Last reviewed: October 2026
TL;DR — Key Takeaways
- The California Statutory Will is a fill-in form in the Probate Code; the form says it is designed only for California residents 18 or older and of sound mind.
- The form says to sign in the box after each choice and to sign in the presence of two adult witnesses, and that notarization does not fulfill the witness requirement.
- Paragraph 1 of the form revokes all prior wills and codicils, so the form replaces an earlier will rather than adding to it.
- The form says a will does not avoid probate and does not necessarily control how nonprobate assets pass at death.
- The form tells you to make and sign a new will if you marry, divorce or end a domestic partnership after signing it.
- The form’s guardian nomination covers only a child under 18 with no living parent at your death, and a court decides the appointment, giving the nomination due weight.
- The form calls itself a simple will not designed to reduce taxes, says trusts are too complicated for it, and lists situations calling for a lawyer.
The California statutory will is a fill-in will form written into the Probate Code. The form has you fill in the blanks, sign in the box after each choice, and sign in front of two adult witnesses. The statute supplies the full text behind each clause you select. The form lets you choose who receives your assets, an executor and a custodian for young beneficiaries. It also lets you nominate a guardian for a child under 18 with no living parent, though a court may appoint a guardian on a petition if it appears necessary or convenient. It is not enough where the form itself says so. The form says a will does not avoid probate and does not necessarily control nonprobate assets. It also says that trusts are too complicated for it, and that it is not designed to reduce taxes.
What the California statutory will is
The form is titled the California Statutory Will, under Probate Code section 6240. It is a printed will with blanks to complete and boxes to sign, and the statute behind it supplies the full text of each clause. This post covers the current form only; older versions are outside its scope.
The form opens with questions and answers. The form itself says those questions and answers are not part of the will. They are there to help you understand wills and decide whether the form meets your needs.
Under the statute, the statutory will consists of the form’s contents other than the questions and answers at the start, plus three things it brings in by reference:
- the definitions and rules of construction in Article 1 of the statutory will chapter;
- the property disposition clauses you adopt;
- the statute’s mandatory clauses.
The short clause you sign next to on the form therefore brings in a longer text from the statute. Mandatory clauses you do not see on the page come with it.
The form says it is designed only for California residents. Those residents may be single, married, in a domestic partnership or divorced, and must be 18 or older and of sound mind. The form also warns that a person has a domestic partner for its purposes only if a Declaration of Domestic Partnership has been filed with the Secretary of State, not with another government body. That warning covers the form’s own domestic-partner clauses. This post states no broader rule on partnerships.
Paragraph 1 of the form declares the document to be your will and revokes all prior wills and codicils. Signing the form is not a way to add a simple will on top of an existing plan. By its first paragraph, it replaces the wills and codicils that came before it.
The statutory form is one way to make a will in California, and other ways exist. Our California will attorney page compares the formal witnessed will and the handwritten will.
What the form lets you do
The form lets you designate who receives your assets, an executor, a guardian for children under 18, and a custodian to manage assets for children until an age from 18 to 25. You do not have to use every paragraph. Paragraphs 2, 3 and 7 are optional, and paragraph 5 handles the balance of your assets.
Your residence and your personal effects
Paragraph 2 of the form is optional, for giving your principal residence to someone other than the people who receive the balance of your assets under paragraph 5. The form tells anyone who uses it to select one choice only and sign in the box after that choice.
Paragraph 3 of the form is optional, for giving your automobiles, household items and personal effects to someone other than the people who receive the balance of your assets under paragraph 5. The form tells anyone who uses it to select one choice only and sign in the box after that choice.
Cash gifts and the balance of your assets
For each cash gift, the form has you sign in the box after the gift, and if you do not sign in the box, no gift is made. For the balance of your assets, the form tells you to select one choice and sign in the box after it. If you sign in more than one box or in no box, the court distributes your assets as if there were no will. The form’s instruction reads: “Select one choice only and sign in the box after your choice.” The form works by signature, not by check mark.
The executor and the bond
The form explains that the executor collects your assets, pays your debts and taxes and distributes your assets as the court directs. The form says the executor may be a person or a qualified bank or trust company. It adds that you may require the executor to post a bond, paid from the estate’s assets.
Under the form, a signature in the bond box means no bond is required for an executor named in the will, and without that signature a bond may be required. The box is not the last word. Even where a will waives a bond, the court may for good cause require one. The court may act on the petition of an interested person or on its own motion. It may require the bond before or after letters issue.
