In what way does a pour over will impact my estate?

To be clear, a pour over will does not govern the distribution of all your property. Instead, it only controls the assets that have not been transferred, also known as “funded,” into your revocable living trust at the time of your death. Essentially, this means that your pour over will names your trust as the beneficiary of any property it does not already hold.

What happens if I don't have a pour over will or any other type of will?

If you don't create a pour over will, or don't have any other will in place directing where those assets should go, your state’s law will determine how your estate is divided. For lack of any other estate plan, state law usually contains provisions that list certain closely related kin that inherit by law. The list will most often include surviving spouses, parents, and descendants, such as children or grandchildren. For example, if you forget to fund your vehicle into your trust, then that property might go to your next of kin (e.g., your spouse or child).

What is a living trust?

A living trust, or revocable living trust, is an essential estate planning tool used for securing one's assets during life and then efficiently transferring those assets upon death. One huge advantage of this document is that the assets in the trust will avoid probate court upon the death of its creator. This can save up to 15-20% of the value of the trust in probate fees and ensures that those assets will be distributed much more quickly to the beneficiaries.

As is the case for any will, a pour over will names someone to serve as executor of the estate. This person’s main duty is to wrap up the estate after your death. To fulfill this duty, the executor will most likely need to gather the assets, pay the debts and taxes, and eventually transfer the assets to the beneficiaries named in the will. In the case of a pour over will, the executor’s responsibilities are simple: to take all assets that pass under the will and put them into the living trust.

What is a successor trustee?

A successor trustee is the person you named in your living trust to take over at the time of your death or incapacity. Once the assets go through the pour over will and are in the trust, they become the responsibility of the successor trustee. It is important to point out that a trustee only has control over the assets in your trust.

Pour Over Will

A pour over will's basic function is to ensure that all of the Testator's property will be transferred to his or her living trust upon death.

Normally, most if not all of the Testator's property has already been transferred to the trust. However, a pour over will is always a good idea just in case property was accidentally left out of the trust.

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Why should I have a pour over will?

It ensures that all your property will be in your trust at the time of your passing
Property you did not add to your trust will automatically be transferred to it
Since your trust will not become public record after your death, the details of who inherits the property transferred through the pour over will remain private

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A pour over will ensures that all your property is a part of the same living trust.

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Gather Information

As you complete your pour over will, you will need to provide certain relevant information. This includes your name, date of birth, and address. You will also have the option of providing any information related to your funeral and burial wishes in addition to what state's law will govern your pour over will.

Answer Key Questions

Use the information you collected to complete your pour over will. We make this easy by guiding you each step of the way and helping you to customize your document to match your specific requirements. As you answer certain questions, the document will adjust to accommodate your needs.

Review

Always read your document thoroughly to ensure it contains everything you need and is free of errors. In any case, once you finish creating your document, you will be able to alter it as much as you like in Microsoft Word. However, if you do not need to make any changes, you can simply download the PDF version.

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