A living will and a pour-over will are two distinct legal documents used in estate planning, serving different purposes:
- Living Will:
- A living will, also known as an advance directive or healthcare directive, is a legal document that outlines an individual’s preferences for medical treatment and end-of-life care in case they become incapacitated and unable to communicate their wishes.
- It typically addresses decisions regarding life-sustaining treatments, such as the use of ventilators, feeding tubes, or resuscitation.
- A living will provides guidance to healthcare professionals and family members about the individual’s healthcare preferences, ensuring that their wishes are honored even if they are unable to express them.
- Pour-Over Will:
- A pour-over will is a type of will that works in conjunction with a trust-based estate plan, specifically a revocable living trust.
- It is used to “pour over” or transfer any assets that were not already transferred into the trust during the individual’s lifetime into the trust upon their death.
- The pour-over will acts as a safety net to ensure that any assets not explicitly included in the trust are still distributed according to the terms of the trust.
- Assets transferred through the pour-over will may still be subject to probate, but they will ultimately be distributed according to the instructions outlined in the trust document, allowing for greater control and efficiency in estate administration.
In summary, a living will addresses healthcare preferences and end-of-life care decisions, while a pour-over will is used to transfer assets into a revocable living trust upon the individual’s death as part of an estate planning strategy.