Pour Over Will

Pour Over Will Services

A pour-over will is an estate planning tool used to ensure the wishes you have documented in your trust agreement are followed even if something were defective.

For example, a defect can occur if you were to forget to fund your trust properly, title a new asset in the name of the trust, or if something were to go wrong with the trust itself that made it legally inoperative due to a failure of the document, or a change in the laws.

A pour-over will operate to “catch” all of the assets you failed to place into the assets of the trust and have now fallen into your probate estate. The will operates to catch these assets and “pour” them back “over” to the trust. Thus, the reason for the name “pour-over will.”

Have a Comprehensive Estate Plan

While this legal mechanism may not operate to avoid probate court, it is a safety net put in place to ensure your trust agreement will operate the way you designed.

A second safety devises placed in a pour-over will is to incorporate the terms of a defective trust into the will. This is done through an “incorporation by reference,” which is a clause in the will that simply states that if the trust were to become defective, the terms of the trust are to be added, or incorporated, into the terms of the will so that the will would act according to those trust terms.

Power Over Your Assets

This allows your ultimate plan to still be placed into action even though the trust is defective.

Finally, the pour-over will have its own disposition of your estate should the trust and the incorporation by reference be defective or inoperable. This disposition plan will likely mirror the terms in the trust but is placed in the will as added security to ensure your plan’s terms are ultimately followed.

Work With Our Trusted Filippi Law Firm, P.C.

Having a trusted attorney properly draft these documents is imperative to ensure your wishes are followed when the time comes. Contact the Filippi Law Firm, P.C. today to schedule a consultation.

  • Last Will & Testament

    We will prepare a legal document to provide clear instructions on what should happen to all your assets according to your wishes after death. It can prevent family feuds over property and other finances.

  • Power of Attorney

    We’ll guide you in choosing a power of attorney (POA) and explain what legal decisions can be made by the person assigned. It’s the best way to protect your finances, property, or medical care.

  • Trusts

    This includes Revocable Living Trust, Irrevocable Trust, Testamentary Trust, and Special Needs Trust.

  • Pour Over Will

    Our professional team will ensure that a pour-over will is in place to capture any assets that are not included in your living trust or that weren’t transferred initially. It’s always better to play it safe and make sure everything is handled accordingly.

  • Healthcare Documents

    If something should happen to you and you can no longer make decisions, you’ll want to make sure that somebody has your best interest at heart and follows your instructions for any healthcare needs. Our team will create the legal healthcare documents needed to give you peace of mind.

Satisfied Client Stories

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The team of Filippi Law are kind, sincere and thorough in their work. They helped us work through our trust administration of our family member, to create our own trust, and any other issues that came up along the way. We appreciate their time and their willingness to explain the process in the detail. They also helped us with needed referrals for anything else. We would highly recommend their insight to anyone.

Elizabeth G. | Sacramento, CA
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Jen helped us figure out the nuances of the different state laws to help with setting up the will and distribution to family members. She found issues with our previous will/trust that were corrected and offered updates to the new laws. We are very pleased with the final product and my mother feels that her wishes have been heard and met.

Susan S. | Roseville, CA
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I worked with a few different people throughout the trust distribution process and everyone was very helpful and pleasant to work with.

Nicole H. | Fort Collins, CO
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Best firm I’ve ever had represent me both personally and professionally. Jim and the team lead the way!

Brandon M. | Rocklin, CA
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We found the Filippi Law Firm in Yelp and we were so lucky to have found them. Both Jen and Jim were kind and patient, explaining the process and addressing our concerns with a cost we felt was appropriate for the quality of the work. At all times we felt supported in the process and it could not have gone better. If you need this kind of work do yourself a favor and reach out to these folks for help. You won’t regret it.

Ron G. | Sacramento, CA
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Jenn helped us with a trust account for my parents. She is very polite and thorough at doing her job she answered every question. My parents had and made them feel very welcome there. If we ever had to use the office again, we would .

Mark L. | California

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