Wills, trusts, and probate under the Michigan EPIC code.
Most people in Detroit need three documents: a will, a financial power of attorney, and a healthcare patient advocate designation. Many also need a revocable living trust to keep their home and bank accounts out of Wayne County Probate Court. The 10 Detroit firms below draft, fund, and administer those documents under Michigan's Estates and Protected Individuals Code (EPIC).
Estate planning is one of the only legal categories where a flat fee is the standard. A simple Michigan estate plan (will, financial POA, healthcare patient advocate designation) runs $400 to $1,200. A revocable living trust plus pour-over will, both POAs, deed transfers to fund the trust, and a beneficiary review runs $1,800 to $4,500 at most metro Detroit firms. Probate administration of a typical Wayne County estate runs 1.5 to 3 percent of estate value, generally hourly.
We weighted Michigan Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers selections in Trusts & Estates and Elder Law, Wayne County Probate Court appearance history, and peer recognition through the Probate and Estate Planning Section of the State Bar of Michigan. The firms below range from boutique probate shops doing nothing else to the trusts-and-estates groups inside Michigan’s largest firms. Pick by the complexity of your estate, not by firm size.
How we picked these 10: We cross-checked published verdicts, Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers selections, Avvo and Justia ratings, peer reviews, and bar association recognition. Firms that appeared consistently across at least two independent sources made the list. We do not accept payment for placement, and we do not write sponsored reviews. More on our methodology →
Practice focus: Estate planning, probate litigation, guardianship, conservatorship
Founder Brooke Lauren Archie practices exclusively in probate and estate planning across the Detroit metro. Member of the Wayne County Probate Court Association. Particularly strong for contested estate matters and trustees facing claims.
Practice focus: Estate planning, probate, trust administration, real estate transfer
Royal Oak firm with a deep probate practice. Advises executors and trustees on estate administration and works real estate transfers tied to estate funding. Good fit when probate overlaps with property issues.
Practice focus: Estate planning, probate, elder law, public administration
Kathy L. Henry has 30+ years of Wayne County experience, including service as a Wayne County prosecutor and Wayne County Probate Court public administrator. Particular strength in contested estates and intestacy.
Practice focus: Estate planning, probate, trust litigation, fiduciary defense
80+ years of combined probate experience between the partners. Handles trust contests, will contests, fiduciary defense, and routine estate administration. A trusted referral for in-house counsel and trust officers.
Practice focus: Probate, estate litigation, trust disputes, fiduciary advice
Howard H. Collens has 30+ years advising metro Detroit clients on probate and trust litigation. Recognized in the local probate bar as a go-to for contested matters.
Practice focus: High-net-worth estate planning, tax planning, business succession, probate litigation
Detroit’s oldest firm. Trusts and estates group serves high-net-worth families with complex tax planning, family business succession, and contested probate matters. Multiple attorneys recognized in Best Lawyers for Trusts & Estates.
Practice focus: Estate and gift tax planning, generation-skipping, business succession
Founded in Detroit in 1913. Trusts-and-estates group focuses on complex estate, gift, income, and generation-skipping transfer tax issues for closely-held businesses and high-net-worth families.
Practice focus: Estate planning, trust administration, probate, tax compliance
Detroit-headquartered AmLaw 200 firm. Estate planning and administration practice covers trust administration, probate administration, and tax compliance for estates and trusts. Strong fit for clients with multi-state property.
Practice focus: Estate planning, probate, elder law, business succession
Farmington Hills firm with deep trusts and estates bench. Jack S. Couzens II recognized by Michigan Super Lawyers for Estate Planning & Probate. Practical, mid-market planning with strong tax knowledge.
Practice focus: High-net-worth estate planning, tax planning, generation-skipping, charitable planning
Michigan’s largest law firm by attorney count. Trusts and estates group serves ultra-high-net-worth families and family offices with sophisticated tax, charitable, and succession planning. Big-firm rates; commensurate technical depth.
Tell us a few details and we’ll match you with vetted estate planning attorneys in Detroit. Free, confidential, no obligation.
Request Free Consultation →Detroit estate planning is one of the few legal services with reliable flat-fee pricing. A basic single estate plan (will, financial POA, healthcare patient advocate designation) runs $400 to $1,200. A couple’s plan with revocable living trusts, pour-over wills, four POAs, deed transfers to fund each trust, and a beneficiary review runs $2,200 to $5,500. Complex plans involving irrevocable trusts, special-needs trusts, gifting strategies, generation-skipping, or family business succession run $7,500 to $40,000+.
Probate administration is hourly. A simple Wayne County probate (small estate or single-asset house) runs $2,500 to $6,500. Contested probate, ancillary administration, or trust litigation runs $15,000 to $150,000+. Michigan probate court charges filing fees ($150 to $250 per filing) and an inventory fee based on estate value (capped). Ask any firm for a written fee letter at the consult.
Planning consult and intake: 60 to 90 minutes. Bring your existing will or trust (if any), a list of assets and account locations, beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance, and a thumbnail sketch of who you want to inherit what.
