How to Make a Valid Will in California

California in depth

California is more forgiving than most states about how a will is signed: it recognizes handwritten wills, it does not require a notary, and since 2009 a court can even rescue a will that was witnessed incorrectly. But that flexibility creates its own traps — people lean on a notary that does nothing, or write a "holographic" will on a printed form that quietly fails.

The statute facts above give you the rules. This section covers where California wills actually go wrong, and the protections built into California law that you cannot draft around.

Five ways a California will goes wrong

Most California wills that fail, fail on how they were signed — not on what they say. These are the recurring ones.

1. 1

   Notarizing the will instead of getting two witnesses

   California asks for one thing above all: your will must be signed by at least two witnesses who are present at the same time (Prob. Code § 6110). Notarization is not required — and it is not a substitute. A carefully notarized will signed by fewer than two qualifying witnesses is not validly executed, and its only lifeline is the court's clear-and-convincing "harmless error" rule. Get the two witnesses; the notary is optional and cannot replace them.

2. 2

   Assuming a notary makes the will "self-proving"

   Unlike many states, California has no traditional self-proving affidavit. Notarizing your will does not let your witnesses skip proving it after you die. California proves a will through a subscribing witness's sworn declaration — Judicial Council form DE-131, under Prob. Code § 8220 — completed after death. Keep a record of who your witnesses were and how to reach them; a notary stamp will not stand in for them.

3. 3

   A "holographic" will that is typed or filled in on a form

   California does recognize handwritten wills, but only if your signature and the material provisions are in your own handwriting (Prob. Code § 6111). People fill in a store-bought or printed form, sign it without witnesses, and assume it counts. If the key terms are printed rather than handwritten and there are no two witnesses, it is neither a valid witnessed will nor a valid holographic one.

4. 4

   Using a beneficiary as one of your witnesses

   An interested witness does not void a California will (Prob. Code § 6112). But if a gift goes to one of your two witnesses and there are not two other disinterested witnesses, the law presumes that person pressured you into it — and unless they can disprove that, they keep no more than they would have inherited with no will at all. Use witnesses who inherit nothing.

5. 5

   Signing electronically or by video

   As of 2026, California has not adopted electronic wills. A scanned PDF, an e-signature, or a will "witnessed" over a video call is not a valid California will. The valid route is still a physical document signed in wet ink with two witnesses physically present at the same time (Prob. Code § 6110).

California protects a spouse through community property, not an elective share

California is a community-property state. Almost everything a married couple earns or acquires during the marriage is community property (Family Code § 760), and at death one-half of it already belongs to the surviving spouse outright (Prob. Code § 100). Your will only controls your half of the community property plus your own separate property — you cannot give away your spouse's half.

This is why California has no New York-style elective share: there is no post-death "claim one-third against the will," because the spouse is protected by owning half the marital estate by operation of law. If your plan depends on how community versus separate property is divided, sort that out while drafting — the court applies the community-property math regardless of what the will says.

The spouse or child you forgot: California's omitted-heir rules

If you marry after signing your will and never update it, your new spouse is an "omitted spouse" and can claim a statutory share — your half of the community and quasi-community property, plus a share of your separate property equal to what they would have inherited with no will, capped at one-half of that separate property (Prob. Code §§ 21610–21612).

The same idea protects a child born or adopted after the will who is left unprovided for: they take what they would have received had you died without a will (Prob. Code § 21620). Both rules fall away if the omission was clearly intentional and stated in the will, or if you provided for the person outside the will. The safe move is simple: revisit the will after any marriage, divorce, or new child.

Handwritten wills are valid — but the whole plan has to be in your hand

A California holographic will needs no witnesses and no notary. What it needs is that your signature and all of the material provisions — who gets what — are in your own handwriting (Prob. Code § 6111). A statement of intent can sit on a commercially printed form, but the dispositive terms cannot be typed.

Date it. An undated holographic will that conflicts with another will can be thrown out to the extent of the conflict unless you can prove it came later (Prob. Code § 6111(b)). A handwritten will is a genuine emergency option in California, but a witnessed, typed will is far easier to prove and far harder to attack.

The 2009 safety valve: a botched signing can still be saved

Since 2009, California has had a harmless-error rule: if a will was not witnessed correctly, a court can still admit it if the person offering it proves by clear and convincing evidence that you intended the document to be your will (Prob. Code § 6110(c)(2)).

