Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Michigan

Re: Estate

No, the property would not have to go through probate, but it must be the case that everything is jointly owned and that there is no evidence of trying to defraud creditors. If you are considering this as a substitute to a formal estate plan, consider this: what happens if the surviving joint owner is disabled, getting sued or divorced at the time the other joint owner dies?

Re: Estate

Generally joint property does not pass through probate, but instead becomes the property of the joint owner. If this is a probate situation (meaning that someone you know has passed away), then any joint property would pass to the joint owner, and would not go through probate. If this is a situation where you are considering adding on a joint owner to avoid probate (an estate planning tool), there are some other options to consider that are less drastic, and have less tax ramifications.