Article II. Fiduciaries

Article I. Declarations

1.1 Identifications

Article II. Fiduciaries

2.1 Personal representative

2.2 Guardian

2.3 Conservator

2.4 Compensation

2.5 Bond

Article III. Specific Gifts

3.1 List

3.2 Other tangible personal property

3.3 Alternate gift

3.4 Resolution of disputes

3.5 Insurance policies

Article IV. Residue

4.1 All to living trust

Article V. General Provisions

5.1 Choice of law

5.2 Simplified probate

5.3 Statutory benefits

5.4 Payment of charges

5.5 Powers

Article VI. Definitions

6.1 Survival

6.2 Representation

6.3 Child and descendant

WILL OF [TESTATOR’S NAME]

I, [Testator’s name], also known as [other names], state that my home is in [county] County, [state]. This document is my will, and I revoke all my prior wills and codicils.

Article I. Declarations

1.1Identifications. My spouse is [spouse’s name]. My living children are [children’s names].

Article II. Fiduciaries

2.1Personal representative. I nominate [name] as Personal Representative. If [he / she / it] is or becomes unable or unwilling to serve, I nominate [name] as successor or alternate Personal Representative.

2.2Guardian. If my spouse fails to survive me, I appoint [Guardian’s name] as Guardian of any child of mine who is a minor at my death. If [he / she] does not survive me, fails to qualify, or ceases to serve, I appoint [alternate’s name] as Guardian of any child of mine who is a minor at my death.

2.3Conservator. If my spouse fails to survive me, I nominate the Guardian appointed under this will as Conservator for any child of mine who is a minor at my death.

2.4Compensation. My fiduciaries are entitled to reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses and may receive reasonable compensation for services.

2.5Bond. No bond shall be required of my fiduciaries.

Article III. Specific Gifts

3.1List. I may leave a list, either entirely in my handwriting or just signed by me, that specifies gifts of tangible personal property. If I do, I intend it to be an amendment to my will. If the list does not qualify as an amendment, I nevertheless hope those entitled to my estate will respect it.

3.2Other tangible personal property. I give my tangible personal property not effectively disposed of above to my spouse if [he / she] survives me. My tangible personal property includes my personal effects, furniture, household goods, jewelry, motor vehicles, watercraft, and other tangible items.

3.3Alternate gift. If my spouse does not survive me, I give my tangible personal property not effectively disposed of above to my children who survive me in as nearly equal shares as possible. If items are inappropriate for distribution to a child at the time my estate is closed, they may be distributed to the trustee or custodian for the child, for delivery to the child at a later date.

3.4Resolution of disputes. If there is a dispute among my beneficiaries over which items of tangible personal property each is to receive, my personal representative shall place a value on each item (by appraisal if appropriate) and then each beneficiary shall select in rotation (the order of choice to be determined by lot) the items each desires until all have received approximately equal value.

3.5Insurance policies. I give the policies of insurance covering any personal or real property in which I have an interest, including any claims I have thereunder, to those persons who succeed to the ownership of the property by reason of my death.

Article IV. Residue

4.1All to living trust. I give all other property that I own to the trustee of the [trust name] dated [date], to be held, administered, and distributed under its terms as it exists at my death. This gift includes all property that I have the power to appoint by will without specifically referring to the instrument that created the power.

Article V. General Provisions

5.1Choice of law. This will is to be interpreted and construed under Michigan law, without regard to conflict of law principles.

5.2Simplified probate. If my estate may be settled under simplified or informal procedures, I direct that my personal representative elect to do so unless my personal representative decides the supervised or formal procedures are preferable.

5.3Statutory benefits. The value of a homestead allowance, family allowance, exempt property allowance, or similar statutory benefit that is received by a beneficiary shall be charged against the share given under this will to or for the beneficiary. If the benefit exceeds the gift under this will, my personal representative may direct that the excess be charged against the benefits payable to the beneficiary under any trust that receives assets from my estate.