The guardian and the custodian
The form’s guardian paragraph nominates a guardian of the person only for a child under 18 who has no living parent at your death. Only an individual, not a bank or trust company, may serve. How a court treats that nomination is covered below.
Paragraph 7 of the form is optional, and the form describes what happens with and without it:
- Without it, assets for a beneficiary under 18 may go to the beneficiary’s parent or to the paragraph 6 guardian until 18, and the court will require a bond.
- Without it, a beneficiary 18 or older takes outright.
- With it, a custodian holds the assets until an age you choose from 18 to 25.
- With it, age 18 applies if no age is chosen.
The form explains that a custodian manages assets for a person under 25 who receives assets under the will, and that the custodian:
- pays as much as the custodian decides is proper for health, support, maintenance and education;
- delivers what is left at the age you chose from 18 to 25;
- posts no bond.
Unlike the guardian, the custodian may be an individual or a bank or trust company.
If you want to know how this applies to your own situation, call Bay Legal at (650) 668-8000 in Northern California or (213) 668-8000 in Southern California, or reach us through baylegal.com/contact-us.
How the form is signed and witnessed
The statute says that to execute a statutory will, the testator completes the appropriate blanks and signs it, and each witness watches the testator sign and signs in the testator’s presence. The form’s instructions are to read the whole will, fill in the blanks without adding or crossing out words, and date and sign it with two witnesses. The form adds that notarization is not required and does not fulfill the witness requirement.
The form’s notice sets out three requirements:
- the testator must sign in the presence of two adult witnesses;
- the witnesses must sign in the testator’s presence and in each other’s presence;
- the testator must first read them the sentence that asks them to be witnesses.
The form’s notice to witnesses adds three points:
- two adults must sign as witnesses;
- each must read the witness clause before signing;
- the witnesses should not receive assets under the will.
In the witness clause, the witnesses declare under penalty of perjury:
- that the testator signed in their presence with all of them present at the same time;
- that they sign in the testator’s and each other’s presence;
- that the testator and each witness is 18 or older.
Read together, the notice and the clause describe one sitting with the testator and both witnesses present. They do not describe witnesses signing one at a time.
A gift to a witness
The form’s advice that witnesses should not receive assets ties to a general Probate Code rule. A will is not invalid because an interested witness signs it. But unless two other witnesses are disinterested, a gift to a witness, other than one made to the witness solely as a fiduciary, is presumed to have been procured by duress, menace, fraud or undue influence. A witness who does not rebut the presumption takes no more than the share the witness would receive if the will were not established. A gift to a witness does not void the will, but it can put that gift in doubt.
If you are getting ready for this step, we can help you check the papers and the timing first. Call (650) 668-8000 in Northern California or (213) 668-8000 in Southern California, or use baylegal.com/contact-us.
Two boxes, no box, and words added or crossed out
Under the statute, if more than one property disposition clause in paragraph 2 or 3 of the form is selected, no gift is made under that paragraph. If more than one residuary clause in paragraph 5 is selected, or none, the residue passes to your heirs as if there were no will. The form’s own paragraph 5 says the same.
The statute’s mandatory clause on intestate disposition then applies. If you make no effective disposition of the residue, the executor distributes it to your heirs at law under the intestate succession rules in force at your death for property not acquired from a predeceased spouse. Our post on intestate succession in California covers who those heirs are.
The form says you may not add or cross out words, only fill in the blanks. It says you may amend the will by a separate document called a codicil. Under the statute, additions to or deletions from the form, other than as the instructions allow, take effect only where clear and convincing evidence shows they would carry out your clear intent. Otherwise the court may disregard them or hold all or part of the will invalid, whichever better fits your intent. Either way, a court decides after your death, when you cannot explain what you meant.
The statute also sets a separate test for a document on the form. Despite Probate Code section 6110, a document on a statutory will form is valid as a will if clear and convincing evidence shows:
- that you signed it;
- that you knew and approved its contents;
- that you intended it to have testamentary effect;
- that the testamentary intent is clear.
That test, too, turns on proof offered after the death.
A statutory will may be revoked, and amended by codicil, in the same manner as other wills. The form’s route for a change is the codicil, not an edit on the face of the form.
Does a statutory will avoid probate?
The form answers directly: a will does not avoid probate, and with or without a will, assets in your name alone usually go through the court probate process. It adds that the court’s first job is to decide whether the will is valid. The form also tells you that without a will, the assets in your name alone are divided among your spouse, domestic partner, children or other relatives under state law. In that case, the form says, the court appoints a relative to collect and distribute them. On the form’s account, a will changes who receives your assets and who is in charge. It does not change whether a court is involved.
