Do You Still Need a Will If You Have a Living Trust?

August 28, 2025

Short answer: yes—you still need a will, even if you’ve created a revocable living trust. The will you need is called a pour‑over will. It acts as your safety net, captures assets left outside the trust, nominates guardians for minor children, and names an executor to handle items that still require court authority. This article explains, in lawyer‑to‑layperson terms, why the pour‑over will matters, how it interacts with trust funding, what happens if you miss assets, and how the will and trust work together during administration.

What a living trust controls—and what it doesn’t

A revocable living trust (RLT) is a management vehicle. While you’re alive and competent, you typically serve as trustee and beneficiary. If you become incapacitated, your successor trustee steps in to manage trust‑titled assets without court intervention. At death, the successor trustee follows your instructions and generally avoids probate for assets already inside the trust.

A trust does not automatically control property you never transferred to it. If your home is still titled in your personal name, or you open a new bank account and forget to retitle it, those items are part of your probate estate—unless your will or a small‑estate shortcut says otherwise. That’s where the pour‑over will comes in.

The pour‑over will’s core jobs

Catch‑all transfer. The will directs that any asset remaining in your name at death be “poured over” into your living trust. Your executor handles the legal steps required to move those assets, and once they land in the trust, your successor trustee administers them under one set of instructions.
Guardianship nominations. Trusts manage property. Wills nominate guardians for minor children. If you have minors, the will is the document the court looks to for your nominations and alternates.
Executor appointment. If any probate steps are necessary (for example, a car titled in your name or a refund check payable to you personally), the executor named in your will is the person the court authorizes to act.
Coordination with small‑estate procedures. Many states allow small‑estate affidavits or simplified processes when remaining probate property is below a certain value. The executor, armed with your pour‑over will, can use those procedures to funnel stragglers quickly into the trust.

Why you need both documents even if you “fund perfectly”

Clients sometimes say, “My trust is fully funded—why do I need a will?” In real life, accounts change, new assets are purchased, and human beings forget paperwork. A pour‑over will is inexpensive insurance against the inevitable missed item:

You buy a car and keep the title in your name.
You open a small savings account for a rebate and forget to retitle it.
You receive a class‑action settlement or tax refund payable to you personally.
You inherit an asset post‑death (e.g., survivorship rights fail), which needs a path into your trust.

In each case, the pour‑over will gives your executor authority to scoop up the item and deliver it to the trust.

What happens if you have a trust but no will?

Without a pour‑over will, leftover assets follow intestacy (your state’s default inheritance statute). That can misdirect property, complicate administration, and increase cost. Worse, your minor children would receive funds at 18 or 21 under default rules, outside of your trust’s spendthrift or age‑staged protections. A one‑page pour‑over clause avoids all of this.

Executor vs successor trustee: who does what?

Executor (under your will): Works with the probate court as needed, uses letters testamentary or a small‑estate affidavit to gather any remaining probate property, pays valid last debts and taxes for the probate estate, then transfers the net residue to your trust.
Successor trustee (under your trust): Manages trust‑titled assets immediately, pays ongoing bills (mortgage, insurance), handles tax filings for the trust, and distributes to beneficiaries as your trust directs—without probate for trust assets.

The two roles can be the same person, but they are legally distinct. Naming the same individual reduces handoffs.

How the pour‑over will interacts with trust funding

The pour‑over will is a backstop, not a substitute for funding. To capture the trust’s key benefits—avoid probate, privacy, and smooth incapacity coverage—you must fund your trust:

Record a deed to trust for real estate (home, rentals, vacation property).
Retitle non‑retirement brokerage accounts into the trust.
Use an assignment of personal property for household items and valuables.
Coordinate beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance.

If you skip these steps, your pour‑over will may still push assets into the trust, but that portion could pass through probate first. Think of the pour‑over will as the “lost‑and‑found,” not the main walkway.

Will the pour‑over will trigger a full probate?

It depends on what’s left outside the trust and on your state’s thresholds. If only small items remain, your executor may use a small‑estate affidavit. If a home or sizeable account remains in your name, a short probate may be necessary to retitle those assets before they can be poured over. That’s precisely why funding is emphasized—so the pour‑over will has very little to do.

Guardianship: why the will carries the nominations

A trust controls property; it doesn’t nominate guardians. If you have minor children, your pour‑over will should name a primary guardian and alternates. You can also separate roles: nominate a guardian of the person in your will and name a trustee (in your trust) to manage money for the child’s benefit. Courts appreciate that you thought through both caregiving and fiscal responsibility.

Edge cases the pour‑over will handles

After‑acquired assets. You sign your trust today; tomorrow you inherit a small asset in your name. The will funnels it into the trust.
Non‑assignable refunds/benefits. Some checks or claims (tax refunds, certain insurance proceeds) must be paid to your name first; the executor then moves them.
Out‑of‑state property you forgot to deed. If a vacation parcel remains in your name, the pour‑over will gives your executor a path—even though it may require ancillary probate in that state.
Personal injury or wrongful death claims. An executor may need to open an estate to prosecute or settle a claim. Proceeds ultimately pour into the trust for distribution under your instructions.

Signing and storage: execution still rules the day

A thoughtful plan fails if the will is invalid. Execute your pour‑over will under your state‑specific will rules:

Sign in front of two adult witnesses (preferably disinterested).
Add a self‑proving affidavit before a notary where available.
Store the original at home in a safe, accessible place, not a sealed safe‑deposit box.
Tell your executor and successor trustee where the documents are.

Your trust should also be fully executed and ready to receive assets; keep a certificate of trust for banks and title companies.

Checklist: building the “no‑loose‑ends” plan

✅ Revocable living trust signed and funded (deeds recorded; brokerage retitled).
✅ Pour‑over will signed with two witnesses and a self‑proving affidavit.
✅ Guardians and alternates nominated in the will (if you have minor children).
✅ Beneficiary designations reviewed and aligned (401(k), IRA, life insurance, TOD/POD).
✅ Certificate of trust and funding checklist stored with your documents.
✅ Successor trustee and executor informed where originals are kept.