What is a pour-over will?

A pour-over will acts as a safety net in an estate plan. It captures any assets you own at death that were never funded into your revocable living trust, or that you acquired after setting up the trust but failed to transfer. Those assets then "pour over" into the trust and are managed and distributed according to the trust's instructions, rather than passing through probate or intestacy laws.

This document works alongside a revocable trust as a catch-all. While a fully funded living trust keeps most assets out of probate and private during your lifetime, it is rare for people to transfer every single asset into a trust before death. Bank accounts opened years later, inherited property, or items acquired unexpectedly may fall through the cracks. A pour-over will ensures they end up where you intended without leaving a gap in your plan.

The pour-over will also typically names your executor and guardians for minor children, functions a regular will handles. However, unlike a standard will, the pour-over will does not distribute assets directly to beneficiaries. Instead, it funnels them to your trust, where your chosen trustee carries out the actual distribution according to the trust document.

Because assets transferred via a pour-over will still pass through probate in North Carolina (albeit briefly), most people fund their trusts as thoroughly as possible during life. An attorney specializing in wills and trusts can help you identify which accounts and property should be funded into the trust from the start and whether a pour-over will fits your situation.