LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – On Thursday, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation to ensure spouses of disabled veterans can maintain property tax exemptions even after their spouse passes away.

Governor Whitmer said about the legislation, ”Our veterans and their families have sacrificed so much to keep our state and nation safe. Losing a partner can rock a family’s financial stability, but we can ease the burden for spouses of disabled veterans by ensuring they can still qualify for property tax exemptions, keeping a roof over their heads and more money in their pockets.”

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Together, a package of Senate Bills including SB 176, 330 and 364 amends the General Property Tax Act to ensure the spouses of disabled veterans can keep their property tax exemptions after their spouse passes away even if the surviving spouse moves to a different homestead.

Senate Bill 176 was sponsored by Sen. Sylvia Santana (D-Detroit), Senate Bill 330 was sponsored by Sen. Mary Cavanaugh (D-Redford Twp.), and Senate Bill 364 was sponsored by Sen. John DaMoose (R-Harbor Springs).

About SB 364, Sen. DaMoose said, “This is a simple, agreeable reform that makes the process easier, eliminates the need for repeated applications and cuts burdensome government red tape. Our nation’s veterans have done so much for us and to defend our way of life, providing this relief is a small gesture of our gratitude and this process shouldn’t be an inefficient, complicated, convoluted ordeal – especially for those who returned home with a disability. The original law from 2013 recognized the sacrifice of disabled veterans and their families and had good intentions. These bills would simply clean things up and smooth out the process for everyone involved.”

“Veterans have selflessly sacrificed for our country and this legislation ensures those sacrifices continue to be honored when they return home,” said State Senator Mary Cavanagh (D-Redford Township). “Senate Bill 330 will make a tangible difference in the lives of disabled veterans and their surviving spouses, removing barriers to this financial relief. I’m incredibly proud of this legislation and the support it provides our veterans and their families.”

“I am thrilled to see that Senate Bill 176 has been signed into law by Governor Whitmer. This is a crucial piece of legislation that seeks to address the challenges faced by disabled veterans and their surviving spouses in accessing property tax exemptions,” said State Senator Sylvia Santana (D-Detroit). “By enacting this legislation, we are ensuring much-needed stability and relief to our veterans and their families. This bill also increases transparency and accountability in the tax exemption process. I am proud to have sponsored this legislation and am grateful for the governor’s support. With this new law, we are making a lasting impact in the lives of those who have served our nation.”

These bills were introduced partly as a result of an October 2022 Court of Appeals decision in Lockhart v Ontonagon Twp. regarding the eligibility of the disabled veterans exemption for an unremarried surviving spouse. In the case, the unremarried surviving spouse was deeded property in March 2010 but the disabled veteran was never on the deed. The disabled veteran passed away in December 2010. The unremarried surviving spouse claimed the Disabled Veterans Exemption in 2020 and was denied. The Michigan Tax Tribunal upheld the denial. The Court of Appeals had determined that if the disabled veteran had not used and owned the property as a homestead prior to their death, the unremarried surviving spouse could not qualify to receive the disabled veterans exemption on that property.

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Upper Peninsula resident Sue Lockhart, the widow in the case, had talked to WZZM-13 about the denial letter she had received and her husband’s service. She said, “They took my husband when he was young and healthy. When he came back home and had problems, they turned their back on him.” Sue’s husband, Petty Officer John Lockhart, had experienced blackouts and had seizures after coming back home in 1969. She believes that is what led to his fatal fall when he was 64-years-old. She said about being denied the tax exemption, “My local board of review denied me because my husband did not live with me. Well, he didn’t live with me, because I didn’t file for the benefit until after he was deceased.”

The denial set a precedent for thousands of widows and widowers, Lockhart said, and others started receiving denials for their tax exemptions as well like Bonnie Graham, whose husband came in contact with agent orange while deployed in Vietnam. She said, “My husband and I were married 36 years when he passed. I was his caregiver, and advocate and nurse and everything that he needed. I stayed in the residence we shared for six more years, then I moved into something that is more barrier-free for me.” But because her late husband’s name wasn’t on the deed, her tax exemption was denied. She said it was a huge problem because she’d have to come up with more than $5,000 or move again.

The new legislation amends the General Property Tax Act to require a property tax exemption on real property used and owned as a homestead by a disabled veteran or the veteran’s surviving spouse granted on or after January 1, 2025 to remain in effect until it is rescinded by the individual granted the exemption or denied by the assessor. This means that the exemption would apply to ANY property used and owned as a homestead including property acquired after the disabled veteran’s death.