California Statutory Will (§6240): The Free Form, Its Limits, and What to Use Instead

What the California statutory will actually is

California is one of the few states that wrote a complete, fill-in-the-blank will directly into its statutes. Probate Code §6240 contains the full text of the "California Statutory Will" — a standardized form you can print, complete, and sign. Because the form is part of the law itself, it is free. County law libraries, court self-help centers, and the State Bar of California all distribute printable copies.

The form works by check-boxes and blanks. You fill in your name, check one box for how your personal residence passes, one box for your other assets, name a guardian for minor children if needed, and name an executor. Then you execute it the same way as any typed California will under Probate Code §6110: you sign it, and two adults — present at the same time — watch you sign (or hear you acknowledge the signature) and then sign as witnesses. No notary is required for a California will.

Done correctly, the result is a fully valid California will. For what it covers, the statutory will is a genuinely good public resource — and far better than dying without a will in California, where intestate succession law decides everything for you.

The real limits of the statutory will

The statutory will's strength — standardization — is also its weakness. Its limits are not hidden; several are printed in the form's own instructions.

• No trusts. The form itself states that trusts are too complicated for the statutory will and tells you to see a lawyer if you want one. That means no revocable living trust, no probate avoidance, and no custom trust for minor children — you cannot build "held until 25, then in thirds."
• Rigid boxes — no edits allowed. The instructions direct you not to add any words beyond filling the blanks and not to cross anything out. Write in the margins and you risk having those provisions fail in probate. If your wishes don't match a printed box, the form can't express them.
• Little residuary customization. You choose from preset disposition patterns (for example, everything to your spouse, or to your children equally). Unequal shares among children, gifts to a mix of friends and charities with specific percentages, or backup-upon-backup contingencies aren't what the boxes were built for.
• No digital-asset or pet-care provisions. The form predates modern estate concerns. There is no place to direct who manages online accounts or to leave funds and instructions for a pet's care.
• No tax or special-situation planning. The form says plainly that it is a simple will not designed to reduce death taxes or other taxes. Blended families, special-needs beneficiaries, and business owners need more than the form offers.
• It's only a will. No durable power of attorney, no advance healthcare directive — the two documents that protect you while you're alive but incapacitated.

And like any will, the statutory will does not avoid probate. California probate charges statutory fees on the gross value of the estate under Probate Code §10810 — see California probate fees explained. Avoiding that process generally takes a funded revocable living trust, which the statutory form cannot create.

Statutory will vs. FreeWillUSA vs. attorney — an honest comparison

Attorney pricing varies widely by region and complexity; the range shown reflects commonly quoted California flat fees for a full trust-based estate plan. Some attorneys charge less, some far more.

When the statutory will is genuinely enough

Honesty matters here: for some people, the statutory form is all they need. It's a reasonable fit if all of the following are true:

• Your wishes match a printed box exactly — for example, everything to your spouse, then to your children equally.
• You don't need a trust — either your estate is small enough for California's simplified small-estate procedures, or you accept that probate may happen.
• You'll separately handle a power of attorney and healthcare directive, or you accept going without them.
• You're comfortable filling out a paper form correctly.

If any of those don't hold, you've outgrown the form. A handwritten will is another zero-cost option with its own rules and risks — see holographic wills in California — and our complete California will guide walks through every option step by step.

Frequently asked questions