Q: What is a will?

A: You would think this is a simple question.  The California Probate Code defines will as follows: "Will" includes codicil and any testamentary instrument which merely appoints an executor or appoints an executor or revokes or revises another will.  That doesn't exactly answer the question does it?

Here's my definition: a written document signed by the testator (the dead person who is trying to pass property via the writing) which states who will inherit his or her property in the amount or percentage specified.

The Grossman Law Firm, A.P.C. are San Bernardino, California probate lawyers.  We help probate estates in San Bernardino County, California.  We appear in the Redlands probate court for cases from Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario, Fontana, Rialto, San Bernardino, Victorville, Hesperia, Apple Valley, Loma Linda and Redlands, California. If you  would like more information on probate and trust administration then order our free book The Insider's Guide to California Probate and Trust Administration as well as our free DVD Probate a Will or Administer a Trust After the Death of a Loved One.