Do not treat this as a shortcut. It forgives a defect in witnessing — not a will you never signed and not a document that isn't in writing. It is an expensive courtroom rescue, argued after you are gone, not a substitute for signing in front of two witnesses in the first place.

Where a California will is proved: the Superior Court

California probates wills in the probate division of the Superior Court, in the county where you were domiciled — your primary residence — at death (Prob. Code § 7051). If you lived outside California but owned property here, the case is filed in the California county where that property sits.

This is the court that decides whether your will was validly executed, which is exactly why the two-witness formalities carry so much weight. A clean signing, with a witness available to complete a DE-131 declaration, is what keeps a California probate uncontested and moving.

Common questions about California wills

Sources

• Prob. Code § 6100 — Persons who may make a will
• Prob. Code § 6110 — Execution; witnesses; harmless error
• Prob. Code § 6111 — Holographic wills
• Prob. Code § 6112 — Interested witnesses
• Prob. Code § 6120 — Revocation of a will
• Prob. Code § 6122 — Effect of dissolution of marriage
• Prob. Code § 6240 — California statutory will form
• Prob. Code § 8220 — Proof of will by affidavit of subscribing witness
• Prob. Code § 21610 — Share of omitted spouse
• Prob. Code § 21620 — Share of omitted child
• Prob. Code § 7051 — County of proper venue for probate
• Family Code § 760 — Community property defined
• California Courts — Wills, estates & probate (self-help)

Who Can Make a Will in California?

You must be at least 18 years old to make a will in California. A conservator may make a will on behalf of the conservatee if the conservator has been authorized by a court order pursuant to Prob. Code § 2580 (Prob. Code § 6100(b)). Cal. Prob. Code § 6100 does not provide exceptions for emancipated minors or members of the armed forces; the minimum age of 18 applies without such exceptions in the Probate Code.. An individual is not mentally competent to make a will if, at the time of making the will, either of the following is true: (1) the individual does not have sufficient mental capacity to be able to do any of the following: (A) understand the nature of the testamentary act; (B) understand and recollect the nature and situation of the individual's property; or (C) remember and understand the individual's relations to living descendants, spouse, and parents, and those whose interests are affected by the will; OR (2) the individual suffers from a mental health disorder with symptoms including delusions or hallucinations, which delusions or hallucinations result in the individual's devising property in a way that, except for the existence of the delusions or hallucinations, the individual would not have done. This section does not supersede existing law relating to the admissibility of evidence to prove the existence of mental incompetence or mental health disorders. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a conservator may make a will on behalf of a conservatee if the conservator has been authorized to do so by a court order pursuant to Section 2580. (Cal. Prob. Code 6100.5, as amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 9, Sec. 18 (AB 46), effective Jan. 1, 2020)

Signing Requirements

Must be in writing. Can be typed, printed, or handwritten (holographic). Electronic-only wills are not currently recognized. If you are physically unable to sign, Another person may sign the testator's name in the testator's presence and by the testator's direction. A conservator may also sign under court authorization.

Witness Requirements in California

California requires 2 witnesses. Any generally competent person may serve as a witness. Interested witnesses do not invalidate the will but create a presumption (affecting the burden of proof) of duress, menace, fraud, or undue influence for devises to them, except where the devise is made to the witness solely in a fiduciary capacity (Prob. Code 6112(a)-(c)). Both witnesses must be present at the same time and must witness either the signing of the will or the testator's acknowledgment of the signature or of the will. Witnesses must understand the instrument is the testator's will. Witnesses must sign during the testator's lifetime.

Interested witnesses: Interested witnesses create a presumption of duress, menace, fraud, or undue influence for the devise to that witness, unless rebutted or unless at least two other disinterested witnesses signed (Prob. Code 6112(c)). This presumption does not apply where the witness is a person to whom the devise is made solely in a fiduciary capacity. If the presumption applies and the interested witness fails to rebut it, the witness takes only such proportion of the devise as does not exceed the share of the estate that would be distributed to the witness if the will were not established (Prob. Code 6112(d))

Notarization in California

Notarization is not required for a will to be valid in California. Not required. California uses an attestation clause with a statement under penalty of perjury rather than a traditional notarized self-proving affidavit

