This is general information about California law, not advice for your specific situation. California law changes and your circumstances may call for a licensed California attorney. The aim here is to explain the basic rules so you can decide what to do next.

California Wills: What Makes One Legally Valid

California sets a deliberately low bar to make a will, but a few specific rules decide whether yours holds up in probate. This guide walks through who can make a California will, how it must be signed and witnessed, when a handwritten will counts, and what the state does with your property if you never make one — with every rule tied back to the California Probate Code.

Who can make a will in California?

Any person who is at least 18 years old and of sound mind can make a will in California. Those are the only two threshold requirements under Cal. Prob. Code § 6100: you must be an adult, and you must have testamentary capacity at the time you sign.

"Sound mind" is a low standard — lower than the capacity needed to sign a contract. A will can still be challenged and thrown out, though, if it was procured by duress, menace, fraud, or undue influence, which California treats as making the affected gift ineffective. If capacity or pressure is a real concern in your family, that is the situation where a California attorney earns their fee.

What makes a will legally valid in California?

A typical California will must be (1) in writing, (2) signed by the person making it, and (3) witnessed by at least two people. That three-part test comes straight from Cal. Prob. Code § 6110, which is the core execution statute for formal wills in the state.

The signature can be made by you, by someone signing your name in your presence and at your direction, or by a conservator under a court order. California does not require your will to be typed, printed, recorded, or filed with any court while you are alive — a clean, signed, properly witnessed document is enough to start.

Do you need two witnesses or a notary for a California will?

You need two witnesses, not a notary. Under Cal. Prob. Code § 6110(c)(1), at least two people must be present at the same time and witness either you signing the will or you acknowledging your signature, and they must understand that the document is your will.

Notarizing a will does not substitute for those two witnesses in California. It is also smart to use witnesses who get nothing under the will: under Cal. Prob. Code § 6112, a gift to an "interested" witness creates a rebuttable presumption that the witness obtained that gift by fraud, menace, duress, or undue influence — and if the presumption is not rebutted, that witness may take only what they would have received without the will. The will itself is not void, but the gift to that witness is at risk.

Is a handwritten (holographic) will legal in California?

Yes. California is one of the states that recognizes holographic wills, and they need no witnesses at all. Under Cal. Prob. Code § 6111, a will is valid as a holographic will — even if it fails the formal two-witness test — as long as the signature and the material provisions are in your own handwriting.

The catch is proof. A holographic will has no witnesses to confirm it is genuine or that you were of sound mind, which makes it easier to contest. California also has a backstop in Cal. Prob. Code § 6110(c)(2): a document that was not executed with two witnesses can still be admitted if the person offering it proves by clear and convincing evidence that you intended it to be your will. That is a rescue provision for mistakes, not a planning strategy — clear and convincing evidence is a high bar to clear in court.

What is a California statutory will?

A California statutory will is a fill-in-the-blank will form written into state law. The exact form and instructions appear in Cal. Prob. Code § 6240, and a will made on that form is valid in California when you complete and sign it with two witnesses.

The statutory will is built for simple estates — it offers limited, pre-set choices and cannot do everything a customized will or trust can. But because the Legislature drafted the language itself, it removes a lot of the guesswork about whether your wording is legally sufficient.

What happens if you die without a will in California?

If you die without a valid will, California's intestate succession rules decide who inherits — you do not get a say. Cal. Prob. Code § 6400 provides that any property not disposed of by will passes under the intestacy statutes.

How it splits depends on whether you are married and who survives you. Under Cal. Prob. Code § 6401, a surviving spouse takes the decedent's one-half of the community property, while the spouse's share of separate property varies — one-half or one-third — depending on how many children or other relatives survive. If there is no surviving spouse, Cal. Prob. Code § 6402 sends the estate down a fixed ladder: first to your children and their descendants, then to parents, then to siblings, and so on. A will lets you override that default; without one, the statute is final.

How do you revoke or change a California will?

You revoke a California will either by making a new one or by physically destroying the old one with the intent to revoke it. Cal. Prob. Code § 6120 says a will is revoked by a later will or by being burned, torn, canceled, obliterated, or destroyed — by you, or by someone acting at your direction and in your presence — with the intent to revoke.

Life events can also revoke parts of a will automatically. Under Cal. Prob. Code § 6122, a dissolution or annulment of your marriage revokes the provisions of your will in favor of your former spouse, unless the will says otherwise. That is one of the most common reasons to redo a will after a major change — and crossing things out by hand can create exactly the ambiguity that triggers a will contest.

Ready to put this in writing the way California requires? Start your California will now and answer a few questions to produce a document built around the two-witness rule above.

Frequently asked questions

Does a California will need to be notarized? No. A formal California will must be signed by two witnesses under Cal. Prob. Code § 6110; notarization is not a substitute for those witnesses.

How old do you have to be to make a will in California? You must be at least 18 and of sound mind, per Cal. Prob. Code § 6100.

Is a handwritten will valid in California? Yes. A handwritten (holographic) will is valid without witnesses if the signature and material provisions are in your handwriting, under Cal. Prob. Code § 6111.

Can a beneficiary witness my will in California? They can, but it is risky. Cal. Prob. Code § 6112 creates a presumption that an interested witness obtained their gift improperly, which can cost that witness the gift. Use two disinterested witnesses instead.

What happens to my property if I die without a will in California? It passes by intestate succession under Cal. Prob. Code § 6400 and the sharing rules in § 6401 and § 6402 — to your spouse, children, and other relatives in a fixed order you cannot adjust.