Holographic Will: Definition and How It Works in California

By Eric Ridley, attorney, Ridley Law. Updated September 2026.

A holographic will is a will handwritten and signed by the person making it, without witnesses. California recognizes a holographic will as valid under Prob. Code, § 6111, if the signature and the material terms are in that person’s own handwriting.

How it works in California

Prob. Code, § 6111 requires that the signature and the material provisions be in the testator’s own handwriting. California doesn’t require witnesses for a holographic will, unlike a formal typed will, which needs two witnesses present at signing. For a closer look at what qualifies, see is a handwritten holographic will valid in California.

Because the statute only requires the material provisions to be handwritten, a holographic will can include some preprinted or typed text, such as a fill-in-the-blank form, as long as the parts that actually dispose of property and identify beneficiaries are in the testator’s own hand. A date isn’t strictly required, but leaving one out can create problems if more than one will surfaces.

A holographic will still has to meet the same substantive requirements as any other will, including testamentary capacity. Handwriting removes the witness requirement; it doesn’t remove the need for the person to have understood what they were doing when they wrote it.

Why it matters

For example, a person hospitalized without access to an attorney writes out, in their own hand, who should receive their house and car, and signs it. If the material terms are genuinely in their handwriting, that document can be a valid will in California, even though no witness ever saw it signed. Family members who assume an unwitnessed document can’t be a real will risk overlooking the decedent’s actual wishes.

Common mistakes

Typing the will and only handwriting the signature, which doesn’t satisfy the statute’s requirement that the material provisions themselves be handwritten. Leaving out a date, which can matter if a later, conflicting document turns up. Assuming a holographic will skips the need for testamentary capacity; it doesn’t.

Related terms

• No-contest clause: a provision that can appear in a holographic will just as it can in a formal one.
• Pour-over will: a different, typically formal will used alongside a living trust, in contrast to the handwritten kind.
• Testamentary capacity: the mental competence required for a holographic will exactly as for any other will.
• Will: the broader category a holographic will belongs to.
• Codicil: a written amendment to an existing will.

Part of the California estate planning glossary. For the full treatment, see Is a Handwritten (Holographic) Will Valid in California?