5.4Payment of charges. I direct my personal representative to pay the following items from the residue of my estate, without apportionment among my beneficiaries:

(a) my legally enforceable debts (other than debts secured by real or tangible property, which property shall pass subject to those obligations)

(b) funeral expenses

(d) taxes, including any interest and penalties attributable to those taxes, imposed by reason of my death on any transfer of property, excluding the following:

(1) taxes for which sources of payment are provided under IRC 2206 (relating to life insurance payable to a beneficiary other than my personal representative), IRC 2207 (relating to property subject to a general power of appointment), IRC 2207A (relating to qualified terminable interest property), IRC 2207B (relating to property subject to a retained interest), and IRC 2603 (relating to property subject to generation-skipping transfer tax) and any interest and penalties attributable to those taxes

(2) taxes imposed on transfers of property to or in trust for my spouse that do not qualify for the marital deduction and any interest and penalties attributable to those taxes

(3) any additional taxes imposed under IRC 2032A(c) (relating to qualified real property) and any interest and penalties attributable to those taxes. Property with respect to which these excluded taxes are imposed shall bear such taxes and any interest and penalties attributable to those taxes. The amount of each excluded tax shall be calculated in the manner provided in the Internal Revenue Code, or, if no method is provided in the Code, shall be an amount that bears the same proportion to the total estate tax liability as the value of the property to which the excluded tax relates bears to the taxable estate.

If the residue is insufficient or contains assets that my personal representative concludes cannot or should not be liquidated, my personal representative may direct the trustee of any trust then in existence that I established as a revocable trust to pay debts, transfer taxes, and expenses for which the residue of my estate otherwise is liable. The burden of payments made by the trustee shall be allocated as specified in the trust. Debts, transfer taxes, and expenses incurred because of my death that are treated as estate transmission expenses for federal tax purposes, whether paid by my personal representative or by a trustee at my personal representative’s discretion, shall be paid from principal. Other estate expenses may be paid from income or principal, but an expense shall not be paid from income on property that qualifies for an estate tax marital or charitable deduction if the expense is attributable to other property or if a deduction for the expense is taken on my federal estate tax return.

5.5Powers. I give to my personal representative all the authority possessed by a personal representative under Michigan law during the period my estate is administered.

Article VI. Definitions

6.1Survival. For purposes of this will only, a person has survived me or is living at a particular date only if he or she lives for more than 30 days after my death or after the particular date. Unless otherwise specifically provided in this will, a gift fails if a beneficiary does not survive and there is no substitute beneficiary indicated in this will who satisfies the conditions for taking. The provisions of an antilapse statute shall not apply to preserve a gift for a person or persons who are not identified as a substitute or substitutes in this will.

6.2Representation. If property passes under this will “by representation” to the descendants of a specified individual, the property shall be divided into as many equal shares as there are (1) surviving descendants in the generation nearest to the specified individual that contains one or more surviving descendants and (2) deceased descendants in the same generation who left surviving descendants, if any. Each surviving descendant in the nearest generation is allocated one 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 specified individual. A posthumous child shall be considered as living at the death of the child’s parent.

6.3Child and descendant. Unless named in the section of Article I entitled “Identifications,” a “child” or “descendant” of mine or of another is limited to an individual so defined under Michigan law, but does not include an individual adopted after age 21 by someone other than me nor any adoptee older than the adoptive parent.

I, [name], the testator, sign my name to this document on [date]. I have taken an oath, administered by the officer whose signature and seal appear on this document, swearing that the statements in this document are true. I declare to that officer that this document is my will; that I sign it willingly or willingly direct another to sign for me; that I sign it as my voluntary act for the purposes expressed in this will; and that I am 18 years of age or older, under no constraint or undue influence, and have sufficient mental capacity to make this will.

Dated: ______/ /s/______
[Typed name]
Testator

We, [name] and [name], the witnesses, sign our names to this document and have taken an oath, administered by the officer whose signature and seal appear on this document, to swear that all of the following statements are true: the individual signing this document as the testator signed the document as [his / her] will, signed it willingly or willingly directed another to sign it for [him / her], and signed it as [his / her] voluntary act for the purposes expressed in this will; each of us, in the testator’s presence, signs this will as witness to the testator’s signing; and, to the best of our knowledge, the testator is 18 years of age or older, is under no constraint or undue influence, and has sufficient mental capacity to make this will.

Witness 1
Dated: ______/ /s/______
[Typed name]
[Address (if desired)]
Witness 2
Dated: ______/ /s/______
[Typed name]
[Address (if desired)]
STATE OF MICHIGAN
______COUNTY / )
)
Subscribed and sworn to before me on [date].
/s/______
[Notary public’s name, as it appears on application for commission]
Notary public, State of Michigan, County of [county].
My commission expires [date].
[If acting in county other than county of commission: Acting in the County of [county].]