The Michigan Inheritance Tax Myth: Why You’re Worried About the Wrong Thing and How to Truly Protect Your Family’s Legacy

My name is Alex, and for the last 15 years, I’ve been a Michigan estate planning attorney.

Early in my career, I met a couple I’ll call Aaron and Barbara.

They were the ideal clients: organized, thoughtful, and deeply committed to their family.

They had a clear goal—to leave their modest estate to their beloved nieces and nephews while intentionally excluding Aaron’s estranged siblings, with whom they’d had a bitter falling out years ago.

They did everything “by the book.” We drafted a clear, legally sound will that spelled out their wishes perfectly.

They left my office feeling secure, believing they had protected their legacy.

Years later, after they passed away within months of each other, I discovered how wrong we all were.

That “perfect” will wasn’t the shield they thought it was; it was a ticket to a probate court nightmare.

Because a will is a public document that gets filed with the court, the estranged siblings were notified as “interested parties.” Despite being explicitly disinherited, they contested the will.

The estate was dragged through 18 months of grueling litigation.

Tens of thousands of dollars—money Aaron and Barbara had worked their whole lives for—were consumed by legal fees and court costs.¹

Their private family matters became a public record, and in the end, their nieces and nephews received only a fraction of what was intended.

The process left everyone emotionally and financially scarred.

That experience was my professional wake-up call.

It taught me that the conventional wisdom I had been taught—that a good will is all you need—was dangerously incomplete.

My clients’ biggest problem wasn’t a tax, a loophole, or a legal error.

It was the system itself.

The legal system’s default process for handling a will, known as probate, was slow, expensive, and public by design.

I realized my job wasn’t just to draft documents; it was to design a plan that helps families navigate—and wherever possible, completely bypass—this flawed system.

Many people come to me asking about the Michigan inheritance tax, terrified that the government will take a huge chunk of their assets.

But they are asking the wrong question.

This guide is born from that realization—to show you that the real threat to your family’s legacy isn’t some phantom tax, but a very real and costly process that most people don’t see coming until it’s too late.

The Simple Answer to the Wrong Question

Let’s get the main question out of the way immediately and unequivocally.

For any person who died after September 30, 1993, Michigan does not have an inheritance tax or an estate tax.³

If your loved one passed away after this date, their heirs will not pay a state tax for receiving assets, and the estate itself will not pay a state tax for transferring them.

Much of the confusion stems from the terminology, so it’s helpful to clarify the key differences ⁵:

• Inheritance Tax: This tax is paid by the person receiving the inheritance. The amount can vary based on the heir’s relationship to the deceased. Again, Michigan does not have this.
• Estate Tax: This tax is paid by the deceased person’s estate from its total assets before anything is distributed to the heirs. Michigan does not have a state-level estate tax.
• Gift Tax: This tax is paid by a person who gives a gift above a certain value during their lifetime. Michigan does not have a gift tax.

So, why does the confusion persist? There are a few historical footnotes and specific exceptions that, while rare, are important for a complete understanding.

The Historical Footnote: The “1993 Rule”

Michigan did have an inheritance tax for many decades, but it was effectively repealed for anyone who died after September 30, 1993.⁶

The old law technically remains on the books, but it is only triggered for the estates of individuals who passed away on or before that date.

For the vast majority of families settling an estate today, this is purely a historical note.⁸

The Rare Exceptions to the Rule

While the “no tax” rule is true for over 99% of situations, two specific caveats demonstrate the importance of thorough planning:

1. “After-Discovered Assets”: In the rare event that an estate from before the September 1993 cutoff was formally closed, but a new asset (like an old bank account or uncashed stock certificate) is discovered today, the old inheritance tax rules could still apply to that newly found asset. The Michigan Department of Treasury has specific procedures for this unlikely scenario.⁸
2. Out-of-State Property: If a Michigan resident dies while owning real estate or tangible property in one of the few states that do still have an inheritance tax (as of 2023, these include Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania), that specific property could be subject to an inheritance tax from that state.⁸ The rest of the Michigan-based estate would remain untaxed.

With that clarification, we can now turn to the real issue.

The Real Financial Storm: Worrying About a Lightning Strike While Your Roof Is Leaking

Most people’s fear about losing their inheritance is like a fear of being struck by lightning.

The Federal Estate Tax is that lightning strike: a massive, dramatic event that gets all the headlines and inspires terror.

But in reality, it is incredibly rare.

It only affects a tiny fraction of the wealthiest families in the country, and for everyone else, it is a non-issue.⁵

The real threat, the one that affects countless families every year, is more like a slow, constant leak in the roof.

