Will Execution Requirements in Michigan

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Michigan's will-execution rules are in the Estates and Protected Individuals Code (EPIC), 1998 PA 386, at MCL 700.2501 through 700.2505. Michigan is a Uniform Probate Code state: the ordinary will is a written document signed by two witnesses (§ 700.2502), but the state also recognizes a handwritten (holographic) will (§ 700.2502(2)) and backs the whole scheme with a harmless-error rule (§ 700.2503). A notary plays no required role in making a will valid, and Michigan has not adopted electronic wills.

Minimum age & capacity

You must be "18 years of age or older" and have "sufficient mental capacity" to make a will (§ 700.2501(1)). Michigan is one of the states that spells out the capacity test in the statute itself: you must be able to understand that you are providing for the disposition of your property after death, know the nature and extent of your property, know the natural objects of your bounty (the family who would ordinarily inherit), and understand in a reasonable manner the general nature and effect of signing the will (§ 700.2501(2)). Capacity is judged at the time of signing.

Writing & signature

The will must be in writing and signed by the testator, or signed in the testator's name by another person "in the testator's conscious presence and by the testator's direction" (§ 700.2502(1)(a)–(b)) — the route for a testator who cannot physically sign. "Conscious presence" means within the range of the testator's senses, so the testator is aware the signing is happening. Michigan has no rule that the signature appear at the very end of the document.

Witnesses required

A Michigan will needs at least two witnesses, but the timing rule is looser than the older "present at the same time" standard. Each witness must sign "within a reasonable time after" witnessing either the testator's signing or the testator's acknowledgment of the signature or of the will (§ 700.2502(1)(c)). That means the two witnesses do not have to be together at the same moment, and a witness may sign somewhat later, as long as it is within a reasonable time of witnessing the signing or acknowledgment.

Michigan follows the modern rule on witnesses who are also beneficiaries: any generally competent person may witness, and "the signing of a will by an interested witness does not invalidate the will or any provision of it" (§ 700.2505). There is no purging statute and no presumption of undue influence built into the execution rules — a beneficiary can witness without voiding the will or losing the gift. (Using disinterested witnesses is still the cleaner practice.)

Notarization & self-proving

A Michigan will does not have to be notarized to be valid — a notary is not a witness. Notarization matters only for the optional self-proving affidavit under § 700.2504, which can be done together with the will or separately, using the statutory form. Michigan adds a convenient wrinkle: § 700.2504(5) lets a will be made self-proved by an unsworn written statement, with no notary, as long as it begins with language certifying the facts "under penalty for perjury under the law of the state of Michigan." Either way, the effect is to let the will be admitted to probate without live witness testimony.

Handwritten (holographic) wills

Michigan recognizes holographic wills. A document that does not meet the witnessed-will rules is still valid "as a holographic will, whether or not witnessed, if it is dated, and if the testator's signature and the document's material portions are in the testator's handwriting" (§ 700.2502(2)). Two features stand out: Michigan requires a DATE (a number of holographic-will states do not), and intent can be proven by extrinsic evidence, including parts of the document that are not in the testator's handwriting (§ 700.2502(3)) — so a handwritten disposition on a partly printed page can still qualify.

Electronic & remote wills

Michigan does not currently permit electronic or remotely-witnessed wills. Section 700.2502 requires a physical signed writing and witnesses in the testator's conscious (physical) presence, and Michigan has not enacted the Uniform Electronic Wills Act. A will that exists only as a computer file, or that is "signed" by typing a name, is not a valid Michigan will today. This is an active area: House Bill 5701, introduced in 2026, would rewrite § 700.2502 to allow an electronic will and "electronic presence" (audio-video) witnessing, but it is only a pending bill — see "Pending legislation" below.

