[jonathanyc]

The article mentions that "many people seek ways to bypass probate, and the law offers several avenues for doing so" but doesn't mention that in California a holographic will is sufficient to avoid probate. You just need to handwrite a will with a witness present. I'm not a lawyer, but I'm speaking from experience. A few years before my father passed away, he wrote a will literally telling us that it was "just in case," but it ended up saving us a lot of trouble. We went to an estate lawyer who told us that the will was legally sufficient to avoid probate.