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Probate is often an extended and expensive process involving multiple steps that can consume a lot of time while draining an estate of its resources. It’s no wonder people in Contra Costa County want to avoid probate if they can, but avoiding probate can also be complicated. Pour-over wills and trusts act in conjunction to simplify probate avoidance by ensuring that any assets not held in the trust at the time of your death will automatically “pour over” into the trust.
What Is a Pour-Over Will?
A pour-over will is a will that transfers any remaining estate assets to a revocable living trust at your death. A pour-over will transfers the residue of a decedent’s estate to a living trust established by the decedent and that they could have revoked before death if they had chosen to do so. This means that a pour-over will can only transfer assets to a revocable trust.
Revocable Trusts
According to the Superior Court of California, a living trust is one that is established during your lifetime to hold your property for the benefit of the trust’s beneficiary. You can be the trustee and the beneficiary of your trust until you pass away, at which point the assets in the trust will be managed by your appointed trustee for your chosen beneficiary.
A trust can be either revocable or irrevocable. An irrevocable trust cannot be changed or canceled, while a revocable trust can. People use irrevocable trusts to protect their assets from creditors or for tax planning reasons, but if you want to use a pour-over will, you will need a revocable trust.
Any property transferred to a revocable living trust is not subject to probate. This allows you to leave assets for the benefit of your heirs without owning them yourself. Because the trust is the owner of the property and you are not, the property doesn’t need to go through probate when you die.
Limitations on Probate Avoidance
There are limits to your ability to avoid probate with a pour-over will. If the property that the pour-over will transfers to the trust is worth less than California’s small estate threshold of $184,500, you can transfer the property without going through probate. The property must still go through probate if it is worth more than $184,500. For this reason, you should transfer as much property as possible into the living trust while you’re still alive, using the pour-over will as a backup in case there are any assets you don’t get transferred in time.
Simple and Effective Probate Avoidance
Using a pour-over will combined with a revocable living trust is one of the simplest and most effective options to avoid probate. Even if you don’t have everything transferred to the trust at the time of death, your pour-over will can still ensure that all your remaining property is transferred to the trust without going through the probate administration process. An estate planning lawyer can help you set up a revocable living trust with a pour-over will.
Contact a Contra Costa County Estate Planning Lawyer Today
An estate planning lawyer in Contra Costa County, California, can help you with all aspects of estate planning and probate avoidance. Horizon Elder Law & Estate Planning serves people in Contra Costa County, California, who need estate planning services. Whether you need to write a will, establish a living trust and a pour-over will, or create a comprehensive estate plan, we can help you achieve your goals, provide for your loved ones, and get peace of mind. If you need help with estate planning, contact Horizon Elder Law & Estate Planning today.