If you have a revocable living trust, then your estate plan should include a Pour-Over Will, a unique legal document that ensures all your property makes it into the trust.
When you fund your trust, you formally transfer property you own into the name of the trust. But we all know that what we own today may not necessarily be what we own tomorrow.
Quite the contrary, we acquire and get rid of property all the time, making it extremely important to keep your Trust updated at all times.
But even the best efforts can leave some property out. Maybe it was so insignificant you overlooked it or maybe you just forgot you had it. Either way, that property is still part of your estate and must be distributed to someone in some way upon your death.
This is where a Pour-Over Will comes in handy.
Rather than detail each item and how it should be distributed, the Pour-Over Will simply states that any property not currently held in the trust should immediately be transferred to your trust upon your death.
Granted, any property that is left outside of the trust at the time of your death will still be subject to probate but having the Pour-Over Will should seriously simplify the process.
Stephen A. Mendel, Estate Planning Attorney
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