Free Washington 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 Washington, 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 Washington probate, which typically takes 4-6 months. Assets already titled in the trust at death bypass probate entirely. If the pour-over assets total less than $100,000, Washington's simplified procedure 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 Washington will: 2 adult witnesses present at signing.RCW 11.12.020Verified Jul 15, 2026 A notary is optional for validity, but our form includes a self-proving affidavit that simplifies probate. See all Washington 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 If the trust doesn't exist, has been revoked, or is found invalid at death, assets go to your named alternates instead of Washington intestacy distribution. This is an important safeguard — it ensures your assets have a destination regardless of what happens to the trust.

The successor trustee can publish Washington's optional creditor notice to shorten the claim window to 4 months; without it, the settlor's creditors have up to 24 months to bring a claim.RCW 11.42.010 (notice agent qualifications — trustee receiving substantially all nonprobate assets is "qualified to give" notice); RCW 11.42.020 ("a notice agent may give nonprobate notice" / "has elected to give"); RCW 11.42.050 (bar: 4 months after first publication, or 24 months after date of death for a reasonably ascertainable creditor not given notice; effective as to both probate and nonprobate assets). WA has no mandatory trust-creditor procedure — the RCW ch. 11.42 nonprobate notice is an elective trustee/notice-agent safe-harbor; if not invoked, claims run to the 24-month outer limit (or otherwise applicable SOL). 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 4-6 months. Funding your trust during your lifetime saves your family time, cost, and privacy.

Washington allows remote online notarization for both documents, so the notarization step can be completed by video call.RCW 42.45.280 The pour-over will itself still has to be signed and witnessed under Washington's execution rules.

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 Washington's execution requirements: 2 witnesses. 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.