Will Revocation and Revival Requirements in Michigan

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law and scope

Michigan's EPIC definitions make the revocation article broader than the word “will” may suggest. MCL 700.1108 includes a codicil and a testamentary instrument that revokes or revises another will. The operative rules are MCL 700.2503 and 700.2507 through 700.2509, with divorce provisions in MCL 700.2806 and 700.2807.

Later will, codicil, or writing

Under MCL 700.2507, a later will may revoke expressly or by inconsistency. When the later instrument disposes of the entire estate, replacement is presumed; an incomplete disposition instead creates a supplementation presumption. Either presumption can be rebutted only by clear and convincing evidence.

Michigan also has a harmless-error route. Under MCL 700.2503, a document or writing that did not comply with ordinary will execution can still constitute a partial or complete revocation if clear and convincing evidence proves that was the decedent's intent.

Physical or electronic revoking act

MCL 700.2507 lists burning, tearing, canceling, obliterating, and destroying the will or part. The testator must act with intent and purpose to revoke. A burn, tear, or cancellation can qualify even when it does not touch any words on the will. The current section states no electronic deletion or record-control act.

Act by another person

Another individual may perform the revocatory act only in the testator's conscious presence and at the testator's direction. “Conscious presence” is the statute's chosen setting; ordinary proximity alone is not what the text says.

Partial revocation

Both statutory routes reach “a will or a part of a will.” If the later will is supplementary, it revokes the earlier will only where the two are inconsistent, and both remain operative elsewhere. MCL 700.2503 separately permits clear-and- convincing proof that a noncompliant writing was intended as a partial revocation or alteration.

Intent, proof, and presumptions

Three proof rules work together. A physical act needs intent and purpose to revoke. A complete later disposition presumptively replaces the earlier will, while an incomplete disposition presumptively supplements it; clear and convincing evidence is required to rebut either presumption. The same evidence standard governs MCL 700.2503's noncompliant revoking, altering, or reviving writing.

Divorce, annulment, and other family events

A “governing instrument” expressly includes a will under MCL 700.1104. Subject to an instrument's express terms, a court order, or a marital-estate agreement, divorce or annulment revokes revocable gifts, powers of appointment, and fiduciary or representative nominations benefiting the former spouse. It also reaches a former spouse's relative who is no longer related to the testator after the divorce.

Revoked benefits are treated as disclaimed, and revoked appointments are treated as though the affected person died immediately before the divorce or annulment. A decree of separation that leaves the marriage intact does not count as divorce. Remarriage to the former spouse or nullification of the divorce or annulment revives provisions revoked solely by MCL 700.2807. Other changes in circumstances do not revoke a will except as the cited provisions specify.

Revival after a later will or revoking act

MCL 700.2509 separates three cases. If a wholly revoking later will is revoked by act, the earlier will stays revoked unless circumstances or declarations show intent to restore it. If the later will revoked only part, revocation by act restores that part by default unless circumstances or declarations show contrary intent. If another later will revokes the revoking will, restoration occurs only to the extent the newest will's terms show revival intent.

MCL 700.2503 adds a separate proof path: a noncompliant document can constitute a partial or complete revival when clear and convincing evidence establishes that intent.

Reexecution, republication, and codicil effect

Because MCL 700.1108 includes a codicil within “will,” the same later-will, physical-act, and revival rules apply rather than a separate codicil presumption. A compliant later instrument can state the intended result, while MCL 700.2503 can validate a noncompliant writing as a revocation, alteration, or revival on the required proof.

What trips people up

The mark does not have to hit the text. Michigan expressly says a burn, tear, or cancellation can be a revocatory act even if it touches none of the will's words. The act still needs revocatory intent, so damage and intent remain separate questions.

Revival defaults depend on whether the later will revoked all or only part of the earlier will. After revocation of the later will by physical act, a whole earlier will needs affirmative revival intent, but a partially revoked provision returns unless contrary intent appears.

Common questions

Can an improperly executed note revoke or revive a will?

Potentially. MCL 700.2503 requires clear and convincing evidence that the decedent intended the document or added writing as a partial or complete revocation, alteration, or revival.

Does a later will always replace the earlier will completely?

No. A complete disposition creates a replacement presumption, while an incomplete disposition creates a supplementation presumption. If the latter is not rebutted, the earlier will remains operative except where inconsistent.

Does legal separation trigger the divorce rule?

No, if the decree does not terminate the marriage. MCL 700.2806 expressly excludes that separation from its definition of divorce or annulment.

Does remarriage restore provisions for the former spouse?

Yes, when the provisions were revoked solely by MCL 700.2807. Nullification of the divorce or annulment has the same statutory effect.

Statutes and sources

• MCL 700.1104 and 700.1108 — definitions. Include wills within governing instruments and codicils and revoking or revising testamentary instruments within “will.” Official Act 386 PDF (accessed 2026-08-01).
• MCL 700.2503 and 700.2507 — methods, partial revocation, and proof. Cover noncompliant writings, later wills, destructive acts, directed acts, and the replacement-versus-supplementation presumptions. Official Act 386 PDF (accessed 2026-08-01).
• MCL 700.2508 and 700.2509 — changed circumstances and revival. Reject unstated changed-circumstances revocation and prescribe the whole/partial and act/later-will revival rules. Official Act 386 PDF (accessed 2026-08-01).
• MCL 700.2806 and 700.2807 — divorce, annulment, separation, and remarriage. Define the triggering events and affected people, state the revoked interests and appointments, and provide remarriage revival. Official Act 386 PDF (accessed 2026-08-01).