This is the Michigan Probate Process.

It isn’t a dramatic, headline-grabbing event.

It’s a quiet, bureaucratic process that happens behind the scenes, and it relentlessly drips away at an estate’s value through costs, delays, and public exposure.

This “leaky roof” of probate causes far more widespread damage to Michigan families than the “lightning strike” of the estate tax ever will.²

Focusing on inheritance tax is a classic case of treating a symptom instead of the disease, or as the old saying goes, “rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic”.¹²

The real iceberg that can sink your family’s financial security is the probate system itself.

The rest of this guide is dedicated to showing you exactly how that system works and, more importantly, how to build a plan that sails right around it.

A Deeper Look at the Leaky Roof: Deconstructing the Michigan Probate Process

My experience with Aaron and Barbara taught me the most painful lesson in estate planning: a will does not avoid probate.

In fact, it’s the opposite.

What Probate Truly Is (And Isn’t)

The single greatest misconception about estate planning is that a Last Will and Testament keeps you out of court.

A will is not a magic key that privately transfers your assets.

A will is a letter of instruction to the probate court.

It is the very document that guarantees your estate will go through the probate process.⁹

Probate is the formal, court-supervised legal procedure that is required to:

• Prove to a judge that your will is legally valid.
• Appoint the Personal Representative (or “Executor”) named in your will.
• Create a public record of all your assets and debts.
• Notify creditors and handle any claims against the estate.
• Pay final taxes and expenses.
• Legally transfer your property to your named heirs.¹⁴

While its purpose is to provide an orderly transfer of assets, it is a one-size-fits-all bureaucratic system that is rarely efficient, private, or inexpensive for the modern family.

The Triple Threat of Probate

The damage from the “leaky roof” of probate comes from three distinct sources: time, cost, and public exposure.

1. Time (The Slow Drip)

Probate is not a quick process.

For a relatively straightforward, uncontested estate in Michigan, the process typically takes 9 to 14 months from start to finish.

If the estate is complex or if a dispute arises, it can easily stretch for years.¹⁵

A significant reason for this delay is the mandatory four-month creditor claim period.

After a probate case is opened and notice is published, the law requires a four-month waiting period for any potential creditors to come forward and file a claim against the estate.¹⁵

During this time, and often for much longer, the estate’s assets are effectively frozen.

Heirs cannot receive their inheritance, and families are left waiting while the court process slowly unfolds.

2. Cost (The Financial Rot)

Probate is not free.

Multiple layers of fees and costs are paid directly from the estate’s assets, reducing the amount left for your loved ones.

These costs can be substantial and often come as a shock to families.

Fee Type	Typical Cost in Michigan	Source
Initial Filing Fee	$175	17
Inventory Fee	A variable fee based on the estate’s value. For example: a $500,000 estate would pay $1,350 in inventory fees. A $1,000,000 estate would pay $2,600.	18
Attorney & Personal Representative Fees	Varies, but can reasonably range from 3-8% of the estate’s total value. On a $500,000 estate, this could be $15,000 to $40,000.	19
Miscellaneous Costs	$500 – $2,000+ for appraisals, surety bonds, and newspaper publication fees.	20

These costs add up quickly.

For an average family with a home and some savings, it is not uncommon for 5% or more of their total legacy to be consumed by the probate process alone.

3. Public Exposure (The Open Door for Trouble)

Perhaps the most overlooked danger of probate is that it is a public process.

Every document filed with the probate court—the will, the detailed list of assets and their values (the “Inventory”), the names of creditors, and the final accounting of who gets what—becomes a public record.²

Anyone can go to the courthouse or look online to see the intimate financial details of your family’s affairs.

This lack of privacy is not just uncomfortable; it’s dangerous.

It creates a formal opportunity for disgruntled heirs, like Aaron’s siblings, to see exactly what they are missing out on and launch a legal challenge.

It can also attract predatory “heir finders” or other scammers.

Probate “Horror Stories” and Common Mistakes

The triple threat of probate isn’t just theoretical.

These issues lead to real-world tragedies for Michigan families.

Stories abound of executors who, unfamiliar with the complex rules, make distributions to heirs before the creditor period is over, only to find themselves personally liable for the estate’s debts.²¹

In other cases, family infighting over the valuation of a business or a piece of real estate can ignite a legal firestorm that drags on for years, depleting the estate and destroying relationships.²³

In one particularly painful case, a fraudulent will was submitted to the court by a companion of the deceased, forcing the family into a two-year legal battle to prove the forgery and reclaim their inheritance.²⁵

These stories underscore the importance of avoiding the common mistakes that plague the probate process, such as failing to file promptly, mismanaging assets, keeping poor records, and trying to navigate the complex system without professional guidance.²¹

The stark difference between a court-supervised probate and a private settlement is best seen side-by-side.

