Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Your legal name is a "true" name; you are allowed to use any name you want as long as it is not for purpose of committing a fraud. If you want to use the name you normally go by, that is fine. It might be wise to include all the names you go by.

The question does not make any sense, which means it is very possible your will won't make any sense, either. Besides, a will does not protect the estate from probate. You may want to consider a living trust.

I would say the best practice is for the testator to sign his or her will with their "usual" signature. This makes it much easier to prove, in case of doubt or if the will is contested, that the signature is that of the recently-deceased maker of the will, and not the work of a forger or the genuine signature of someone else.

Keep in mind that there are two kinds of wills. Normal typed or word-processed or printed wills must not only be signed but must be witnessed by two disinterested eyewitnesses, whose signatures help establish that "I" (the person apparently making the will) was also the person who signed as testator.

California also recognizes a so-called "holographic" will - one which is not witnessed, but which is dated, signed and entirely in the handwriting of the testator. Use of such wills is not recommended. Persons making wills should go to great lengths to avoid uncertainties including lost wills, questions about capacity, unclear intent, and of course the identity of the signer and genuineness of the signature. Being overly creative with the signature is a recipe for misunderstandings and legal challenges.

I also agree that for most people with significant assets or property, a trust is well worth the relatively low cost to create and set up as a will supplement or substitute.