The following are excerpts from Michigan’s intestacy laws. Please reference the full body of the Estates and Protected Individuals Code at the Michigan Legislature for any changes to those laws that may not be reflected below.
You can also open the Michigan Intestacy Evaluator™ to see the distribution of a Michigan intestate estate based upon unique family and financial circumstances.
Estates and Protected Individuals Code
Act 386 of 1998
Part 1
Intestate Succession
700.2101 Intestate estate.
Sec. 2101. (1) Any part of a decedent’s estate not effectively disposed of by will passes by intestate succession to the decedent’s heirs as prescribed in this act, except as modified by the decedent’s will.
(2) A decedent by will may expressly exclude or limit the right of an individual or class to succeed to property of the decedent that passes by intestate succession. If that individual or a member of that class survives the decedent, the share of the decedent’s intestate estate to which that individual or class would have succeeded passes as if that individual or each member of that class had disclaimed his or her intestate share.
700.2101 Intestate estate.
Sec. 2101. (1) Any part of a decedent’s estate not effectively disposed of by will passes by intestate succession to the decedent’s heirs as prescribed in this act, except as modified by the decedent’s will.
(2) A decedent by will may expressly exclude or limit the right of an individual or class to succeed to property of the decedent that passes by intestate succession. If that individual or a member of that class survives the decedent, the share of the decedent’s intestate estate to which that individual or class would have succeeded passes as if that individual or each member of that class had disclaimed his or her intestate share.
700.2102 Share of spouse.
Sec. 2102. (1) The intestate share of a decedent’s surviving spouse is 1 of the following:
(a) The entire intestate estate if no descendant or parent of the decedent survives the decedent.
(b) The first $150,000.00, plus 1/2 of any balance of the intestate estate, if all of the decedent’s surviving descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse and there is no other descendant of the surviving spouse who survives the decedent.
(c) The first $150,000.00, plus 3/4 of any balance of the intestate estate, if no descendant of the decedent survives the decedent, but a parent of the decedent survives the decedent.
(d) The first $150,000.00, plus 1/2 of any balance of the intestate estate, if all of the decedent’s surviving descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse and the surviving spouse has 1 or more surviving descendants who are not descendants of the decedent.
(e) The first $150,000.00, plus 1/2 of any balance of the intestate estate, if 1 or more, but not all, of the decedent’s surviving descendants are not descendants of the surviving spouse.
(f) The first $100,000.00, plus 1/2 of any balance of the intestate estate, if none of the decedent’s surviving descendants are descendants of the surviving spouse.
(2) Each dollar amount listed in subsection (1) shall be adjusted as provided in section 1210.
700.2103 Share of heirs other than surviving spouse.
Sec. 2103. Any part of the intestate estate that does not pass to the decedent’s surviving spouse under section 2102, or the entire intestate estate if there is no surviving spouse, passes in the following order to the following individuals who survive the decedent:
(a) The decedent’s descendants by representation.
(b) If there is no surviving descendant, the decedent’s parents equally if both survive or to the surviving parent.
(c) If there is no surviving descendant or parent, the descendants of the decedent’s parents or of either of them by representation.
(d) If there is no surviving descendant, parent, or descendant of a parent, but the decedent is survived by 1or more grandparents or descendants of grandparents, 1/2 of the estate passes to the decedent’s paternal grandparents equally if both survive, or to the surviving paternal grandparent, or to the descendants of the decedent’s paternal grandparents or either of them if both are deceased, the descendants taking byre presentation; and the other 1/2 passes to the decedent’s maternal relatives in the same manner. If there is no surviving grandparent or descendant of a grandparent on either the paternal or the maternal side, the entire estate passes to the decedent’s relatives on the other side in the same manner as the 1/2.
700.2104 Requirement that heir survive decedent for 120 hours.
Sec. 2104. An individual who fails to survive the decedent by 120 hours is considered to have predeceased the decedent for purposes of homestead allowance, exempt property, and intestate succession, and the decedent’s heirs are determined accordingly. If it is not established by clear and convincing evidence that an individual who would otherwise be an heir survived the decedent by 120 hours, it is considered that the individual failed to survive for the required period. This section does not apply if its application would result in a taking of the intestate estate by the state under section 2105.
700.2105 No taker; effect.
Sec. 2105. If there is no taker under the provisions of this article, the intestate estate passes to this state.
700.2106 Representation.
Sec. 2106. (1) If, under section 2103(a), a decedent’s intestate estate or a part of the estate passes byre presentation to the decedent’s descendants, the estate or part of the estate is divided into as many equal shares as the total of the surviving descendants in the generation nearest to the decedent that contains 1 or more surviving descendants and the deceased descendants in the same generation who left surviving descendants, if any. Each surviving descendant in the nearest generation is allocated 1 share. The remaining shares, if any, are combined and then divided in the same manner among the surviving descendants of the deceased descendants as if the surviving descendants who were allocated a share and their surviving descendants had predeceased the decedent.
(2) If, under section 2103(c) or (d), a decedent’s intestate estate or a part of the estate passes by representation to the descendants of the decedent’s deceased parents or either of them or to the descendants of the decedent’s deceased paternal or maternal grandparents or either of them, the estate or part of the estate is divided into as many equal shares as the total of the surviving descendants in the generation nearest the deceased parents or either of them, or the deceased grandparents or either of them, that contains 1 or more surviving descendants and the deceased descendants in the same generation who left surviving descendants, if any. Each surviving descendant in the nearest generation is allocated 1 share. The remaining shares, if any, are combined and then divided in the same manner among the surviving descendants of the deceased descendants as if the surviving descendants who were allocated a share and their surviving descendants had predeceased the decedent.
(3) As used in this section:
(a) “Deceased descendant”, “deceased parent”, or “deceased grandparent” means a descendant, parent, or grandparent who either predeceased the decedent or is considered to have predeceased the decedent under section 2104.
(b) “Surviving descendant” means a descendant who neither predeceased the decedent nor is considered to have predeceased the decedent under section 2104.
700.2107 Relative of half blood.
Sec. 2107. A relative of the half blood inherits the same share he or she would inherit if he or she were of the whole blood.