Drafting: 2 to 4 weeks for a standard plan. Complex plans with tax planning, business interests, or multi-state property take 4 to 10 weeks.
Signing meeting: 60 to 90 minutes. Most metro Detroit firms execute wills, POAs, and healthcare designations with a notary and two witnesses present, often the firm’s own staff.
Trust funding: If you created a revocable trust, the firm prepares deeds for your home, retitles your bank accounts in the trust’s name, and updates beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance. Trust funding usually takes 30 to 90 days after signing.
Match the firm to the complexity. A young couple with one home, two retirement accounts, and minor children does not need Honigman or Butzel Long — any of the flat-fee boutiques on this list will produce the right plan for $2,500 to $4,500. A family with a closely held business, real estate in multiple states, or estate-tax exposure (Michigan has no estate tax, but federal exemption is $13.99M per person in 2025 and scheduled to sunset) benefits from the tax depth at Plunkett Cooney, Dickinson Wright, or Honigman.
Probate administration and contested matters are a different specialty. If you are an executor or trustee facing claims, or a beneficiary considering challenging a will or trust, look at Brooke Lauren Law, Collens Estate Law, Kathy Henry & Associates, or Bieber & Czechowski. These firms know the Wayne County Probate Court judges and have tried contested matters.
Promises a specific outcome at intake. Outcomes in estate planning cases vary enormously by facts, judge, and evidence. Detroit cases range from nothing on a weak file to substantial recoveries on a strong one. A firm that quotes a number at intake is selling.
Vague fee terms. The engagement letter should specify hourly rate vs. contingency vs. flat fee, what costs are advanced vs. billed, fee-shifting handling where applicable, and what happens to costs if you lose. “We’ll figure it out” is not an answer.
No conversation about realistic timing. A competent Detroit lawyer tells you in the first call how long a matter like yours usually takes and what could shorten or lengthen it. If you cannot get a straight answer on timing, ask a different firm.
Pressure to sign before reviewing the documents. If a firm pushes you to retain before you have reviewed the engagement letter or asked questions about the strategy, walk away. The good firms on this list are not in a rush.
No clear point of contact. You should know on day one who is handling your file, who their backup is, and how to reach them. Anything else creates problems later.
Most firms on this list offer a free initial call. Use it. Bring this list and write down the answers. Compare across at least two firms before you sign anything.
Wayne County Probate Court. Detroit estates are administered through Wayne County Probate Court at 1305 Coleman A. Young Municipal Center. Two judges handle the bulk of contested matters. Wayne County has a robust small-estate process (under $25,000 in assets) that bypasses formal probate.
Michigan EPIC. The Estates and Protected Individuals Code, MCL 700.1101 et seq., governs everything from wills to probate to guardianship. EPIC includes both formal and informal probate — informal is faster and cheaper, used when no one is fighting.
No Michigan estate tax. Michigan does not impose a state estate tax or inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax applies, which exempts $13.99M per individual in 2025 (scheduled to sunset to roughly $7M in 2026). Most metro Detroit families have no federal tax exposure but do benefit from a revocable trust to avoid probate.
Funding the trust. A revocable living trust is only effective for assets actually transferred into it. Detroit estate planners who do not handle deed transfers or beneficiary updates leave clients with funded-trust-on-paper estates that still go through probate. Ask any firm directly whether deed transfers and beneficiary review are included in the flat fee.
Yes. You need a pour-over will that captures any asset accidentally left out of the trust at your death and sends it into the trust through probate. A trust without a pour-over will leaves gaps.
Basic single will plus POAs: $400 to $1,200. Couple plan with revocable trusts, deed transfers, and beneficiary review: $2,200 to $5,500. Complex plans with tax planning or business succession: $7,500 to $40,000+.
Informal probate of a simple Wayne County estate runs 6 to 12 months. Formal probate, contested matters, or estates with creditor claims run 12 to 36 months. Small estates under $25,000 close in 60 to 120 days.
Michigan has none. Beneficiaries do not pay state tax on what they inherit. The federal estate tax exempts $13.99M per individual in 2025; only estates above that owe tax. Most families have no estate tax exposure.
Legally you can. Online wills work for very simple situations. They fail for anything involving minor children, blended families, business interests, special-needs beneficiaries, or out-of-state real estate. A $700 mistake at execution can cost the estate $50,000+ in probate.
Under Michigan law, the patient advocate is the person you designate to make healthcare decisions for you if you cannot. It is the Michigan equivalent of a healthcare power of attorney. Every estate plan should include one.
Most metro Detroit clients do not. Irrevocable trusts make sense for Medicaid planning (5-year lookback rules apply), high-net-worth gifting strategies, or special-needs planning. They are a tool, not a default.
Michigan intestacy law (MCL 700.2102 et seq.) governs. Assets pass first to a surviving spouse and children in shares set by statute. If you have no spouse or children, assets pass to parents, then siblings, then other relatives. The state takes only if no relatives can be found.
One last thing. Choosing a lawyer is personal. Call two or three firms before you sign. Ask each one the same question: How many matters like mine have you handled in the last three years, and what is the realistic range of outcomes? The answer tells you most of what you need to know. — The LawFirmSquare team