Free Louisiana Pour-Over Will

A pour-over will directs any assets not already in your revocable living trust to transfer into the trust at death. It catches property you forgot to retitle, assets acquired after the trust was created, and personal belongings. In Louisiana, these pour-over assets go through probate before reaching the trust — but they still follow the trust's distribution plan rather than state intestacy law.

No — assets transferred through a pour-over will go through Louisiana probate, which typically takes 3-6 months. Assets already titled in the trust at death bypass probate entirely. If the pour-over assets total less than $125,000, Louisiana's Small Succession may apply — a faster path. Use the probate need checker to see what may require probate.

A pour-over will follows the same execution requirements as any Louisiana will: 2 adult witnesses present at signing.La. C.C. Art. 1576Verified Jul 15, 2026 Louisiana also requires notarization for the will to be valid. See all Louisiana signing requirements.

This form includes fields for alternate beneficiaries. If the trust doesn't exist, has been revoked, or is found invalid at death, assets go to your named alternates instead of Louisiana intestacy distribution. This is an important safeguard — it ensures your assets have a destination regardless of what happens to the trust.

Louisiana has no separate trust creditor-notice step — the settlor's debts stay subject to the general claims and limitations period (up to 3 months), which the trustee settles before distributing.No Louisiana Trust Code creditor procedure exists (La. R.S. 9:1721 et seq. imposes no trustee notice/publication duty). Settlor creditors proceed through succession: La. C.C.P. Art. 3302 sets the 3-month point at which the succession representative begins paying estate debts (succession-side, not a trustee duty); La. C.C.P. Arts. 3241-3252 govern presentation of claims to the succession representative; general liberative prescription applies under La. C.C. Art. 3499 et seq. No mandatory duty and no elective shortened bar for trustees. Verified 2026-06-19.Verified Jul 15, 2026 Either way, trust assets reach beneficiaries without court involvement. Pour-over assets, by contrast, go through probate, which typically takes 3-6 months. Funding your trust during your lifetime saves your family time, cost, and privacy.

Yes. You can create a new pour-over will at any time — a new will revokes prior versions when it includes revocation language (our form includes this). Any new version must meet Louisiana's execution requirements: 2 witnesses and notarization. Most families update their pour-over will whenever they update their trust.

Yes. A pour-over will only directs assets into a trust you've already created — without one, it's just a regular will. If you don't have a trust yet, you can set one up and pair it with this pour-over will as a safety net.