Michigan: Will Execution Requirements

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)