About This Form
A Personal Property Memorandum is a separate, signed document referred to in your will that lets you distribute tangible personal property — jewelry, furniture, artwork, vehicles, family heirlooms — to specific people. Michigan recognizes this form under MCL 700.2513 of the Estates and Protected Individuals Code.
It is the cleanest way to give your china to one child, your jewelry to another, and your tools to a third — without rewriting your will every time you change your mind. The downloadable PDF is print-and-sign: 10 pages, including preprinted statutory recitations, a 24-row items table, and a signature page. No witnesses or notary required by statute (though both are provided as optional blocks for evidentiary weight).
When to use the print form vs. the digital workflow
Bancroft also generates a Personal Property Memorandum through the advisor portal, where you fill in items via questionnaire and the system produces a finalized PDF. Use this print-and-sign form when the client prefers paper, doesn't have access to the digital portal, or wants a quick blank form to fill in by hand. Both versions cite the same statute and produce statutorily-equivalent documents.
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. Bancroft-generated wills already include the reference clause.
Works alongside a revocable trust (pour-over scenario)
If you have a revocable trust and a pour-over will, this memorandum still works correctly. At death, the personal representative reads the memorandum during probate and distributes the listed items directly to the named recipients under MCL 700.2513 — before the pour-over to the trust happens. Whatever's left then pours over. The trust never touches memorandum-listed items.
Edge case: if you have actually retitled tangible personal property into your trust's name during your lifetime (rare — most people don't deed their furniture or jewelry to the trust), this will-referenced form alone won't reach that trust-titled property. Talk to your attorney about adding trust-side reference language for that situation. For the typical client, the will-referenced form is statutorily complete.
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. Other supported states follow different rules: the Florida form permits a fully handwritten alternative, the California form carries statutory dollar caps, and the Washington form has no cap at all.