The Michigan Home After a Death

What “homestead” means in Michigan

In Michigan “homestead” means three different things: an allowance of $15,000, adjusted for the year of death ($30,000 in 2026), that the surviving spouse — or, if none, the minor and dependent children — takes from the estate ahead of most claims (MCL 700.2402); a homestead exempt from execution up to the value MCL 600.6023 sets; and, for property tax, a taxable value that rises by a capped amount until the property's ownership transfers (MCL 211.27a). Who inherits the home is decided by the will, the trust, the deed or intestacy.

Who gets the home

In Michigan the home passes like the decedent's other property — under the will or the trust, or by intestacy (MCL 700.2102) — and the surviving spouse, or else the minor and dependent children, are entitled to the homestead allowance from the estate (MCL 700.2402):

• With a will or a trust that disposes of the home, it passes as the instrument says — and a surviving spouse of a decedent who left a will may elect against it, taking one-half of the intestate share reduced by one-half of what the spouse received from the decedent by other means (MCL 700.2202).
• Without one, the home passes by intestacy with the rest of the estate — the spouse's share depends on who else survives (MCL 700.2102), and the rest passes to the decedent's descendants, then parents, then others in the order the statute sets (MCL 700.2103).
• A home owned jointly with a right of survivorship — including a home spouses own together as tenants by the entireties — passes to the survivor outside the will; creating such a tenancy between spouses is not a transfer of ownership for property tax (MCL 211.27a(7)(b)).

Can the home be left by will or by trust? Yes

Michigan places no restriction on devising a home: the owner may leave it by will or by trust to anyone. A surviving spouse of a decedent who left a will may elect against it (MCL 700.2202), and the homestead allowance is paid from the estate (MCL 700.2402).

Creditors and the home after a death

After the owner's death, the home is part of the estate — or the trust — that answers for the decedent's debts: a revocable trust's property answers for the estate's expenses, claims and allowances only to the extent the probate estate is insufficient (MCL 700.7605), and the homestead allowance is exempt from and prior to all claims except administration costs and funeral and burial expenses (MCL 700.2402). Liens and mortgages on the home still apply. Whether particular property is reachable is fact-specific attorney territory.

Property taxes

A transfer of ownership makes the home's taxable value its state equalized valuation for the next year — uncapping it — unless the statute excludes the transfer, as it does certain transfers of residential property to the owner's or the settlor's parent, sibling, child or grandchild that are not used commercially (MCL 211.27a(3), (7)). The new owner files a property transfer affidavit within 45 days (MCL 211.27a(10)); the assessor and a Michigan attorney can confirm what applies.

What should happen next?

Outcomes turn on facts: who survived, how the deed reads, whether minors are involved, and a spouse's election against a will, made within 63 days after the later of the date for presenting claims and service of the inventory on the spouse (MCL 700.2202). This page is general information, not legal advice. A free role check shows you where you stand, and a Michigan attorney can confirm how the home passes in your situation.

General information about Michigan law, not legal advice.