MICHIGAN BAR EXAM DISTINCTIONS — ONE-PAGE CHEAT SHEET
Condensed companion to the Michigan Bar Exam Distinctions long outline.
1. EXAM FORMAT
⚑ UBE jurisdiction (first administered Feb 2023)—MBE 50% / MEE 30% / MPT 20% · minimum passing score 268 · portable score (transfers to/from other UBE states) · the MEE tests general/majority law unless a question expressly names Michigan, so write general law on the UBE · the Michigan distinctions below matter for practice and for any state-named question, not because Michigan drafts its own essays.
2. TORTS — NO-FAULT AUTO (SIGNATURE)
⚑ No-Fault Auto Insurance Act (MCL 500.3101): an injured person's own insurer pays PIP benefits regardless of fault · tort liability for non-economic (pain-and-suffering) loss is abolished except on death, permanent serious disfigurement, or serious impairment of body function (statutory threshold refined in McCormick v. Carrier) · 2019 reforms let drivers choose PIP coverage levels (formerly mandatory unlimited) · negligence: modified comparative—51% bar for NON-economic damages only (plaintiff >50% at fault recovers no non-economic but still reduced economic damages); economic damages always comparative · ⚑ J&S largely ABOLISHED—several-only allocation by fault (MCL 600.2956–.2957; limited med-mal exceptions) · med-mal non-economic cap (tiered, annually adjusted—MCL 600.1483) · Dram Shop Act (MCL 436.1801) exclusive remedy with strict "name-and-retain" + notice requirements · broad governmental immunity (MCL 691.1407) with enumerated exceptions (highway, motor-vehicle, public-building, proprietary-function, sewage, medical-care).
3. CIVIL PROCEDURE & SOL
Michigan Court Rules · summary disposition MCR 2.116(C)(8)/(C)(10) · case-evaluation sanctions MCR 2.403 · SOL: 3 yrs tort / 6 yrs contract / 2 yrs med-mal.
4. EVIDENCE
Michigan Rules of Evidence track FRE (parallel numbering, recently restyled) · Daubert-style MRE 702 · apply FRE framework.
5. WILLS, TRUSTS & ESTATES
EPIC (UPC-based, 2000) + Michigan Trust Code · two witnesses · recognizes holographic wills + harmless error · elective share = ½ of intestate share, reduced by ½ of property otherwise derived (MCL 700.2202) · UPC intestacy · dower abolished 2017.
6. REAL PROPERTY
Race-notice recording (MCL 565.29) · adverse possession 15 years · lien-theory; foreclosure by advertisement (nonjudicial) with 6-month redemption (residential) · statutory homestead + principal-residence exemption.
7. FAMILY LAW
Equitable distribution, not community property (Sparks factors; separate property generally excluded unless commingled, contributed to, or invasion needed for fairness) · pure no-fault divorce—sole ground is statutory marriage breakdown (MCL 552.6); fault relevant only to property/alimony · custody under the Child Custody Act: best interests via 12 enumerated factors (MCL 722.23) + the established custodial environment doctrine (no change absent clear-and-convincing evidence it serves the child's best interests) · Michigan Child Support Formula (income-shares based).
8. CONTRACTS / UCC / SOF
Uniform UCC Article 2 · standard SOF (one-year, suretyship, marriage, land, goods ≥ $500) · plus statutory written-loan-commitment requirement.