Estate planning
Wills and Pour-Over Wills
A will names who receives your property, who carries out your wishes, and who would raise your minor children. Every plan I draft includes one.
What a will does
Your instructions, in writing
A will directs where your property goes at death, names an executor to carry it out, and nominates a guardian for minor children. Without one, California’s intestacy rules decide who inherits, and a court decides who manages the estate.
A will does not avoid probate on its own. When your plan includes a living trust, the will is written as a pour-over will: it sends anything left outside the trust into it, so the trust’s terms control.
At a glance
Names your executor
Nominates guardians for minor children
Directs property outside a trust
Goes through probate unless the estate is small
Can be changed at any time
Types of wills
Which will fits your plan
01
Pour-over will
Used with a living trust. It moves any property left outside the trust into it, and it holds your guardian nominations.
02
Standalone will
Leaves your estate directly to your beneficiaries. It can make sense for a small estate or one that passes mostly by beneficiary designation.
03
Handwritten will
A will whose signature and key terms are in your own handwriting is valid in California without witnesses, but homemade wills often leave gaps that end up in court.
04
California statutory will
A fill-in-the-blank form set out in the Probate Code. It is limited in what it can do and is not built for trusts, blended families, or detailed instructions.
Common questions
Will questions
How is a will signed in California?
You sign in front of two witnesses who are present at the same time and understand that the document is your will. The witnesses should be people who inherit nothing under it. My office arranges the witnesses at your signing.
Does a will avoid probate?
No. A will is the set of instructions the probate court follows. Formal probate in California typically takes 9 to 18 months, according to the California courts, and the attorney and executor fees are set by statute based on the size of the estate.
Who raises my children if something happens to me?
You nominate a guardian, and a backup, in your will. A court makes the final appointment, guided by your nomination. Your trust can then hold what your children inherit, under a trustee you choose, until the ages you set.
When should I update my will?
After a marriage, divorce, birth or adoption, the death of someone named in it, or a move from another state. California law revokes gifts to a former spouse after a divorce, but it is better to update the will than to rely on that rule.