A will designed to work with a revocable living trust, directing that any assets owned by the testator at death that are not already in the trust be transferred ("poured over") into the trust to be administered according to the trust's terms. Acts as a safety net for assets inadvertently left out of the trust during the testator's lifetime.
A will that works with a living trust. During your life, you transfer assets into your trust. But what if you forget something or acquire new assets without putting them in the trust? The pour-over will is a backup that says "whatever I still own in my own name when I die, pour it over into my trust." This way, everything ends up distributed according to your trust's instructions, even if you didn't transfer it during your lifetime.
⏱ When you'll encounter this term
- Setting up a revocable living trust estate plan
- Working with estate planning lawyer on trust-based plans
- Reviewing comprehensive estate planning documents
- Administering an estate with both will and trust
- Discussing probate avoidance strategies
"Mum set up a living trust and transferred most assets into it. Her pour-over will said 'anything I own at death that's not already in my trust goes into the trust.' Her house and accounts were in the trust and avoided probate, but a small bank account she'd opened the year before she died went through probate and poured over into the trust."
💡 Did you know?
Pour-over will assets still go through probate before pouring into the trust—they don't magically avoid probate just because there's a trust. The pour-over will is a safety net for forgotten assets, but ideally, you want all assets in the trust during your lifetime to completely avoid probate.