The form states that your will can give away only your one-half of community property, not your spouse’s half. The form states three things about joint tenancy, life insurance and retirement benefits:
- money in a joint tenancy bank account and a house held in joint tenancy with your spouse, domestic partner or child pass to the other owner automatically;
- life insurance and retirement benefits may pass directly to the named beneficiary;
- a will does not necessarily control those nonprobate assets.
How an asset is titled, and whom an account names, can decide where it goes as much as the will does.
If you have a living trust or plan one, the will that works with it is a different document. It is covered in understanding the California pour-over will.
Divorce, annulment, or the end of a domestic partnership
Every gift to your former spouse, and every nomination of your former spouse as executor, trustee, guardian or custodian, is revoked if, after you sign the statutory will:
- your marriage is dissolved;
- your marriage is annulled; or
- your registered domestic partnership is terminated.
A gift or nomination revoked solely by this rule is revived by your remarriage to, or new registered domestic partnership with, the former spouse. Property kept from a former spouse by that revocation passes as if the former spouse had not survived you, and the nominations are read the same way. A decree of legal separation that does not end the marriage is not a dissolution for this purpose.
The form’s advice goes further than the automatic rule. The form gives three pieces of advice:
- Make and sign a new will if you marry, divorce or end your domestic partnership after signing.
- Sign a new will when you have more children or if your spouse or a child dies.
- A large change in the value of your assets may call for a change.
Marriage or a new child after you sign
Two general Probate Code rules address a will signed before a marriage, or before a child is born or adopted.
The first rule covers a surviving spouse who married the testator after the execution of all of the testator’s testamentary instruments, and for whom the testator failed to provide in a testamentary instrument. Except as Probate Code section 21611 provides, that spouse receives a share of the estate made up of:
- the testator’s one-half of the community property;
- the testator’s one-half of the quasi-community property;
- a share of the separate property equal in value to what the spouse would have received if the testator had died without having executed a testamentary instrument. That share is no more than one-half the value of the separate property in the estate.
The second rule covers a child born or adopted after the execution of all of the testator’s testamentary instruments, for whom the testator failed to provide in a testamentary instrument. Except as Probate Code section 21621 provides, that child receives the share the child would have received if the testator had died without having executed any testamentary instrument.
Both rules look at all of the testator’s testamentary instruments, which are the statute’s own words, and not only at wills. A will signed before a marriage or a new child does not necessarily control everything. A later spouse or a later child the will does not provide for can take a statutory share, except as those two sections provide.
A surviving registered domestic partner has the same rights, protections and benefits under law as are granted to a widow or widower. So the later-spouse rule can matter after a registration too.
The 120-hour survival rule
Under the form, a person must survive you by 120 hours to take a gift. Otherwise the gift fails and goes with the rest of your assets, except that certain assets may go to the descendants of a relative of yours or your spouse. Survival for 120 hours must be shown by clear and convincing evidence. The 120-hour rule does not apply where applying it would make the property escheat to the state. Escheat means the property would pass to the state. In that case the survival rule gives way rather than produce that result.
What the executor and the guardian get from the mandatory clauses
Two of the statute’s mandatory clauses give the executor and the guardian working powers. The executor may distribute a minor’s share to any of these, and is then discharged from further accountability for it:
- the guardian of the minor’s person or estate;
- an adult with whom the minor lives and who has care, custody or control of the minor;
- a custodian under the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act named in the form.
A custodian named in paragraph 7 gives the executor one of those routes.
A guardian of the person nominated in the statutory will has the same authority over the ward as a parent with legal custody, and may exercise those powers without court authorization. Those powers belong to the guardian the court appoints. On hearing the petition, the court may appoint a guardian of the person or estate of the proposed ward, or both, if it appears necessary or convenient. A guardian may be nominated in a writing signed before or after the petition for appointment is filed, and the court gives due weight to the nomination of a guardian of the person. Naming someone on the form is a nomination, not an appointment. The court decides, giving the nomination due weight. The form’s nomination covers only a child under 18 with no living parent at your death.
When the statutory will is not enough
The form itself says it is a simple will not designed to reduce death or other taxes. The form tells you to talk to a lawyer to do tax planning, especially where:
- your assets will be worth more than $600,000 or the current amount excluded from estate tax under federal law at your death;
- you own business-related assets or assets in another state;
- you want a trust fund for your children;
- you want to disinherit your spouse, domestic partner or descendants;
- you have valuable interests in pension or profit-sharing plans.
