Contesting a will or trust in Michigan, grounds, deadlines, and the first 90 days.

Most people who walk into our office for a probate dispute have never been involved in a lawsuit before. They are not looking for a fight. They are looking for someone to explain whether what they are seeing, a sudden change to a parent's plan, a sibling who took over and went quiet, a trustee who will not give them information, is something the law actually cares about. The answer is sometimes yes and sometimes no, and the difference matters a great deal.

The five legal grounds that actually win

Disliking a result is not a basis for a will or trust contest in Michigan. The law presumes that a properly signed estate plan reflects what the person who signed it wanted. To set aside a will, a trust, or an amendment, a challenger has to prove one of a handful of legal grounds.

1. Lack of testamentary capacity

To sign a valid will or trust in Michigan, a person has to understand, at the moment of signing, who the people who would naturally inherit from them are, what they own, and what their document is doing. The standard is lower than full mental clarity and higher than zero. Lack of capacity claims are won and lost on contemporaneous evidence, medical records, doctor's notes, the testimony of people who interacted with the person around the time of signing, and sometimes the testimony of the drafting attorney.

2. Undue influence

This is the most common ground in our practice. Undue influence is more than persuasion or even pressure. It is conduct that overcomes the free will of the person signing, usually by someone in a position of trust and access, often when the person is dependent, isolated, or in declining health. Michigan recognizes a legal presumption of undue influence when three things appear together, a confidential relationship, an opportunity to influence, and a benefit that flows to the alleged influencer. The presumption shifts the burden, but the case still has to be proven.

3. Fraud or duress

Fraud means the signer was tricked, either about the nature of the document or about a fact that mattered to their decision. Duress means they were forced. These cases tend to involve clear-cut conduct, a forged signature, a substituted page, a threat made plainly, and the evidence is either there or it is not.

4. Improper execution

Michigan has very specific requirements for how a will or trust is signed and witnessed. A document signed without the required witnesses, or signed in a way that does not satisfy the statute, can be set aside even if the signer clearly wanted what is in it. Recent amendments to Michigan law have made some of these requirements more forgiving, but the formalities still matter.

5. Mistake

A document that does not say what the signer meant it to say can sometimes be reformed or set aside on a mistake theory. This is more common in trust litigation than in will contests and usually requires extrinsic evidence about what the signer actually intended.

The deadlines that quietly bar most claims

The single most expensive mistake we see in probate disputes is waiting too long. Michigan has very firm deadlines that can cut off a valid claim before anyone realizes the clock is running.

Wills, the 42-day clock

When a will is admitted to probate, the court issues an order. Interested persons are given notice. From that point, a contest to set aside the will typically has to be brought within forty-two days. Forty-two days is six weeks. Some exceptions exist, but assuming an exception applies is risky.

Trusts, the 63-day notice and the six-month bar

For a revocable trust that becomes irrevocable at the settlor's death, a trustee can send a statutory notice to qualified beneficiaries describing the trust and inviting any challenge. After that notice is properly given, the window to file a contest is generally six months. Without the notice, the deadline is different, but it still exists.

Fiduciary actions, varies by claim

Breach of fiduciary duty claims against a personal representative or trustee, requests for an accounting, and removal petitions all have their own timing rules. Michigan also enforces laches, a doctrine that bars stale claims even before a statute of limitations technically runs.

The first 90 days, what to actually do

If you believe something is wrong with a recently signed plan, or with the way an estate or trust is being administered, here is what the first three months should look like.

Week one

• Write down what you know. Dates, conversations, who was present, what was said, what you observed. Memory fades quickly and gets revised under stress. A written timeline now is gold later.
• Preserve documents. Emails, texts, voicemails, photos. Do not delete or alter anything. Forward copies to a separate, secure place.
• Find the most recent version of the plan you have. Even an old draft is useful. If you do not have any version, that is information too.

Weeks two and three

• Talk to an attorney who handles probate litigation. Not a general litigator. Not the same firm that drafted the document under question. Many firms, including ours, offer a free initial consultation precisely so you can get oriented without a financial commitment.
• Decide whether to demand a copy of the will or trust. Beneficiaries and certain interested persons have statutory rights to receive documents and accountings. Asking, formally and in writing, often produces information that informal requests do not.

Weeks four through twelve

• Investigate. Medical records, witness conversations, the drafting attorney's file, financial records. Some of this requires court process, but a lot can be assembled without filing anything.
• Run the cost-benefit math. Litigation is expensive. The math has to make sense given the size of the estate, the strength of the claim, and the realistic settlement value. A responsible attorney will run those numbers with you before you commit.
• Consider mediation early. Many Michigan probate disputes settle in mediation, especially when both sides understand the cost and uncertainty of trial. Settling early is often better than winning late.
• If a deadline is approaching, file. A protective filing preserves the claim. It can always be dismissed or settled later. It cannot be filed late.

What probate litigation actually looks like

Probate litigation in Michigan happens in the probate court of the county where the deceased person lived. It involves the same general phases as other civil litigation, pleadings, discovery, motions, mediation, and trial if it goes that far. What is different is the subject matter and, often, the emotional weight. Cases tend to involve family members who used to know each other and may again after the case ends.

For that reason, we treat the litigation strategy and the family strategy as one project. Sometimes the best result is a clean settlement that gives everyone room to move on. Sometimes the only path is through trial. We will give you the honest version either way.

What it costs

Probate litigation in Michigan is generally billed hourly. Some cases can be handled on a hybrid arrangement involving a smaller hourly rate and a contingent share of any recovery, depending on the facts and the realistic value at stake. We are direct with new clients about both the likely cost and the likely outcome range before we are hired.

The short version

• Five legal grounds can set aside a will or trust in Michigan, lack of capacity, undue influence, fraud or duress, improper execution, and mistake.
• Wills typically must be challenged within 42 days of being admitted to probate.
• Trusts typically must be challenged within 6 months of a proper statutory notice.
• The first 90 days matter more than any later period in the case.
• Most cases settle. The ones that go to trial usually went to trial because they had to.