By Moshe B. Newman, Attorney · Published July 2026
If you believe a will or trust is wrong — a late-life amendment that appeared out of nowhere, a caregiver suddenly named as the main beneficiary, a signature that doesn’t look right — the single most important thing to understand is this: Michigan puts hard time limits on challenges, and some of them may already be running. The deadlines for trusts and wills work very differently, so let’s take them one at a time.
The trust deadline: MCL 700.7604
For a trust that was revocable during the settlor’s life (the standard revocable living trust), Michigan law sets a clear outer limit. Under MCL 700.7604, a judicial proceeding to contest the trust’s validity must be commenced within the earlier of:
- Two years after the settlor’s death, or
- Six months after the trustee sends you a notice that contains the statutorily required information — the trust’s existence, the date of the trust instrument, the dates of any amendments known to the trustee, the settlor’s name, the trustee’s name and address, and the time allowed for commencing a contest.
Read that again, because the “earlier of” language is where people get hurt. A trustee who wants to shut down challenges quickly can send the statutory notice shortly after the death and cut the window from two years down to six months. If a letter from a trustee or a trustee’s lawyer is sitting in your mail pile right now, the clock may already be ticking — and it does not pause while you think it over.
There is a second trap in the same statute. Once the settlor dies, the trustee is generally allowed to distribute the trust property according to the trust’s terms. If you send the trustee written notice of a possible contest, that protection is limited — but only if you actually file the contest within 63 days after sending it. A warning letter alone, with no lawsuit behind it, does not preserve anything for long. And once assets are distributed to other beneficiaries, getting them back is a much harder fight than stopping the distribution would have been.
The will deadline: it’s the probate case itself
Wills work differently. Michigan has no single “statute of limitations to contest a will.” Instead, a will contest happens inside the probate proceeding, and the real deadlines come from how that proceeding unfolds:
- Before or when the will is offered. When someone applies to have a will admitted (informally or formally), interested persons are entitled to notice. If probate is sought formally, objections need to be raised in that proceeding — the hearing is the front door for a contest.
- While the estate is open after informal probate. If a will was admitted informally (no judge, no hearing — which is how most Michigan estates start), an interested person can still petition for a formal testacy proceeding asking the court to determine which will, if any, is valid.
- After a formal testacy order: the door mostly closes. Once a judge enters a formal order admitting a will, MCL 700.3412 makes that order final except in narrow circumstances — chiefly the discovery of a later will by someone who was unaware of it, or a person who never received proper notice of the proceeding. Even then, the petition generally must be filed before the earlier of (a) the order approving final distribution (or, if the estate closes by sworn statement, six months after the closing statement is filed) or (b) one year after the order being challenged was entered.
- After the property is distributed: near-total bar. Under MCL 700.3957, an heir’s or devisee’s right to recover estate property that was improperly distributed is generally barred at the later of three years after the decedent’s death or one year after the distribution. Fraud is treated differently, but no one should plan on fitting through that exception.
The practical takeaway: a will contest is not something you can park for a year while the family cools off. Every stage of the probate case that passes without an objection makes the will harder — and eventually impossible — to challenge. If the person running the estate is also the person who benefits from the suspicious will, waiting plays directly into their hands. (If they’ve also gone quiet on you, see our article on executors who won’t communicate.)
Why the clock matters even more than it looks
Deadlines are only part of the urgency. In our experience handling these disputes across Michigan, three other things decay just as fast:
- Evidence. Undue influence and lack-of-capacity cases are built on medical records, phone records, bank statements, and witness memories. Records get purged; witnesses move; memories soften.
- Assets. A trustee or personal representative who suspects a challenge has every incentive to distribute quickly. Recovering distributed assets means chasing multiple people in multiple proceedings instead of freezing one pot. If the fiduciary is the problem, the court can act — see removing a trustee or personal representative — but only once someone asks.
- Leverage. Most contests settle. A contestant who files early, before distributions and before the deadlines compress, negotiates from strength. A contestant three weeks from a statutory bar does not.
What to do this week
- Find every notice you’ve received. Trustee letters, probate court notices, anything with a date. The dates determine which deadlines apply to you.
- Do not sign anything — receipts, releases, waivers, “family settlement” agreements — before understanding what rights you’re giving up.
- Ask for the documents. You’re generally entitled to the relevant trust terms; if a trustee stonewalls, that’s addressable too — see when a trustee won’t provide an accounting.
- Check the court file. Probate filings are largely public. Our Michigan Probate Court Directory lists every county’s probate court.
- Get a screening call on the calendar. We offer a free 20-minute call for exactly this situation: we’ll help you identify which deadlines apply and whether the facts justify a closer look. Whether you have grounds is a separate question — our overview of grounds for contesting a will or trust in Michigan covers that — but the deadline question has to be answered first, because grounds don’t matter after the window closes.
Frequently asked questions
How long do I have to contest a trust in Michigan?
Under MCL 700.7604, generally the earlier of two years after the settlor’s death or six months after the trustee sends you the statutory notice. If you’ve received a trustee’s notice, assume the shorter deadline applies until a lawyer confirms otherwise.
Is there a deadline to contest a will in Michigan?
Not one fixed statute of limitations — the deadlines come from the probate case itself. Objections belong in the testacy proceeding; once a formal testacy order enters, MCL 700.3412 allows challenges only in narrow circumstances and within strict time limits, and distribution of the estate can bar recovery under MCL 700.3957.
What if the estate or trust has already been distributed?
Your options narrow sharply, but they may not be zero — timing, notice defects, and fraud can all matter. That analysis is fact-specific and time-sensitive, which is why we’d rather hear from you too early than too late.
This article is general information about Michigan law, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Statutes, deadlines, and dollar amounts change; figures current as of 2026. Deadlines in probate and trust disputes can be short and unforgiving — if you think you may have a claim, contact us promptly.
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