Free California 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.

Progress0%

Your Information

Enter your information to identify yourself as the testator (person making the will).

First Name*

Middle Name

Last Name*

Date of Birth(MM/DD/YYYY)*

Email Address*

Phone Number*

Street Address*

City*

State*

ZIP Code*

FREE & PRIVATE: This form is free—no account or credit card required. Your document contents and generated PDF never leave your browser—SimplyTrust does not transmit or store them. Contact details you provide (name, email, phone, state) are transmitted only to send the updates you agree to receive at download. You are responsible for saving your completed document.

SELF-HELP SERVICE: SimplyTrust provides a self-help document preparation service. We are not a law firm and cannot provide legal advice, select forms for you, or tell you how to complete forms. Our role is limited to providing a platform where you input your own information into document templates.

NOT LEGAL ADVICE: This document was created entirely based on your selections. SimplyTrust does not review, analyze, or verify your entries, nor do we verify your identity, capacity, or authority to act. You are solely responsible for determining whether this document meets your needs and for completing all required execution formalities (signatures, witnesses, notarization, or recording) in accordance with your state's laws. For any legal questions, consult a licensed attorney in your state.

No. A pour-over will catches whatever was never retitled into the revocable living trust: property acquired after the trust was signed, accounts left in the testator's own name, personal belongings. Those assets are probated through the Superior Court of California before they reach the trust, typically 9 months to 12 months for a simple estate, and then follow the trust's distribution plan rather than California intestacy law. Assets already titled in the trust at death bypass probate. In California, estates valued at $208,850 or less skip probate with the Small Estate Affidavit, 40 days after death.

A pour-over will is executed like any California will: California requires 2 witnesses present at signing. California has no execution-time affidavit; a witness affidavit at probate substitutes for live testimony.

The successor trustee can publish California's optional creditor notice to shorten the claim window to 4 months; without it, the settlor's creditors have up to 12 months to bring a claim. Either way, trust assets reach the beneficiaries without court involvement. Pour-over assets go through probate first, typically 9 months to 12 months. The more the trust holds during the settlor's lifetime, the less the pour-over will has to carry.

California has authorized remote online notarization for many documents, but wills are excluded, so the will's notarization happens in person. Electronic signing is not available for a trust instrument in California, so the trust is signed on paper.

Yes. A new pour-over will revokes the earlier one when it carries revocation language, and the new version is executed under the same California rules: 2 witnesses.

What Is a Pour-Over Will?

A pour-over will directs assets not titled in a trust to transfer into the trust at death. This includes property acquired after the trust was created, accounts that were never retitled, and personal belongings.

Trust assets transfer privately, outside court. The successor trustee can publish California's optional creditor notice to shorten the claim window to 4 months; without it, the settlor's creditors have up to 12 months to bring a claim. Pour-over assets go through probate first. Assets with no designation and no pour-over will pass under California intestacy law.

In California, your pour-over will needs 2 witnesses to be valid; notarization is not required for validity. The document carries a self-proving affidavit, which lets the will be admitted without witness testimony for any assets that do pour over.

Guardian nominations for minor children can be included in a pour-over will, as in any other California will.

SimplyTrust Editorial·Updated October 18, 2026

Legal Sources

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

Is this your situation?

Get a complete guide for your specific circumstances.

Marriage

What married couples need in place: one joint trust or two, wills, beneficiary updates, and the spousal rights your state grants you automatically.

Learn more

New Home

How to put your house in a revocable trust: the deed you record, what it does to your mortgage and property taxes, and when a TOD deed is simpler.

Learn more

Retirement

Retirement changes your financial picture. Healthcare directives, beneficiary reviews, long-term care planning, and protecting what you've built.

Learn more

New Baby or Adoption

Your family is growing. Your protection should too. Guardian nominations, trusts for minors, beneficiary updates, and the documents new parents need in place.

Learn more

Forms for Planning Your Estate in California

Free forms for planning your estate in California: a will, living trust, pour-over will, both powers of attorney, living will, and TOD deed.

$12/month

Revocable Living Trust

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

Get Started

All California forms

Tools for Planning Your Estate in California

Free tools for planning your estate in California: what a will or trust costs, whether you need a trust or TOD deed, and how documents are signed.

How Much Does a Revocable Living Trust Cost?

An attorney-prepared revocable living trust in California runs $4,320 to $6,480 for an individual, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.

Compare Costs

How Does SimplyTrust Compare to LegalZoom, Trust & Will, and Other Services?

Compare what it costs to make a trust official across SimplyTrust, LegalZoom, Trust & Will, Rocket Lawyer, and Quicken WillMaker.

Compare Services

Do I Need a Revocable Trust?

Probate in California takes 9 months to 12 months for a simple estate and charges attorney fees set by statute as a percentage of the gross estate; assets held in a revocable trust skip both.

Check Now

How Do I Open a Trust Account at My Bank?

Compare trust-account requirements bank by bank: how a revocable trust account is opened or retitled, and what proves the trust.

See Bank Requirements

Trust or Will: Which Costs Less?

In California, a will-based plan pays probate attorney fees set by statute as a percentage of the gross estate; a funded revocable trust keeps those assets out of probate and off that fee.

Compare Options

How Do I Sign Estate Documents?

Find witness, notary, and remote signing requirements for all 50 states.

Check Requirements

Will My Estate Documents Transfer?

Check if estate planning documents signed in one state are valid in another.

Check Portability

All California tools

California Estate Planning Resources

In-depth guides covering California probate laws, trust requirements, and estate planning strategies.

Free California 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.

Progress0%

What Is a Pour-Over Will?

Guardian nominations for minor children can be included in a pour-over will, as in any other California will.