How Much Does a Living Trust Cost in Michigan?
An attorney-prepared revocable living trust in Michigan runs $3,460Estimate: 10 hours at $346, Clio's Michigan Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $5,190Estimate: 15 hours at $346, Clio's Michigan Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source for an individual, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.
A revocable living trust in Michigan costs what the provider charges. An online service runs $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription. An attorney in Michigan charges around $346Clio Compare Lawyer Rates, Michigan: Trusts rate (2025 data)Verified Oct 15, 2026View source an hour for trust work, which puts an attorney-prepared trust at $3,460Estimate: 10 hours at $346, Clio's Michigan Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $5,190Estimate: 15 hours at $346, Clio's Michigan Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source for an individual plan.
Yes. Assets titled to a revocable living trust pass outside probate in Michigan: the beneficiaries receive them without a court case, a public record or the probate timeline. Probate on a $500,000 estate in Michigan costs about $25,430MCR 5.313(A) (attorney entitled to reasonable compensation; MRPC 1.5(a) factors); MCL 700.3721 (court reviews reasonableness of attorney compensation; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source in court and professional fees. The Michigan probate calculator estimates the fees for a given estate.
An online trust service costs $0 to $549 up front against $3,460Estimate: 10 hours at $346, Clio's Michigan Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $5,190Estimate: 15 hours at $346, Clio's Michigan Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source for an attorney in Michigan. The lifetime figure turns on the subscription, the amendment charges and how often life events require an update.
Only what was never transferred into the trust. The common oversights are a bank account, a vehicle or real estate left in the grantor's own name. A pour-over will catches those assets and directs them into the trust through probate; funding the trust in life is what avoids that step.
Most online trust services charge a subscription of $49 to $199 a year, which may cover document access, minor amendments or an attorney consultation. An attorney amendment in Michigan costs $346Estimate: 1 hours at $346, Clio's Michigan Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $692Estimate: 2 hours at $346, Clio's Michigan Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source for a simple change and $1,384Estimate: 4 hours at $346, Clio's Michigan Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $2,768Estimate: 8 hours at $346, Clio's Michigan Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source for a major update such as a divorce or a remarriage.
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New Baby or Adoption
Your family is growing. Your protection should too. Guardian nominations, trusts for minors, beneficiary updates, and the documents new parents need in place.
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Marriage
What married couples need in place: one joint trust or two, wills, beneficiary updates, and the spousal rights your state grants you automatically.
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New Home
How to put your house in a revocable trust: the deed you record, what it does to your mortgage and property taxes, and when a TOD deed is simpler.
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Retirement
Retirement changes your financial picture. Healthcare directives, beneficiary reviews, long-term care planning, and protecting what you've built.
Learn moreForms for Planning Your Estate in Michigan
Free forms for planning your estate in Michigan: a will, living trust, pour-over will, both powers of attorney, living will, and TOD deed.
Pour-Over Will
In Michigan, a pour-over will is signed before 2MCL 700.2502Verified Oct 18, 2026View source witnesses and moves anything left outside the trust into it through probate.
Revocable Living Trust
Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.
Last Will and Testament
In Michigan, a will is signed before 2MCL 700.2502Verified Oct 18, 2026View source witnesses, and a self-proving affidavit signed with it lets the court admit it without witness testimonyMCL 700.2502Verified Oct 18, 2026View source.
Healthcare Power of Attorney
Michigan requires 2MCL § 700.5506Verified Oct 15, 2026View source witnesses for a healthcare power of attorney; notarization is not requiredMCL § 700.5506Verified Oct 15, 2026View source.
Financial Power of Attorney
Michigan treats a power of attorney as durable by defaultMCL § 556.201-556.505 (Act 187 of 2023, eff. 7/1/2024; repealed former MCL 700.5501-5505 EPIC durable POA provisions)Verified Sep 18, 2026View source, and it is signed before 2MCL § 556.201-556.505 (Act 187 of 2023, eff. 7/1/2024; repealed former MCL 700.5501-5505 EPIC durable POA provisions)Verified Sep 18, 2026View source witnesses or a notary.
Tools for Planning Your Estate in Michigan
Free tools for planning your estate in Michigan: what a will or trust costs, whether you need a trust or TOD deed, and how documents are signed.
How Does SimplyTrust Compare to LegalZoom, Trust & Will, and Other Services?
Compare what it costs to make a trust official across SimplyTrust, LegalZoom, Trust & Will, Rocket Lawyer, and Quicken WillMaker.
Do I Need a Revocable Trust?
Probate in Michigan takes 5 months to 7 months for a simple estate and charges attorney fees of typically 1.7%MCR 5.313(A) (attorney entitled to reasonable compensation; MRPC 1.5(a) factors); MCL 700.3721 (court reviews reasonableness of attorney compensation; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source to 2.7%MCR 5.313(A) (attorney entitled to reasonable compensation; MRPC 1.5(a) factors); MCL 700.3721 (court reviews reasonableness of attorney compensation; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate; assets held in a revocable trust skip both.
Trust or Will: Which Costs Less?
In Michigan, a will-based plan pays probate attorney fees of typically 1.7%MCR 5.313(A) (attorney entitled to reasonable compensation; MRPC 1.5(a) factors); MCL 700.3721 (court reviews reasonableness of attorney compensation; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source to 2.7%MCR 5.313(A) (attorney entitled to reasonable compensation; MRPC 1.5(a) factors); MCL 700.3721 (court reviews reasonableness of attorney compensation; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate; a funded revocable trust keeps those assets out of probate and off that fee.
What Does Estate Planning Actually Cost?
An attorney-prepared revocable trust in Michigan runs $3,460Estimate: 10 hours at $346, Clio's Michigan Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $5,190Estimate: 15 hours at $346, Clio's Michigan Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source and a simple will $915Estimate: 3 hours at $305, Clio's Michigan Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $1,830Estimate: 6 hours at $305, Clio's Michigan Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.
How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?
In Michigan, four years at a public university cost about $105,408NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 330.20, public 4-year in-state tuition, fees, room and board, academic year 2022-23Verified Oct 17, 2026View source and the cost of living is near the U.S. averageBEA Regional Price Parities, all items, by state, 2024Verified Oct 17, 2026View source; no state estate or inheritance tax appliesNo state estate or inheritance tax on a death today. Michigan's estate tax (MCL 205.232) is not repealed — it is a "pick-up" tax equal to the maximum allowable federal credit for state death taxes, and that federal credit was eliminated for deaths after December 31, 2004 (replaced by the 26 U.S.C. § 2058 deduction; the old IRC § 2011 credit was struck from the Code in 2014), so the Michigan tax computes to $0. Michigan's inheritance tax applies only to decedents who died on or before September 30, 1993 (MCL 205.223; Michigan Treasury Inheritance Tax FAQ). Michigan levies no gift tax.Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
Are My Beneficiary Designations Protected?
Michigan automatically revokes an ex-spouse as beneficiary at divorceMCL 700.2807Verified Sep 15, 2026View source; employer plans under ERISA follow federal rules either way, so a 401(k) beneficiary changes only by a new designation.
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Michigan Estate Planning Resources
In-depth guides covering Michigan probate laws, trust requirements, and estate planning strategies.