How to Use a Pour-Over Will in Estate Planning

When creating an estate plan, a pour-over will can help ensure the seamless transfer of any assets not already placed in a living trust upon your passing. This specialized type of will works alongside a revocable living trust to provide a safety net, directing any overlooked or newly acquired assets into the trust. While a pour-over offers several benefits, it is important to understand how it affects your estate planning so you can ensure it is the right fit for your family.

If you have questions about building out your estate plan, consider speaking with a financial advisor.

What Is a Pour-Over Will?

A pour-over will is a type of last will and testament designed to work in conjunction with a revocable living trust.

Its primary function is to ensure that any assets not already placed in the trust during a person’s lifetime are automatically transferred, or “poured over,” into the trust upon their death. This allows those assets to be managed and distributed in accordance with the trust’s terms, rather than going through traditional probate or being subject to state intestacy laws.

How a Pour-Over Will Works

To create a pour-over will, you must first set up a trust.

A revocable living trust allows you to direct how you want your assets to be managed during your lifetime and beyond. Ideally, when creating a trust, you transfer the assets you want to hold in the trust right away. For example, you might place your home or other real estate in the trust.

However, not all asset transfers occur right away. You may decide to wait to fund the trust until a later date.

If you pass away before this happens, these assets would remain out of the trust. This means they will be distributed according to your will, or state inheritance laws if you don’t have one. Therefore, you will have no control over how your assets are divided among your heirs. A pour-over will helps you avoid that situation.

When you set up a pour-over will, any assets included in the will but not in the trust will still be transferred to your trust after you die. This means if you intend to place your home in your trust but never get around to it, your pour-over will ensure that it will still end up in the trust after your passing.

This type of will is like having a safety valve on your estate plan because it can move your assets into the trust, even if you don’t transfer them yourself.

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An Example of a Pour-Over Will

For example, an elderly couple with three children and seven grandchildren have over $5 million in assets.

To avoid probate court after their deaths, they decide to establish a revocable living trust to help pass their assets to their family. In addition to the trust, they each execute a pour-over will to direct their remaining assets to the trust once they die.

Then, the husband dies. He had a large boat titled in his name and not the name of his spouse. The boat passes to the trust, but because his wife is the trustee she now has control over the boat. After her death, the boat remains in the trust and is then passed down to the next trustees, their children.

Pros and Cons of a Pour-Over Will

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There are both pros and cons of a pour-over will that are important to consider.

Pros of a Pour-Over Will

The main advantage of including a pour-over will in your estate plan is that it can help avoid headaches after you’re gone. If you have this type of will in place, then any assets you didn’t transfer to your living trust are covered.

However, this only applies to assets without a named beneficiary. For example, if you have a life insurance policy or individual retirement account (IRA) with your spouse listed as the beneficiary, those assets would pass directly to them when you die without becoming a part of your trust.

The same is true for assets held jointly with someone else using the right of survivorship, such as a bank account you share with your adult child. This account becomes theirs upon your death if they have the right of survivorship.

There are three main uses of a pour-over will in an estate plan.

Creates a safety net. If you do not transfer certain assets into your living trust before you pass away, a pour-over will ensures those assets still end up in the trust.
Simplifies asset distribution. Instead of listing multiple beneficiaries in the will, the pour-over directs everything to the trust, which then distributes assets according to its instructions.
May still require probate. Assets covered by a pour-over will typically require probate before transferring into the trust. However, once they are there, they are subject to its terms, often providing both privacy and continuity.

Cons of a Pour-Over Will

One of the biggest disadvantages of using a pour-over will is that any assets transferred into the trust after your death may first have to go through probate.

This legal process requires that your assets be inventoried and any debts owed by your estate paid before any assets pass to the trust. Whether assets covered by a pour-over will are subject to probate depends on your state laws, but if they are, then this could mean a delay for trust beneficiaries who are waiting to receive those assets.

Which Assets Should Be Titled in a Living Trust vs. Left for a Pour-Over Will

A living trust and a pour-over serve different roles within the same estate plan.

