If you have a revocable living trust, you have probably also heard your attorney mention a pour-over will. It is a short but important companion document—and understanding it can save your family a headache later.
What a pour-over will does
A pour-over will is a will that “pours” any assets still in your individual name at death into your living trust. Once there, those assets are distributed under the trust’s terms, right alongside everything you transferred while you were alive. Florida law (Fla. Stat. § 732.513) expressly allows a will to leave property to the trustee of your trust this way.
Why you still want one
Ideally, you title all major assets in your trust while you are alive (this is called “funding” the trust). In reality, people forget an account, or acquire a new asset and never move it in. The pour-over will is the safety net that catches anything left out, so it is not distributed under Florida’s intestacy laws to people you never intended.
One catch: probate
Assets that pass through a pour-over will generally must still go through probate before they reach the trust. That is why a pour-over will is a backstop—not a substitute for properly funding your trust in the first place. Keeping your trust fully funded is the best way to keep your estate out of probate.