Free Delaware Pour-Over Will

In Delaware, a pour-over will is signed before 2 witnesses and moves anything left outside the trust into it through probate.

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Yes. A pour-over will catches whatever was never retitled into the revocable living trust: property acquired after the trust was signed, accounts left in the testator's own name, personal belongings. Those assets are probated through the Register of Wills before they reach the trust, typically 9 months to 12 months for a simple estate, and then follow the trust's distribution plan rather than Delaware intestacy law. Assets already titled in the trust at death bypass probate. In Delaware, estates with personal property of $50,000 or less skip probate with the Distribution Without Letters, 30 days after death.

A pour-over will is executed like any Delaware will: Delaware requires 2 witnesses present at signing. A notary is not required for validity; the self-proving affidavit is notarized so the will enters probate without witness testimony.

Delaware has no separate trust creditor-notice step — the settlor's debts stay subject to the general claims and limitations period (up to 8 months), which the trustee settles before distributing. Either way, trust assets reach the beneficiaries without court involvement. Pour-over assets go through probate first, typically 9 months to 12 months. The more the trust holds during the settlor's lifetime, the less the pour-over will has to carry.

Delaware has authorized remote online notarization for many documents, but wills are excluded, so the will's notarization happens in person. The trust instrument may be signed electronically, but its 1 witness must be in the settlor's physical presence, so the trust's signing is not fully remote.

Yes. A new pour-over will revokes the earlier one when it carries revocation language, and the new version is executed under the same Delaware rules: 2 witnesses.

What Is a Pour-Over Will?

A pour-over will is a document that directs untitled assets — property not already in a trust, accounts never retitled, personal belongings — into the trust at death.

Assets in the trust transfer to beneficiaries without court involvement. Delaware has no separate trust creditor-notice step — the settlor's debts stay subject to the general claims and limitations period (up to 8 months), which the trustee settles before distributing. Pour-over assets go through Delaware probate before reaching the trust. Without a pour-over will or other designation, untitled assets pass under Delaware intestacy law.

Delaware requires 2 witnesses for a valid pour-over will. The document carries a self-proving affidavit, which lets the will be admitted without witness testimony for any assets that do pour over.

A pour-over will can also include guardian nominations for minor children, the same as any Delaware will.

SimplyTrust Editorial·Updated September 15, 2026

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Data sourced from Delaware statutes and official state code. How we research.

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Free Delaware Pour-Over Will

In Delaware, a pour-over will is signed before 2 witnesses and moves anything left outside the trust into it through probate.

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What Is a Pour-Over Will?

A pour-over will is a document that directs untitled assets — property not already in a trust, accounts never retitled, personal belongings — into the trust at death.

Delaware requires 2 witnesses for a valid pour-over will. The document carries a self-proving affidavit, which lets the will be admitted without witness testimony for any assets that do pour over.

A pour-over will can also include guardian nominations for minor children, the same as any Delaware will.