What Is a Pour-Over Will in Florida?

When you set up a revocable living trust, you pair it with a special, short will called a pour-over will. It's one of the most useful — and least understood — documents in an estate plan. Here's what it does.

The safety net for your trust

The whole point of a living trust is that your assets are owned by the trust, so they pass outside probate. But almost everyone leaves something out — a forgotten account, a recently bought asset, a check that arrives after death. A pour-over will directs that anything still in your individual name at death gets "poured over" into your trust, so it's ultimately distributed under your trust's terms instead of by chance.

Why you still need a will with a trust

People sometimes think a trust replaces a will entirely. It doesn't. The pour-over will does two things a trust can't:

• Catches stray assets — anything you never funded into the trust.
• Names a guardian for minor children — a trust cannot do this; only a will can.

An important caveat: fund the trust anyway

Here's the catch people miss: assets that pass through the pour-over will may still go through probate before they reach the trust. So the pour-over will is a backstop, not a strategy. The way to actually avoid probate is to fund your trust properly during your life. The pour-over will is there for the things you missed — not as a substitute for funding.

It comes standard in a complete plan

A complete Florida estate plan includes the trust and the pour-over will together, along with powers of attorney and health care directives. You shouldn't have to think about assembling these separately — a good plan provides them as a coordinated set.

This article is attorney advertising and general information only — not legal advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Consult a licensed Florida attorney about your situation. Arthur Simpson, Esq. is licensed in Florida (Bar #529265). No particular result is guaranteed.