What voids a will?
Three things: it was never signed and witnessed correctly, it was revoked later, or it was signed under pressure or deception.
“Void” is a heavier word than the law usually uses. Wills that fail were usually never valid in the first place, or were deliberately canceled, or were tainted at signing. Below are the three categories, each with the statute it comes from. What is not on the list matters just as much: an unfair division, an angry relative, or a document that surprises everyone is not, by itself, a reason a will fails.
The three categories
| Category | What happened | Statutes we read |
|---|---|---|
| Never valid | The signing formalities were not met — no writing, no signature, or not enough witnesses in the right way | Cal. Prob. Code § 6110; Fla. Stat. § 732.502 |
| Validly revoked | A later will contradicted or expressly revoked it, or it was destroyed with intent to revoke | Cal. Prob. Code § 6120; Fla. Stat. § 732.505 |
| Tainted at signing | The will was procured by duress, menace, fraud or undue influence | Cal. Prob. Code § 6104 |
1. It was never validly signed
This is the most preventable of the three. A will has to be executed the way the state says, and the rules are specific about who signs, who watches, and in what order.
California
Probate Code § 6110: a will “shall be in writing” and signed by the testator, or by another person in the testator’s presence and at their direction, or by a conservator under court order. It must be “witnessed by being signed, during the testator’s lifetime, by at least two persons each of whom (A) being present at the same time, witnessed either the signing of the will or the testator’s acknowledgment of the signature or of the will and (B) understand that the instrument they sign is the testator’s will.”
Florida
Florida Statutes § 732.502: the testator must sign at the end of the will, or have their name subscribed at the end by another person in their presence and at their direction. That signing or acknowledgment must happen in the presence of at least two attesting witnesses, and “the attesting witnesses must sign the will in the presence of the testator and in the presence of each other.”
2. It was validly revoked
A perfectly good will stops being operative when the will-maker cancels it, and there are two recognized ways to do that.
- By a later document.California: a subsequent will “which revokes the prior will or part expressly or by inconsistency” (§ 6120). Florida is explicit that where it is by inconsistency, “the revocation extends only so far as the inconsistency” (§ 732.505).
- By a physical act.California: “being burned, torn, canceled, obliterated, or destroyed, with the intent and for the purpose of revoking it,” by the testator or by another person in the testator’s presence and at their direction.
Note that the physical act has to carry the intent. A will damaged in a flood is not a revoked will. And a will that simply cannot be found sits in its own category — California presumes destruction with intent to revokewhere the original was last in the testator’s possession and never turns up. That is covered on the lost original will page.
For how much of an old will survives a new one, see does a new will override an old will.
3. It was procured by pressure or deception
California Probate Code § 6104is one sentence and it covers a great deal of ground: “The execution or revocation of a will or a part of a will is ineffective to the extent the execution or revocation was procured by duress, menace, fraud, or undue influence.”
Three things in that sentence are worth slowing down for.
- “or a part of a will.” A single tainted gift can fail while the rest of the document stands. It is not necessarily all or nothing.
- “or revocation.” It cuts both ways. Pressuring someone into tearing up a will is caught by the same rule, which means the revocation can fail and the older will can survive.
- “to the extent.” Courts are asked to measure, not to switch a document off.
Whether a particular set of facts amounts to undue influence is decided in court under that state’s law, on evidence, and it is one of the most heavily litigated areas in this whole subject. If you think it applies to a will in your family, that is a conversation with a licensed attorney in the relevant state, quickly — these cases run on deadlines.
What is not on the list
None of the statutes above void a will because it was unfair, because someone was left out, because it was old, or because the family disagrees with it. Those facts can become evidence in an undue-influence claim. They are not, on their own, grounds.
Sources
Every rule and figure on this page was read directly from the source below on the date shown. Statutes are amended; check the current text before you rely on it.
- California Probate Code § 6110 — California. Read 2026-08-21.
- Florida Statutes § 732.502 — Florida. Read 2026-08-21.
- California Probate Code § 6120 — California. Read 2026-08-21.
- Florida Statutes § 732.505 — Florida. Read 2026-08-21.
- California Probate Code § 6104 — California. Read 2026-08-21.
- California Probate Code § 6124 — California. Read 2026-08-21.
Common follow-up questions
Can a will be voided because it is unfair?▾
Not on its own. None of the statutes on this page make an unequal or surprising distribution a ground of failure. Wills are allowed to disappoint people. Unfairness matters mainly as evidence — it can be part of what a court looks at when someone alleges undue influence — but it is not itself a ground.
What is undue influence?▾
California's statute names it alongside duress, menace and fraud, and makes the execution or revocation of a will ineffective to the extent it was procured by any of them. What counts as undue influence in a specific case is a fact question decided in court under that state's law, and it is exactly the kind of question to take to an attorney rather than a website.
Do all the witnesses have to be there at the same time?▾
In California, yes for the standard route: the will must be witnessed by at least two people who were present at the same time and who witnessed either the signing or the testator's acknowledgment. Florida requires the two attesting witnesses to sign in the presence of the testator and in the presence of each other. The details differ by state — check yours.
Can a badly witnessed will ever be saved?▾
California has a rescue provision: a will that does not comply with the witness requirement may still be admitted if the proponent establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the testator intended the document to be their will. That is litigation with an uncertain outcome, not a substitute for signing it properly.
Does a divorce void a will?▾
Many states have rules that change how a will operates after a divorce, often by treating gifts to a former spouse as revoked. Those rules are state-specific and we did not read them for this page, so we are not going to state one. Ask an attorney in your state — and update the will either way.
Please read
This is general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. We are not a law firm and no one here is your lawyer. Wills and estates are governed by state law, and the rules differ from one state to the next — a deadline or a form that is right in Florida can be wrong in Ohio. The statutes quoted on this site are the ones we read, cited by name so you can check them yourself. Before you sign, store, change or file anything, talk to an attorney licensed in your state, or start with your state bar’s lawyer referral service or your state court’s self-help center. More about who we are.