Self-Proving Affidavit

California allows a self-proving affidavit, which simplifies probate by eliminating the need for witnesses to testify in court. California uses a penalty-of-perjury attestation clause embedded within the will itself (Cal. Prob. Code § 6240, California Statutory Will) rather than a traditional separate notarized self-proving affidavit. Two witnesses must each declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California: (a) on the date written below the maker declared to us that this instrument was the maker's Will and requested us to act as witnesses to it; (b) we understand this is the maker's Will; (c) the maker signed this Will in our presence, all of us being present at the same time; (d) we now, at the maker's request, and in the maker's and each other's presence, sign below as witnesses; (e) we believe the maker is of sound mind and memory; (f) we believe that this Will was not procured by duress, menace, fraud or undue influence; (g) the maker is age 18 or older; and (h) each of us is now age 18 or older, is a competent witness, and resides at the address set forth after his or her name. The statutory will form explicitly states 'NOTARIZATION ALONE IS NOT SUFFICIENT' — notarization does not substitute for and cannot supplement the two-witness penalty-of-perjury mechanism. Cal. Prob. Code § 6222 confirms that execution of this attestation clause by two or more witnesses satisfies § 8220 (proof of will at probate).

Handwritten (Holographic) Wills

California does recognize holographic wills. Valid without witnesses if the signature and the material provisions are in the testator's handwriting. Any statement of testamentary intent may be set forth either in the testator's own handwriting or as part of a commercially printed form will. An undated holographic will is invalid to the extent it is inconsistent with another will unless the time of its execution is established to be after the date of execution of the other will; or, if testamentary capacity is in doubt during the period it might have been executed, the will is invalid unless it is established that it was executed at a time when the testator had testamentary capacity (Prob. Code 6111(a)–(c))

Electronic Wills

California does not currently recognize electronic wills. California does not currently recognize electronic wills. PDFs, scanned documents, and digital copies are not valid. However, California's harmless error doctrine (Prob. Code 6110(c)(2)) may allow courts to validate non-compliant documents upon clear and convincing evidence of testamentary intent

How to Revoke a Will in California

In California, a will can be revoked by:

• •Executing a subsequent will that revokes the prior will or part expressly or by inconsistency (§ 6120(a))
• •Physical act of burning, tearing, canceling, obliterating, or destroying the will with intent and for the purpose of revoking it, by either the testator or another person in the testator's presence and by the testator's direction (§ 6120(b))
• •Destruction of one duplicate of a will executed in duplicate, with intent and for the purpose of revoking it, by either the testator or another person in the testator's presence and by the testator's direction (§ 6121)
• •By operation of law upon dissolution or annulment of marriage (not legal separation), unless the will expressly provides otherwise, which revokes: (1) any disposition or appointment of property to the former spouse, (2) any provision conferring a general or special power of appointment on the former spouse, and (3) any nomination of the former spouse as executor, trustee, conservator, or guardian; revoked provisions are revived by remarriage to the former spouse (§ 6122)

Prob. Code 6120-6122. § 6121 is a separate provision for wills executed in duplicate: destruction of one duplicate with intent to revoke revokes the will. § 6122(a) provides that unless the will expressly provides otherwise, dissolution or annulment revokes three legally distinct categories (a decree of legal separation does not trigger § 6122): (1) property dispositions to the former spouse, (2) powers of appointment granted to the former spouse, and (3) fiduciary nominations of the former spouse as executor, trustee, conservator, or guardian. A testator may override this default revocation by express provision in the will. Revoked provisions are revived upon remarriage to the former spouse. Per § 6122(e), no change of circumstances other than those described in § 6122 revokes a will (except as provided in § 6122.1).

Special Provisions in California

California is a community property state. Each spouse owns an undivided one-half interest in community property. A testator may dispose of their half of community property and all separate property by will. No elective share statute because community property law protects the surviving spouse. California has the harmless error doctrine allowing probate of technically deficient wills upon clear and convincing evidence of testamentary intent (Prob. Code 6110(c)(2))

Relevant California Statutes

• Cal. Prob. Code 6100 (Who may make a will)
• Cal. Prob. Code 6100.5 (Testamentary capacity)
• Cal. Prob. Code 6110 (Witnessed wills; execution requirements)
• Cal. Prob. Code 6111 (Holographic wills)
• Cal. Prob. Code 6112 (Witnesses; interested witnesses)
• Cal. Prob. Code 6113 (Choice of law)
• Cal. Prob. Code 6120 (Methods of revocation — subsequent will or physical act)
• Cal. Prob. Code 6121 (Revocation of wills executed in duplicate)