A pour-over will directs that any probate assets not already titled in the settlor's revocable trust be distributed ('poured over') to that trust at death, to be administered under its terms. It unifies the dispositive scheme in one instrument — the trust — while catching assets that escaped funding.
The Uniform Testamentary Additions to Trusts Act (UTATA), adopted in every state and reflected in UPC 2-511, validates a devise to a trust identified in the will even if the trust is amendable/revocable and even if amended after the will's execution — including a trust that is unfunded during life, so long as it is executed before or concurrently with the will. This avoids the older common-law problems of incorporation by reference and acts of independent significance.
Note
Because the trust receives the assets, its terms control ultimate disposition; the trust — not the will — should carry the substantive dispositive, tax, and administrative provisions.
- Poured-over assets pass through probate first, then into the trust — defeating the privacy and speed benefits for those assets.
- It does not avoid ancillary probate for out-of-state real property that was never deeded into the trust.
- Treat the pour-over will as a safety net; complete funding remains the objective.
Key takeaways
- UTATA/UPC 2-511 validates the pour-over even to an unfunded, later-amended revocable trust.
- The trust, not the pour-over will, should hold the substantive dispositive and tax provisions.
- Pour-over assets still pass through probate — funding during life is the real objective.
Authorities
- Uniform Testamentary Additions to Trusts Act (UTATA)
- Uniform Probate Code 2-511