Add a Last a Name Field Legal California Pour Over Will Forms For Free

Pour-over will vs standard will The main difference is in scope. A standard will is intended to account for the entirety of the deceased's estate. They provide instructions for distributing all assets. By comparison, a pour-over will only gives instruction for handling assets not included in the standard will.

With a pour-over will, any assets not included in your trust are automatically transferred to your trust after you pass away. Think of it as a kind of “safety net,” capturing any property you didn't transfer to your trust while you were alive.

There is only one significant disadvantage to a pour-over will. Like a traditional last will and testament, this type of will must go through the probate process, which can be time-consuming. It can take many months before the distribution of assets.

Notarization is not required in California to make your will legal. Some states allow you to make your will "self-proving" by signing a special affidavit in front of a notary that accompanies the will. However, California allows your will to be self-proved without a self-proving affidavit.

In California, the testator must sign and date a written will. The testator must be of “sound mind” and at least 18 years old when signing the will. Being of sound mind means that the testator has the legal capacity to reason, think, or understand the will.

over will can help the family and beneficiaries of the testator's will avoid probate on nontrust assets by transferring them into the trust's care after the testator dies. If the value of the pourover assets does not exceed California's statutory limits for trust funds, the assets will not move into probate.

A standard will directly distributes your assets to named beneficiaries and is entirely subject to the probate process, making it a public record. In contrast, a Pour-Over Will transfers your assets into a trust upon death, offering a more private and potentially streamlined estate management process.

I give all of my probate estate, after expenses and taxes are for under this Last Will and Testament, to the then-acting Trustee of the Trust Name, dated Trust Date, and any amendments thereto (the “Trust”), executed before this Last Will and Testament, to be added to the property of that trust.

Under California probate law, at least two witnesses must sign your will. The witnesses must be present at the same time you, as the testator, sign the will. The witnesses also need to sign a legal affidavit that acknowledges the testator's mental capacity when he or she signed the will.