Forms for Planning Your Estate in California

In California, a will is signed before 2 witnesses, and the witnesses sign an affidavit at probate instead of a self-proving affidavit.

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8 forms for California

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Revocable Living Trust

Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.

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Free

Last Will and Testament

In California, a will is signed before 2 witnesses, and the witnesses sign an affidavit at probate instead of a self-proving affidavit.

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Free

Pour-Over Will

In California, a pour-over will is signed before 2 witnesses and moves anything left outside the trust into it through probate.

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Free

Healthcare Power of Attorney

California allows a choice for a healthcare power of attorney: 2 witnesses or a notary.

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Free

Financial Power of Attorney

California requires explicit durability language for a power of attorney to survive incapacity, and it is signed before 2 witnesses or a notary.

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Free

Transfer on Death Deed

In California, a revocable transfer on death deed is signed before a notary and 2 witnesses, then recorded with the county before the owner's death, within 60 days of notarization.

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Free

Vehicle Transfer on Death

Name a beneficiary to inherit your vehicle at death without probate. Available in 26 states and the District of Columbia.

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Free

Living Will

In California, the living will is the Advance Health Care Directive, a written instruction that is valid with no agent named.

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California requires 2 witnesses present when the testator signs. A gift to a witness who is also a beneficiary raises a rebuttable presumption of undue influence in California and can limit that witness to an intestate share, so the usual practice is disinterested witnesses.

Yes. California recognizes holographic (handwritten) wills when the material provisions are in the testator's handwriting. A holographic will typically needs no witnesses, but it is easier to challenge than a formally executed will.

California requires 2 witnesses, each at least 18 years old and present when you sign, and the agent or your healthcare provider cannot serve as one. At least one witness must be unrelated to you.

California does not require notarization when the witnesses sign, and accepts a notary acknowledgment in their place; the document carries both blocks. A power of attorney used for real estate is recorded with the county where the property sits.

California provides a statutory form, and a deed in substantially that form is accepted. The Cal. Prob. Code 5642 statutory form's operative clause is "I transfer all of my interest in the described property to the named beneficiary(ies) on my death". The revocable transfer on death deed statute is scheduled to sunset on January 1, 2032 unless the legislature extends it; a deed recorded while it is in effect stays effective.

Forms for Planning Your Estate in California

A complete estate plan is a small set of documents, each with its own job. A last will names who inherits, names an executor, and names a guardian for minor children, and it takes effect only after death and through probate. A revocable living trust holds property during life and passes it at death without a court process; a pour-over will sits beside it to catch anything left outside the trust. A financial power of attorney and a healthcare power of attorney name who acts if you cannot, and they end at death. A transfer on death deed, in the states that allow one, passes a home to a named beneficiary outside probate.

A healthcare power of attorney in California is signed before 2 witnesses or a notary. In California, probate on a $500,000 estate costs about $27,235, and a simple estate closes in 9 months to 12 months. California levies no estate or inheritance tax; only the federal estate tax above $15,000,000 applies.

SimplyTrust Editorial·Updated October 15, 2026

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Data sourced from California statutes and official state code. How we research.