Attribute	Typical Will-Based Plan (Probate)	Modern Trust-Based Plan (Probate Avoidance)
Time to Settle	9-14+ months	Weeks to a few months
Average Cost	3-8% of estate value	1-2% of estate value
Privacy	Public Record	Completely Private
Control	Court-Supervised	Family-Controlled (by Trustee)
Likelihood of Conflict	High	Low

The Modern Toolkit: A Blueprint for a Watertight Estate Plan

Now that we have fully examined the leaky roof of probate, we can focus on the solution.

The goal of a modern estate plan is not just to state your wishes, but to create a structure that allows those wishes to be carried out privately, efficiently, and without court intervention.

This requires a toolkit of strategies designed specifically to bypass the probate system.

The Cornerstone: The Revocable Living Trust

For most families, the cornerstone of a probate-avoidance plan is the Revocable Living Trust.

It’s best to think of a trust not as some complex instrument for the ultra-wealthy, but as a simple private container for your assets.²⁷

Here’s how it works:

1. You create the trust document, which names you as the trustee (the manager) and also names a “successor trustee” to take over when you pass away.
2. You then transfer your assets—your house, bank accounts, investments—into the name of the trust. This is a critical step called “funding the trust.”
3. During your lifetime, you have 100% control. You can buy, sell, and manage the assets just as you did before. Nothing changes.
4. When you pass away, the trust—and everything in it—does not go through probate. Your successor trustee simply steps in, follows the private instructions you left in the trust document, and distributes the assets to your beneficiaries.²⁹ The court is never involved.

The Simple Fixes: Beneficiary Designations

For certain types of assets, you can use simple forms to name a beneficiary who will receive the asset directly upon your death, bypassing probate.

These include:

• Payable-on-Death (POD): You can add a POD designation to bank accounts, including savings accounts and CDs.²⁷
• Transfer-on-Death (TOD): You can add a TOD designation to investment and brokerage accounts, as well as vehicle titles in Michigan.²⁷

While simple and effective, these tools have limitations.

If a named beneficiary passes away before you and you forget to update the form, that asset may be forced back into probate.

They can also lead to unintended unequal distributions if the values of the designated accounts change over time.²⁸

Sharing the Load: Joint Ownership

Owning property jointly with another person can also be a way to avoid probate.

In Michigan, the two most common forms are:

• Joint Tenancy with Rights of Survivorship (JTWROS): When one owner dies, the property automatically passes to the surviving owner(s).²⁷
• Tenancy by the Entirety: This is a special form of joint ownership available only to married couples, which offers the same automatic transfer plus added creditor protection.²⁷

However, this strategy comes with significant risks.

Simply adding a child’s name to your deed or bank account is one of the most common and dangerous DIY estate planning mistakes. Doing so gives that child a present ownership interest in your property.

This means the asset is now exposed to their potential problems, such as a lawsuit, a divorce, or bankruptcy.

It can also create unintended gift tax consequences and eliminate significant capital gains tax benefits for your child later on.²⁸

This table summarizes the tools available to build your plan.

Tool	Assets Covered	Probate Avoidance	Control During Life	Medicaid Protection	Flexibility
Living Trust	All asset types	Yes	Full Control	Can be structured for it	High
Lady Bird Deed	Real Estate Only	Yes	Full Control	Yes (for the home)	High
Joint Ownership	Specific Asset	Yes	Shared Control (Risky)	No	Low
Beneficiary Designation	Specific Account	Yes	Full Control	No	Medium

Michigan’s Secret Weapon: The “Lady Bird” Deed

For many Michigan homeowners, there is a uniquely powerful tool that combines the benefits of a trust with the simplicity of a deed.

It’s called an Enhanced Life Estate Deed, more commonly known as a “Lady Bird” Deed.³²

Michigan is one of only a handful of states where this tool is clearly recognized and accepted by title insurance companies.³⁴

A Lady Bird Deed allows you to transfer your real estate to your chosen beneficiaries upon your death, but you reserve two critical powers during your lifetime:

1. A life estate, giving you the right to live in and use the property.
2. An enhanced power to sell, mortgage, gift, or otherwise transfer the property to someone else entirely, without the consent or even the knowledge of your beneficiaries.³⁵

This “enhancement” is what makes it so much more flexible than a traditional life estate deed and provides a suite of benefits perfectly tailored for Michigan residents.