The trust is designed to hold and control assets during life and after death, while the pour-over will function as a catch-up device for property that never made it into the trust.

Individual Assets

A living trust typically holds assets like real estate, taxable brokerage accounts and closely held business interests.

These assets tend to trigger probate when owned individually. However, retitling them into the trust during your lifetime allows the trustee to manage or distribute them without court involvement, thus keeping administration centralized.

Bank Accounts

Bank and cash accounts often fall into a gray area. Some households place primary checking and savings accounts in the trust, while others leave smaller operational accounts outside and rely on the pour-over will.

The trade-off is convenience versus probate exposure, since accounts left outside the trust may still require probate before transfer.

Retirement Accounts and Life Insurance

Retirement accounts and life insurance policies operate under beneficiary designation rules rather than trust or will instructions. These assets usually pass directly to named beneficiaries.

In some situations, the trust itself is named as the beneficiary, such as when minor children, spendthrift concerns or complex distribution schedules exist. The pour-over will does not control these assets.

Personal Property

Personal property and newly acquired assets are the most common items captured by a pour-over will. Examples include vehicles purchased late in life, small investment accounts opened after the trust was created and valuables that were never retitled.

The pour-over will directs these assets into the trust after death so they follow the trust’s distribution terms.

Creating Balance with a Pour-Over Will

Relying too heavily on a pour-over will can reduce the efficiency of a trust-based plan. Assets that pass through the pour-over process may still be subject to probate first, depending on state law. This creates delays and administrative costs that a fully-funded trust is meant to reduce.

A maintenance process ties everything together. Periodic reviews of asset titles, beneficiary designations and newly acquired property keep the trust properly funded. The pour-over will remains in place as a backstop, but the primary objective is to place major assets into the trust during life so the estate plan functions as intended.

How to Create a Pour-Over Will

Creating a pour-over will is a little different than creating a regular last will.

Typically, to create a pour-over will, you must first establish a living trust document. You will need to name a trustee to manage the trust, as well as beneficiaries to receive its assets, and then spell out how the trust should be managed. You fund the trust by transferring assets into it.

Once this is complete, you can establish your pour-over will. Instead of naming individuals as beneficiaries or heirs in the will, you simply name the trust. That way, your assets go to the trust when you pass away.

From there, you can specify that any assets you own that are not in the trust or are without a named beneficiary should be transferred to the trust at your death. Like a last will and testament, a pour-over will needs to be signed and legally witnessed by the number of witnesses required under your state’s probate laws.

If you have a more complex estate, it may help to talk to an estate planning attorney about how to create one. Also, consider working with a financial advisor who can integrate your estate and financial plans.

Who Needs a Pour-Over Will?

A pour-over will is only necessary if you’re incorporating a living trust into your estate plan.

If you’re not using a trust to manage assets during your lifetime and beyond, then a last will and testament would be sufficient. With this type of will, you can designate how your assets should pass to your heirs and name a legal guardian for your children if necessary. This may be more appropriate if you have a simpler estate with few assets to leave behind. You can easily make a will online or work with an estate planning attorney to create one.

However, to make a will, you must be of legal age, of sound mind and have the intent to make a will. You must also have witnesses to your will.

Bottom Line

A couple discusses estate planning with their financial advisor.

A pour-over will can be another way to protect your assets if you already have a living trust in place. It can provide added peace of mind if you want to ensure all of your assets will ultimately make it into your trust. Adding a pour-over will to your estate plan isn’t difficult, but it does require having the right paperwork in place so consider seeking the professional guidance of a lawyer and financial advisor.

Tips for Estate Planning

A financial advisor can help you build a financial plan that leaves the legacy you want for your loved ones, without causing them pain or time later on. Finding a financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with vetted financial advisors who serve your area, and you can have a free introductory call with your advisor matches to decide which one you feel is right for you. If you’re ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goal, get started now.
There are other types of wills and trusts you can use for estate planning. For example, you may go the reverse route and use a will to create a testamentary trust after your death. Or you may prefer to use a grantor trust or special needs trust to manage your assets.