What is a pour-over trust and when is it used?

• A. A pour-over trust receives assets through a will or other instrument at death, used to consolidate estate planning or fund an existing trust.
• B. A pour-over trust pays out all income immediately.
• C. A pour-over trust is used for charitable purposes only.
• D. A pour-over trust cannot be amended.

Answer: (A)

A pour-over trust is a way to funnel assets that aren’t already in a trust into a preexisting trust after death, so the trust’s rules govern how those assets are managed and distributed. This approach is used to consolidate estate planning by ensuring that assets left by will or other instruments at death are placed under the same set of terms as the rest of the trust, or to fund an existing trust with those assets. It helps keep administration centralized and makes sure distributions follow a single plan rather than being scattered across separate instruments. The idea isn’t about paying out income immediately, and it isn’t limited to charitable purposes; whether it can be amended depends on the specific document, but many pour-over trusts are revocable during the grantor’s lifetime.