The Five-Star Benefits of a Lady Bird Deed

1. Total Probate Avoidance: The property passes automatically to your beneficiaries upon death, completely avoiding the time, cost, and publicity of probate court.³¹
2. Complete Retained Control: Unlike adding a child to your deed, you remain the sole effective owner during your life. Your beneficiaries have zero ownership rights until you pass away, protecting the property from their potential creditors or life events.³⁶
3. Powerful Medicaid Protection: This is a critical advantage. Using a Lady Bird Deed is not considered a “divestment” or transfer that would penalize you for Medicaid eligibility. More importantly, because the home bypasses probate, it is shielded from Michigan’s Medicaid Estate Recovery program. The state can only make a claim to be repaid for benefits from assets in the probate estate, and a Lady Bird Deed ensures your home is never part of it.³⁵
4. Significant Capital Gains Tax Savings: Your beneficiaries receive a “step-up in basis” on the property to its fair market value at your death. If you bought your home for $50,000 and it’s worth $300,000 when you die, their basis becomes $300,000. This means they can sell it for that amount and owe zero capital gains tax on the $250,000 of appreciation.³²
5. Prevents Property Tax “Uncapping”: In Michigan, a property’s taxable value is “uncapped” and reassessed to current market value upon most transfers, often leading to a dramatic increase in property taxes. A transfer via a Lady Bird Deed to a close relative is an exempt transfer, which prevents this tax hike for your heirs.³²

While incredibly powerful for real estate, a Lady Bird Deed has its limits.

It cannot be used for financial accounts or other personal property, and a trust may offer more sophisticated options for managing complex family situations or providing for a beneficiary with special needs.³²

Preparing for the Lightning Strike: Understanding the Federal Estate Tax

Now that we have a plan to fix the leaky roof, we can finally turn our attention back to the lightning strike—the Federal Estate Tax.

For the vast majority of families, this is simple: the federal estate tax will not affect you.

As of 2024, the federal estate tax exemption is $13.61 million per person.

For a married couple, this exemption is effectively doubled to $27.22 million.⁵

If the total value of your estate is below this incredibly high threshold, you will not owe any federal estate tax.

It is a tax that currently impacts only the largest 0.2% of estates in the United States.¹⁰

The tax, when it does apply, is levied at a rate of 40% on the value of the estate

above the exemption amount.⁴²

The 2026 “Sunset”: A Storm on the Horizon

There is, however, a critical warning that every family with significant assets must be aware of.

Under current law, the high exemption amounts established by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act are scheduled to expire on January 1, 2026.

At that time, the exemption is set to be cut roughly in half, reverting to a baseline of approximately $7 million per person, adjusted for inflation.⁵

This “sunset” provision creates a potential trap for families with estates currently valued between $7 million and $13 million.

While safe today, they could face a significant tax bill if they pass away in 2026 or later without proper planning.

For married couples, a key planning tool is “portability.” This allows a surviving spouse to claim any unused portion of the deceased spouse’s exemption and add it to their own.

This requires filing a timely estate tax return for the first spouse to die, even if no tax is due, but it is a crucial step to preserve the full combined exemption.⁴²

Conclusion: From Confusion to Clarity—Building Your Family’s Legacy

I often think back to Aaron and Barbara.

Their story is a painful reminder of how good intentions, when paired with outdated advice, can lead to disastrous results.

But their story also became the catalyst for a better way of planning, one that has helped hundreds of families since.

I think of another couple, “David and Sarah.” They came to me with the same fears and the same goals.

But armed with the lessons I had learned, we built a different kind of plan.

We created a revocable living trust to hold their financial accounts and investments.

For their family home, we used a Michigan Lady Bird Deed.

When they passed away, their daughter, whom they had named as successor trustee, was able to access their accounts within days to pay final bills.

The deed to the house was transferred into her name with a simple form and a death certificate.

The entire estate was settled and distributed in a matter of weeks.

There was no court, no public record, no legal battle, and no unnecessary costs.

Their legacy was preserved, intact and private, for the people they loved.

Ultimately, estate planning is not about navigating some mythical inheritance tax.

It is about taking control.

It is about making a conscious choice: will you leave your family a clear, private roadmap that leads them to security, or will you leave them a public ticket to a court system that is costly, slow, and stressful? The peace of mind that comes from knowing you have protected your loved ones from the real storm of probate is the greatest legacy you can leave.

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