Michigan § 700.2702 - Requirement of survival by 120 hours.

For the purposes of this act, except as provided in subsection (4), an individual who is not established by clear and convincing evidence to have survived an event, including the death of another individual, by 120 hours is considered to have predeceased the event.

Except as provided in subsection (4), for purposes of a provision of a governing instrument that relates to an individual surviving an event, including the death of another individual, an individual who is not established by clear and convincing evidence to have survived the event by 120 hours is considered to have predeceased the event.

Except as provided in subsection (4), if it is not established by clear and convincing evidence that 1 of 2 co-owners with right of survivorship survived the other co-owner by 120 hours, 1/2 of the co-owned property passes as if 1 had survived by 120 hours and 1/2 as if the other had survived by 120 hours. If there are more than 2 co-owners and it is not established by clear and convincing evidence that at least 1 of them survived the others by 120 hours, the property passes in the proportion that 1 bears to the whole number of co-owners. For the purposes of this subsection, "co-owners with right of survivorship" includes joint tenants, tenants by the entireties, and other co-owners of property or accounts held under circumstances that entitles 1 or more to the whole of the property or account on the death of the other or others.

Survival by 120 hours is not required under any of the following circumstances:

The governing instrument contains language dealing explicitly with simultaneous deaths or deaths in a common disaster and that language is operable under the facts of the case. Language dealing explicitly with simultaneous deaths includes language in a governing instrument that creates a presumption that applies if the evidence is not sufficient to determine the order of deaths.

The governing instrument expressly indicates that an individual is not required to survive an event, including the death of another individual, by any specified period or expressly requires the individual to survive the event by a specified period. Survival of the event or the specified period, however, must be established by clear and convincing evidence.

The imposition of a 120-hour requirement of survival would cause a nonvested property interest or a power of appointment to fail to qualify for validity under section 2(1)(a), (2)(a), or (3)(a) of the uniform statutory rule against perpetuities, 1988 PA 418, MCL 554.72, or to become invalid under section 2(1)(b), (2)(b), or (3)(b) of the uniform statutory rule against perpetuities, 1988 PA 418, MCL 554.72.

The application of a 120-hour requirement of survival to multiple governing instruments would result in an unintended failure or duplication of a disposition. Survival, however, must be established by clear and convincing evidence.