Michigan’s Medicaid asset limit for a single applicant in 2026 is $9,950 in countable assets. That’s not a typo. If you or a parent ever need nursing home care – which costs $10,000-$15,000 per month in Michigan – the state expects you to spend down nearly everything before it helps.

And yet, the number one reason Michigan families skip estate planning? They think it costs too much.

Here’s the reality: estate planning in Michigan typically costs between $1,500 and $5,500 depending on complexity. Probate – what happens when you don’t plan – costs $10,000-$15,000. Crisis Medicaid planning when a nursing home admission is already happening? $12,000-$20,000+. The math isn’t complicated. Planning costs a fraction of what not planning costs.

This guide breaks down exactly what estate planning costs in Michigan in 2026, what drives those costs, and how to decide which level of planning fits your family.

What Drives Estate Planning Costs in Michigan?

Michigan’s Estates and Protected Individuals Code (EPIC) – MCL 700.1101 et seq. – governs everything from wills and trusts to intestacy, probate, and protective proceedings. The complexity of your situation under this framework determines what you’ll pay.

What Makes Your Plan Simple vs. Complex?

A straightforward plan typically involves a single marriage where all children are shared with your spouse, assets under roughly $250,000, no business interests, and no special needs beneficiaries. The primary goals are guardianship nominations, basic distribution instructions, and standard powers of attorney. These plans fall at the lower end of the pricing spectrum.

Complex plans involve blended families with children from prior relationships, business succession (LLCs, S-corps, partnerships), real estate in multiple states, high net worth, special needs beneficiaries requiring supplemental needs trusts, or Medicaid qualification strategies. Each layer of complexity adds custom drafting, coordination, and legal analysis.

Michigan’s Tax Landscape: No State Estate Tax

Michigan has no state estate or inheritance tax. The federal estate tax exemption sits at $15 million per individual for 2026 – meaning only very high-net-worth estates face federal estate taxes.

But don’t mistake “no estate tax” for “no financial consequences.” Michigan families face hidden cost equivalents: probate fees, property tax uncapping when real estate passes to certain transferees, and Medicaid estate recovery under MCL 400.112g. These costs are real and often larger than any estate tax would have been.

Types of Estate Plans and Their 2026 Costs in Michigan

Boroja, Bernier & Associates publishes pricing because Michigan families deserve to make informed decisions – not sit through a sales pitch. Here’s what estate planning actually costs:

Power of Attorney packages: $1,000-$1,500. Includes a durable financial power of attorney under Michigan’s Uniform Power of Attorney Act (MCL 556.201 et seq.), patient advocate designation under MCL 700.5506-700.5520, and HIPAA authorizations. These are your incapacity protection documents – and they’re now governed by updated formality requirements that took effect July 1, 2024.

Will-based estate plans: $1,500-$2,500. Includes a last will and testament, financial power of attorney, patient advocate designation, and HIPAA authorization. Best suited for younger clients with modest estates who are comfortable with some probate exposure, particularly when assets may fall under the $50,000 small estate threshold (MCL 700.3982-3983).

Trust-based estate plans: $2,500-$5,500. Includes a revocable living trust, pour-over will, deed(s) to retitle Michigan real estate into the trust, financial power of attorney, patient advocate designation, personal property assignments, and beneficiary designation guidance. This is where most Michigan families land – and for good reason. Compare the $2,500-$5,500 upfront investment to an average of $10,000-$15,000+ in probate costs, and the value proposition is clear.

Will-Based vs. Trust-Based: Which Fits Your Needs?

Will-based plans work when your estate is relatively simple and you’re comfortable with the probate process. Trust-based plans make sense when you own real estate (especially in multiple states), want to avoid probate and maintain privacy, have a blended family, or need built-in incapacity management through a successor trustee.

Many Michigan families don’t realize that every asset titled in your name alone – your home, your bank accounts, your vehicles – goes through probate if you only have a will. A properly funded trust keeps those assets out of court entirely.

Elder Law Planning: Protecting Against Long-Term Care Costs

Proactive elder law planning: $6,500-$9,500. Includes asset-protection trust strategies, Medicaid-compliant planning, spousal protection under the Community Spouse Resource Allowance (up to $162,660 in 2026), and updated powers of attorney and patient advocate designations. This is planning done before a crisis – when you have time and options.

