What are Lady Bird Deeds in Michigan?

A Lady Bird Deed allows you to name a beneficiary who will automatically inherit your property upon death. Unlike a traditional life estate deed, you retain complete control over the property during your lifetime. You can sell, mortgage or change the beneficiary without the beneficiary’s consent.

Benefits of a Lady Bird Deed

There are several benefits that a Lady Bird Deed can confer on you. Let us look at some of them:

1. Avoiding probate: Probably the biggest reason to use a Lady Bird Deed is to avoid probate, which can help reduce costs and delays and help your heirs avoid the stress of probate.
2. Retaining control: You maintain complete control over your property during your lifetime. You can make decisions about the property without needing approval from the beneficiary.
3. Planning Medicaid: Lady Bird Deeds can be helpful in Medicaid planning. Because the property bypasses probate, Medicaid does not consider it part of your estate for recovery purposes.
4. Maintaining flexibility: A Lady Bird Deed allows you to change your beneficiary anytime.

Michigan is only one of the few states that recognize Lady Bird Deeds or enhanced life estate deeds. It is a good idea to maximize this recognition to your benefit.

Steps in establishing a Lady Bird Deed

To create a Lady Bird Deed, you need to:

• Create a draft
• Specify the beneficiary
• File it with the county’s register of deeds

Properly executing the deed is crucial to avoid legal issues.

Considerations

Of course, Lady Bird Deeds may not suit everyone’s needs or wants. In such cases, it is probably best to consult a lawyer and talk to them about better options that could apply to you.