If I Have a Living Trust Why Do I Also Need a Pour Over Will?

If I Have a Living Trust Why Do I Also Need a Pour Over Will?

By Attorney Paul Hanks of Ironclad Living Trusts in California

It is important to note that a Pour Over Will is not a traditional Will, but rather a Pour Over Will is a safety net to ensure that assets omitted from inclusion in a Trust are not probated. The Pour Over Will directs assets which are otherwise at risk of probate to the Trust. There are many existing methods to avoid probate, to include: (1) titling the asset under a living trust; (2) naming your trust as beneficiary of an asset; (3) earmarking the asset to pass by beneficiary designation to individuals you name as the beneficiaries; (4) holding the asset under multiple ownership which allows the asset to pass upon the death of one owner to the surviving joint owner(s). In California, a Pour Over Will serves as a probate avoidance device and is a legal tool to capture assets at risk of probate and direct those assets to a Revocable Living Trust for distribution.