What Is a Pour-Over Will?
If you have a trust as part of your estate plan, you may still have a will. At first, that can feel a little redundant. After all, isn’t the point of a trust to handle your assets after you die?
A pour-over will serves a different purpose. It acts as a safety net for assets that were supposed to be part of your trust but weren’t. Rather than leaving those assets directly to your beneficiaries, the will directs them into your trust so they can ultimately be handled according to the instructions you’ve already created.
Key Takeaways
- A pour-over will works alongside a trust by directing certain assets left outside the trust into it after your death.
- A pour-over will does not necessarily avoid probate. Assets that remain in your individual name may still need to go through probate before they can be transferred to the trust.
- Properly funding your trust during your lifetime is still important. A pour-over will is a backup plan, not a replacement for transferring appropriate assets into your trust.
- Unlike a standard will that may leave property directly to beneficiaries, a pour-over will directs property to your trust so it can be handled according to the trust’s instructions.
- Your estate plan should work as a coordinated system. Your trust, will, beneficiary designations, asset ownership, and other planning documents all play different roles.
How Does a Pour-Over Will Work?
A pour-over will is designed to work alongside a trust. Ideally, you transfer the appropriate assets into your trust during your lifetime, allowing those assets to be managed and distributed according to the terms of the trust. But life changes. You may open a new bank account, purchase property, receive an inheritance, or acquire another asset that never gets transferred into the trust.
A pour-over will provides a plan for those assets. It directs property that remains outside the trust at your death to the trustee of your trust, where it can then be managed according to the trust’s instructions. In Utah, a will can leave property to the trustee of an identified trust, including a trust that is amendable or revocable.
For example, imagine you create a living trust and transfer your home and investment accounts into it. A few years later, you open a new savings account in your individual name and never get around to transferring it to the trust. Your pour-over will can direct that account into the trust so it can ultimately be handled under the plan you already created.
Does a Pour-Over Will Avoid Probate?
Not necessarily. This is an important distinction because people sometimes assume that if an asset eventually ends up in a trust, it automatically avoids probate. Assets that were properly transferred to and owned by your trust during your lifetime may avoid probate because they are already owned by the trust. Assets left outside the trust, however, may still need to go through probate before they can be transferred into the trust through your pour-over will.
A pour-over will is a safety net. If an asset subject to probate was forgotten in your estate plan, the pour-over will allows your family to move it into the trust during your incapacity or after your passing. However, it is not a substitute for properly funding your trust.
How Is a Pour-Over Will Different From a Standard Will?
A standard will often leaves property directly to the people you choose. A pour-over will instead directs certain property to your trust. The trust then controls what happens next, which can be particularly useful when the trust contains more detailed instructions about how and when your beneficiaries should receive an inheritance or how assets should be managed for them.
The goal is to have your estate plan work together. Your trust provides the broader instructions, while the pour-over will helps account for assets that were unintentionally left outside of it.
Do You Need a Pour-Over Will?
If you have a trust, a pour-over will may be an important part of making sure your estate plan works as intended. Having a trust does not automatically mean every asset you own is part of that trust, and property outside the trust may be handled differently depending on how it is owned, whether it has a beneficiary designation, and what other estate planning documents you have in place.
The reality is that our lives are always changing. We own different assets today than we owned 20 years ago. And some people think of creating their estate plan as a box that they check and then never think of again.
Creating a trust is only one part of the process. Your estate plan also needs to account for how your assets are actually owned and what happens when life changes. A pour-over will provides a backup plan for the things that may have been overlooked.
Have questions about whether your trust and estate plan are working together? Sage Estate & Business Law can help you understand your options.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a pour-over will work with a revocable trust?
Yes. Pour-over wills are commonly used alongside revocable living trusts, and Utah law allows a will to transfer property to a qualifying trust even if the trust is amendable or revocable.
Can a pour-over will work with an irrevocable trust?
Potentially, although the answer can depend on the type of trust and its terms. That is the type of situation you want to discuss specifically with an estate planning attorney.
What happens if I have a trust but no pour-over will?
Having a trust does not automatically place all of your assets inside it. If you die owning property outside the trust, what happens to that property can depend on how it is owned, whether it has a beneficiary designation, and what other estate planning documents you have in place. A pour-over will helps coordinate those assets with the broader plan you created in your trust.