or notarization requirement for the writing. A typed packet with substantive text placed after the signature does not track the statute's end-signature condition.

Item and devisee identification

The writing must describe both the items and the devisees with reasonable certainty. The statute does not prescribe serial numbers, addresses, relationships, estimated values, or alternate recipients as universal fields.

Timing and later changes

The writing may be prepared before or after will execution, may be altered after preparation, and may have no significance apart from its effect on the will's dispositions. Section 700.2513 does not state a date requirement or a rule that the newest of multiple writings automatically controls. An altered writing must still satisfy the statute's handwriting-or-end-signature condition to be admissible under the section.

What trips people up

The list cannot displace a specific gift already made by the will. Section 700.2513 reaches only tangible personal property “not otherwise specifically disposed of by the will.” A conflict clause in the list cannot expand that statutory boundary.

The signature alternative also has a placement rule. If the writing is not in the testator's handwriting, the testator must sign at the end. Optional acknowledgments, notes, instructions, or other substantive provisions after the signature can defeat the document layout the statute describes.

Common questions

Must the writing be dated?

No date requirement appears in § 700.2513.

Must it be witnessed or notarized?

No. The section requires handwriting or an end-signature, not witnesses or a notary.

Can it be prepared after the will?

Yes. The will may refer to a writing to exist at death, and the writing may be prepared before or after will execution.

Which of two conflicting lists controls?

Section 700.2513 states no general most-recent-writing rule. The existence of multiple inconsistent writings can therefore raise a proof or construction issue beyond the statute's express conditions.

Statutes and sources

• MCL § 700.2513 — complete current rule for eligible property, will reference, handwriting or end-signature, reasonable-certainty identification, timing, alteration, independent significance, and admissibility. Michigan Legislature: https://legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-700-2513 (accessed 2026-08-11; MCL complete through PA 20 of 2026).