Pour-Over Will Guide: Purpose and When To Use One

A pour-over will is a catch-all for assets you don’t directly allocate in your estate planning documents. Using a pour-over will ensures that assets not already in your will or trust are moved into a trust. The probate court must verify the assets before they go to the trust.

Without a pour-over will, your heirs may have to go through the probate process for minor assets and property, which could have been avoided. 

If you are using a living trust, your estate planning attorney will likely recommend a pour-over will. For more information about a pour-over will as part of your estate planning strategy, talk to a local estate planning attorney. 

What Is a Pour-Over Will?

With a properly executed pour-over will, any remaining assets or property you acquire after signing your estate planning documents “pour” over into a trust. For example, if you end up buying a new car or real estate, a pour-over will transfers those new assets to a trust for your beneficiaries, helping them avoid a long, costly probate process.

The probate court will generally have to establish the pour-over will as valid to authorize the transfer of those assets. However, once established, the trust transfers to your beneficiary designations.

A pour-over will can also address any properties or assets you may have forgotten about when drafting your will and living trust. For example, you opened a bank account as a teenager and forgot about the money. Even though you forgot about the account, a pour-over will transfers any remaining assets into your trust.

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Benefits of a Pour-Over Will

Probate winds up your entire estate, pays off your debts, and determines who gets your money and property. It’s necessary but can be a long and costly process, ranging from a few months to much longer if someone contests the will. On average, probate costs about three to 10% of the value of the estate.

With proper estate planning, you can avoid probate, taking the burden off your family members and saving money and time. A trust transfers assets outside the probate process. A trust is also confidential and does not have to become part of the public court record, as in probate. 

What Happens Without a Pour-Over Will?

Any property or assets you have that you do not allocate in a will or trust have to go through probate for the court to determine what to do with your estate. You can appoint an executor in your will, or the court will appoint a personal representative on your behalf.

Anything that is not allocated in your will goes to your heirs according to intestacy. Intestate laws distribute your assets to your relatives, starting with your spouse, then your children, then your parents, and so on. Most people prefer to make their own decisions about who inherits their property rather than leaving it to the state. In the event you don’t have any living relatives to inherit, the distribution of assets goes (escheats) to the state.

Pour-Over Will or Updating Your Will

Anyone with an estate plan should revisit it after a major life event, such as a birth, marriage, or divorce. And if you continually update your will and trust documents, you may not need a pour-over will.

But a pour-over will acts as a safety net to make sure nothing is left behind that would trigger an unnecessary probate process.

Other Estate Planning Documents

Estate planning documents include anything that may impact your end-of-life plans, including a will, revocable trust, and pour-over will. A comprehensive estate plan should also include preparing for what might happen if you are incapacitated or unable to communicate your wishes while still alive.

Legal documents that express your wishes while you’re still living include: 

• Living will/advance healthcare directive
• Durable power of attorney
• Financial power of attorney
• Healthcare power of attorney

It is difficult to plan for eventualities we cannot predict. A trust and estates attorney will explain what documents you may need and under what circumstances they go into effect. A well-crafted estate plan provides peace of mind and relieves your loved ones of the burden in challenging times.

Talk to an Attorney About Creating a Pour-Over Will 

A pour-over will is a common estate planning tool that most people never think about. The benefit of talking to a trust and estates lawyer is that they can explain these options to make sure you cover all your property and assets. For legal advice about creating a pour-over will, talk to an estate planning lawyer.