Pour-over will

What it means

A pour-over will is a safety net. It catches property that was never retitled into the trust and directs it there after death.

It does not avoid probate for that property. What it catches usually has to go through probate first before it can be poured over.

It is also where the executor and, often, the guardian for children are named, since a trust does not appoint either.

Why it matters

Its existence is frequently mistaken for proof that everything is inside the trust. It is evidence of the opposite concern: it exists because things get left out.

The practical response is to check what is actually titled in the trust's name rather than to rely on the net.

When you are likely to meet it

• When a parent has both a will and a trust.
• When an asset is found in an individual's name after a death.
• When reviewing whether a trust has been funded.

How this varies by state

Its validity depends on the state's will formalities and on whether that state recognizes a devise to a trust amendable after the will was signed.

Related terms

• Funding a trustActually moving property into a trust — retitling accounts and deeds into its name. An unfunded trust generally does not control assets that were never transferred into it.
• Guardian nominationNaming, in a will, who should raise your children — or care for a dependent adult — if you cannot.
• ProbateThe court process that confirms who has authority to deal with what somebody owned when they died.
• Revocable living trustA trust you create during your lifetime, keep control of, and can change or cancel at any time. Property held in it does not go through probate.
• TrusteeThe person or institution that holds and manages trust property for the people it is meant to benefit.
• WillA written document saying who should receive what, and who should be in charge of seeing that it happens.

Sahvelo guidance that uses this

• Wills and trusts