Testator: Definition and How It Works in California

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

A testator is the person who makes a will. The word covers that person both while alive, when they sign the will, and after death, when the will is offered for probate.

How it works in California

California law asks two separate questions about a testator: whether they had the mental capacity to make a will, and whether the will was actually executed the way the law requires. On capacity, Prob. Code, § 6100.5 says a person lacks the capacity to make a will if they can’t understand the nature of the testamentary act, the nature and situation of their property, or their relationship to the people who would naturally be remembered in it, such as a spouse or children.

On execution, Prob. Code, § 6110 requires the testator to sign the will, or direct someone else to sign it in their presence, and requires two witnesses who are present at the same time and who understand that the document is the testator’s will. If the witnessing requirement wasn’t met, the will can still be treated as validly executed when the person offering it proves, by clear and convincing evidence, that the testator intended it to be their will when signing it (§ 6110(c)(2)).

Why it matters

Both capacity and execution are where a will is most often challenged after the testator dies. For example, a family member who believes a late-in-life will favors a caregiver over the testator’s children might argue the testator lacked capacity or that the signing didn’t follow the statute, rather than arguing about what the will actually says.

Common mistakes

Signing a will without two witnesses present at the same time. Assuming a diagnosis like dementia automatically means a testator lacked capacity, when the legal standard asks about specific understanding, not a diagnosis. Treating “testator” and “decedent” as interchangeable; a person is a testator because they made a will, and a decedent because they died.

Related terms

• Will: a will is the document a testator makes.
• Codicil: a codicil is a testator’s later amendment to their own will.
• Testamentary Capacity: testamentary capacity is the legal standard a testator must meet.
• Decedent: a testator becomes a decedent at death, and the will then goes to probate.
• Bequest: a bequest is a gift a testator makes in the will.

Part of the California estate planning glossary.