About This Form
This Michigan memorandum lists tangible personal property and its intended recipients. Review it with the governing estate document and the requirements of MCL 700.2513. It does not replace beneficiary forms or the transfer procedures for titled assets.
The downloadable form includes an items table, a signature page and instructions. Before signing, have your estate attorney confirm that the governing document refers to the memorandum and that the listed property is eligible.
When To Use It
Use this form when you have items of sentimental or modest monetary value and you want a simple, signed record of who gets what. For high-value or contested items, talk to your attorney about including specific bequests in the will itself rather than in a memorandum.
Your will must reference this memorandum
For the form to take effect, your existing will must include language referring to a separate written memorandum (often called a "tangible personal property memorandum"). If your will doesn't contain that reference, the form has no legal effect; talk to your estate attorney about adding it.
Works alongside a revocable trust (pour-over scenario)
This form operates through the will that refers to it. If the household also has a trust, ask counsel how the memorandum, will and ownership of the listed property fit together. Do not assume a will-based memorandum reaches property already owned by the trust.
What You Can and Cannot Distribute
MCL 700.2513 strictly limits the form to tangible personal property. The PDF includes a complete reference table, but the short version:
Allowed: jewelry, watches, furniture, household goods, artwork, collectibles, vehicles, boats, tools, sporting goods, books, instruments, photographs, clothing, personal effects.
Not allowed: cash, bank or brokerage accounts, retirement accounts, real estate, stocks/bonds/mutual funds, certificates of deposit, promissory notes, documents of title, property used in a trade or business.
What's Inside the PDF
- A two-page introduction explaining the legal framework, when to use it, and what is and isn't covered
- A one-page identification block with fields for your full legal name and the date your will was executed
- Five preprinted statutory recitations that anchor the document to MCL 700.2513
- A 24-row items table (12 rows on the main page + 12 rows on a continuation page) with columns for description, recipient, and notes
- Initial lines on each items page so it's clear all pages belong to the same memorandum
- A signature page with date
- Optional witness and notary blocks, clearly marked as optional, for situations where you want extra evidentiary weight
Statutory Basis
This form is drafted to comply with MCL 700.2513, the Michigan statute authorizing a written memorandum of personal property referred to in a will. Under the statute, the memorandum:
- Must be referred to in the testator's will
- Must be signed by the testator
- Must describe the items and devisees with reasonable certainty
- Cannot transfer property otherwise specifically devised by the will
- Need NOT be witnessed or notarized
Bancroft does not provide legal advice. If you have questions about whether your will references a memorandum, or whether a particular item is appropriate for memorandum disposition, consult a Michigan-licensed estate attorney.
Download
Click the button below to download the PDF. Print it on standard letter paper, fill it out by hand in pen, sign and date the signature page, and store it with your will.
The memorandum works alongside the will that references it. For a one-paragraph refresher on how it fits with the rest of the document suite, see the document quick reference.