Crisis elder law planning: $12,000-$20,000+. When a nursing home admission has already happened or is imminent, the planning window narrows dramatically. Crisis planning involves urgent spend-down strategies, asset re-titling, Medicaid applications, appeals, and nursing facility coordination. It works – but it costs more and preserves less than proactive planning.

At $10,000-$15,000 per month for nursing home care in Michigan, even a few months of unplanned costs can exceed what proactive planning would have cost entirely.

Why Cheap Online Forms Fail in Michigan Courts

The appeal of DIY estate planning is understandable – $200 online versus $2,500 with an attorney feels like an obvious savings. Until it isn’t.

Michigan has specific execution requirements that generic online forms routinely miss. Wills must comply with MCL 700.2501 et seq. – specific witnessing and signing requirements that, if missed, render the entire document invalid. Patient advocate designations require signed acceptance by the advocate under MCL 700.5506 – a step most online forms skip entirely.

Financial powers of attorney carry an even bigger trap. Michigan’s Uniform Power of Attorney Act (MCL 556.201 et seq.) introduced new formality requirements, “hot power” rules, and agent duties when it took effect in 2024. POA documents created before that date – or created using outdated online templates – are increasingly rejected by banks and financial institutions. When your agent can’t access your accounts during a medical crisis, a $200 savings becomes a $5,000-$10,000 guardianship proceeding.

Michigan’s statutory will form (MCL 700.2519) exists and is technically valid – but it’s rigid and unsuitable for blended families, tax planning, special needs provisions, or any goal beyond the most basic distribution.

“In our experience serving Michigan families, the most common DIY estate planning mistake isn’t a single error – it’s the false confidence that comes from having documents that look right but don’t work. A will that fails execution requirements doesn’t just “sort of” work. It fails completely, triggering the exact probate process and intestacy rules the client was trying to avoid.”

When Is Estate Planning Worth the Investment?

If your assets exceed Michigan’s $50,000 small estate threshold under MCL 700.3982, your family will likely face full probate without planning. For context, most Metro Detroit homes alone exceed that threshold – before counting retirement accounts, vehicles, or life insurance.

Estate planning is worth the investment when you have minor children who need guardian nominations, a blended family where intestacy rules under MCL 700.2101-700.2114 won’t match your wishes, special needs beneficiaries whose government benefits must be preserved, business interests requiring succession planning, or any desire to keep your family’s affairs private and out of probate court.

Many Michigan residents don’t realize that without a patient advocate designation, their family must petition the probate court for guardianship under MCL 700.5306 just to make medical decisions on their behalf. A $1,000-$1,500 POA package prevents a $5,000-$10,000+ guardianship proceeding – and the weeks of delay that come with it.

Frequently Asked Questions About Estate Planning Costs in Michigan

Choosing the Right Michigan Estate Planning Attorney

Not every estate planning attorney stays current with Michigan law changes. When evaluating firms, ask whether their powers of attorney comply with Michigan’s Uniform Power of Attorney Act (MCL 556.201 et seq.), what experience they have with probate courts in your county, and whether they provide flat-fee pricing before work begins.

Avoid national document preparation services that apply generic templates without regard for EPIC requirements, Michigan Medicaid rules, or local court procedures. The difference between a Michigan estate planning attorney and an online form isn’t just quality – it’s whether your documents actually function when your family needs them.

At Boroja, Bernier & Associates, we help Michigan families throughout the state build estate plans that work – not documents that sit in a drawer and fail when they matter most. Our estate planning attorneys serve clients statewide, with offices in Shelby Township, Troy, Ann Arbor, and Lansing. We publish our pricing, we stay current on Michigan law, and we build every plan around your family’s actual situation – not a template.

To schedule a consultation with the Michigan estate planning attorneys at Boroja, Bernier & Associates, call (586) 991-7611 or schedule a consultation online.

Your family’s financial security shouldn’t depend on a form you downloaded at midnight. Call (586) 991-7611 to find out what the right plan costs for your situation.