I have written about the pour over will before, basically a testator can set up a trust while they are living and act as trustee themselves and when they die, the trust will transfer to their heirs as a beneficiary. There are several things that you and your Florida Probate Attorney will need to get in order in order for the trust to be effective.
- You have to establish the trust. This will be accomplished by drafting trust documents, or a trust charter here you can establish the specific terms of your trust from who will be a beneficiary to who will be the successor trustee (often you will be the initial trustee until you die).
- You need to establish a will. Without a valid will your assets will pass through intestacy.
- Now you have to re-title your real property and accounts. You need to get the assets into the trust which means you and/or your Palm Beach Probate Attorney will have to re-title the assets in the name of the trust. Now when you die, the assets do not have to go through probate because you dont own them, you hold them as trustee for the trust. This is why the pour over will is so convenient.
- You should have a back up plan. What happens if you execute the will walk out of your attorney’s office to get hit by a bus. What happens now? Well if your will does not address this, your assets are going to go through intestacy.Establish a backup plan in your will which states that if you own any real property and accounts ( because the trust has not aquired them yet) they go to your heirs of choice.
- Don’t forget about the small personal property that you want to give to relatives, place special notes of these so these are not sold and placed into the trust.