Harmless-error / curative doctrine

Michigan has one of the broader harmless-error rules in the country. Under § 700.2503, even if a document "was not executed in compliance with section 2502," it is treated as if it had been, when the person offering it "establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the decedent intended" it to be their will (or a revocation, alteration, or revival of a will). Unlike states that limit the cure to witnessing defects, Michigan's rule reaches execution defects generally — though the clear-and-convincing standard is demanding, and relying on it means a contested probate fight rather than the certainty of a properly executed will.

What trips people up

Notarizing a will is not the same as witnessing it. A notary's seal does nothing to satisfy § 700.2502's two-witness rule. Notarization matters only for the optional self-proving affidavit attached to an already properly witnessed will — and Michigan even lets you self-prove with an unsworn penalty-of-perjury statement and no notary at all (§ 700.2504(5)).

A handwritten will must be dated. Michigan's holographic-will rule specifically requires a date, along with the signature and material provisions in your own handwriting (§ 700.2502(2)). An undated handwritten document can fail as a holographic will even though a neighboring state might accept it.

The witnesses don't have to sign at the same moment — but they do have to sign. A witness may sign within a reasonable time after watching you sign or hearing you acknowledge the will (§ 700.2502(1)(c)), which is flexible. What is not optional is having two witnesses at all: a typed will you signed alone is neither witnessed nor (because it is not handwritten) holographic.

Harmless error is a backstop, not a plan. Section 700.2503 can rescue a defective will, but only on clear and convincing evidence of intent, decided by a probate court after your death. That is far less certain than simply signing before two witnesses.

Common questions

Do both witnesses have to watch me sign at the same time? No. Each witness must sign within a reasonable time after witnessing your signing or your acknowledgment of the will (§ 700.2502(1)(c)); they need not be present together. Signing all at once is still the simplest approach.

Can I write my will by hand instead? Yes. Michigan accepts a holographic will with no witnesses if it is dated and your signature and the material provisions are in your own handwriting (§ 700.2502(2)). Remember the date — Michigan requires it.

Does my Michigan will have to be notarized? No. Two witnesses are required, not a notary (§ 700.2502). A notary is only used for an optional self-proving affidavit, and Michigan even allows a no-notary self-proving statement (§ 700.2504(5)).

Can I sign my Michigan will online? Not yet. Michigan has not adopted electronic wills; a will must be a physical signed writing witnessed in person (§ 700.2502). A 2026 bill (HB 5701) would change that, but it has not passed.

Pending legislation

HB 5701 (2025–2026) — Introduced by Representative Douglas Wozniak and read a first time on March 10, 2026; referred to committee, where it currently sits (not yet reported out, passed, or crossed over). The bill would amend MCL 700.2502 and add § 2504a to let a will be an electronic record readable as text at signing, permit witnesses to sign in person or in "electronic presence" (real-time audio-video from separate locations), and allow a certified paper copy of an electronic will to be created under penalty of perjury. If enacted, it would authorize electronic and remotely-witnessed wills, which Michigan law does not currently allow. As of this page's verification date it is only pending, and current law (a physical writing witnessed in person) still controls.

Statutes and sources

• MCL 700.2501 — who may make a will: 18 or older with sufficient mental capacity, and the statutory capacity test. https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-700-2501 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• MCL 700.2502 — execution: writing, signature in the testator's conscious presence, two witnesses signing within a reasonable time; and the dated-holographic-will rule. https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-700-2502 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• MCL 700.2503 — writings intended as wills: harmless-error cure on clear and convincing evidence of intent. https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-700-2503 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• MCL 700.2504 — self-proved will: notarized affidavit, or an unsworn penalty-of-perjury statement. https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-700-2504 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• MCL 700.2505 — witnesses: a generally competent person may witness; an interested witness does not invalidate the will. https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-700-2505 (accessed 2026-07-11)
• MI HB 5701, proposed § 2504a — certified paper copies of electronic wills. https://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2025-2026/billintroduced/House/htm/2026-HIB-5701.htm (accessed 2026-08-08)