The $600,000 is the form’s own figure, and the form pairs it with the federal exclusion in effect at your death.
The form’s tax warning is a reason to take your estate’s numbers to a CPA. We handle the legal structure of the plan.
The form states that trusts are too complicated to be used in the statutory will and sends a reader who wants a trust to a lawyer. Its tool for young beneficiaries is the custodian, not a trust. If a trust is on the table, our posts on wills vs trusts in California and how a living trust is made in California cover that choice.
The form treats most adopted children like natural children and tells a reader with unadopted stepchildren or foster children to talk to a lawyer. In a blended family, that point sits alongside the later-spouse and later-child rules above. It also sits alongside the form’s mention of disinheriting a spouse, domestic partner or descendants.
If any item on the form’s lists describes you, the form is telling you in its own words that it may not be the right document. That is the form’s judgment before it is ours. If none does, the form is what it says it is: a simple will for a California resident. A will of any kind is also only one part of a plan. Our post on why a will is not enough and how much does estate planning cost in California covers what a fuller plan adds.
When we review a statutory will, signed or about to be signed, we look at several points:
- whether each choice carries one signature in the right box;
- whether the witnessing matches the form’s notice, and whether a witness takes under the will;
- whether paragraph 1’s revocation of earlier wills and codicils is what you intend;
- how the title of your house and accounts, and your beneficiary designations, line up with paragraph 5;
- whether a marriage, registration, divorce or new child since signing has changed what the will does;
- whether anything on the form’s own list of reasons to talk to a lawyer applies to you.
If you are deciding what to do next, we would rather talk it through early than after the fact. Call Bay Legal at (650) 668-8000 in Northern California or (213) 668-8000 in Southern California, or reach us through baylegal.com/contact-us.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a California statutory will need to be notarized?
No. The form says you do not need to have it notarized, and that notarization will not fulfill the witness requirement. The form’s notice calls for two adult witnesses who sign in your presence and in each other’s presence. Before they sign, you read them the sentence that asks them to be witnesses.
Can I check a box on the statutory will form instead of signing?
The form works by signature: it tells you to sign in the box after your choice. Under the statute, if more than one clause in paragraph 2 or 3 is selected, no gift is made under that paragraph. If more than one residuary clause in paragraph 5 is selected, or none, the residue passes to your heirs as if there were no will.
Does a statutory will avoid probate?
The form says no: with or without a will, assets in your name alone usually go through the court probate process. It also says a will does not necessarily control nonprobate assets. It names money in a joint tenancy bank account, a house held in joint tenancy with a spouse, domestic partner or child, and life insurance and retirement benefits that may pass directly to the named beneficiary.
Can the statutory will set up a trust for my children?
The form says trusts are too complicated to be used in it, and it sends a reader who wants a trust to a lawyer. Its tool for young beneficiaries is the optional custodian paragraph. Under it, a custodian holds assets for a beneficiary until an age you choose from 18 to 25, and age 18 applies if you choose none.
Will the guardian I name on the form be appointed?
Not automatically. The form’s nomination covers only a child under 18 who has no living parent at your death, and only an individual may serve. On a petition, the court may appoint a guardian if it appears necessary or convenient, and it gives due weight to the nomination of a guardian of the person.
Legal References
- California Statutory Will, Cal. Prob. Code §§ 6200-6243
- California Statutory Will form, Cal. Prob. Code § 6240
- Cal. Prob. Code § 6211 (120-hour survival)
- Cal. Prob. Code § 6221 (execution)
- Cal. Prob. Code § 6223 (contents and incorporation by reference)
- Cal. Prob. Code § 6224 (more than one clause or none selected)
- Cal. Prob. Code § 6226 (revocation, codicils, additions and deletions, validity on clear and convincing evidence)
- Cal. Prob. Code § 6227 (dissolution, annulment, termination of domestic partnership)
- Cal. Prob. Code § 6241 (mandatory clauses)
- Cal. Prob. Code § 6110 (as referenced in § 6226)
- Cal. Prob. Code § 6112 (interested witnesses)
- Cal. Prob. Code § 1502 (nomination of guardian)
- Cal. Prob. Code § 1514 (appointment of guardian)
- Cal. Prob. Code § 8481 (bond despite waiver)
- Cal. Prob. Code §§ 21610, 21611 (omitted spouse)
- Cal. Prob. Code §§ 21620, 21621 (omitted child)
- Cal. Fam. Code § 297.5 (rights of registered domestic partners)
