Texas Trust Planning and Administration.

Eight disciplines. One coordinated plan.

Trust planning, without the mystery.

Do I need a trust in Texas?

Whether a trust is appropriate depends on the client's family, assets, business, incapacity concerns, and objectives. Many Texans complete a coordinated estate plan without a trust; others benefit substantially from one. A trust is often useful when there is a business interest, a beneficiary who needs protection, a real-estate portfolio, incapacity concerns, blended-family circumstances, out-of-state property, a special-needs beneficiary, or a coordinated multigenerational objective. The analysis is fact-specific; a trust should be selected because it fits, not because it is fashionable.

What is the difference between a revocable and irrevocable trust?

A revocable trust can be amended, restated, or revoked by the settlor during the settlor's lifetime and capacity. It provides incapacity management and, for properly funded assets, probate avoidance, but generally does not provide creditor protection or transfer-tax benefits during the settlor's lifetime. An irrevocable trust generally cannot be changed by the settlor once signed (though in defined circumstances Texas law allows modification, decanting, or reformation), and it may provide creditor protection for beneficiaries and, when properly designed, transfer-tax benefits. Selection depends on the objective, not the label.

Does a trust avoid probate?

A properly funded revocable trust can help avoid probate for the assets that are actually titled in the trust or otherwise directed to it (for example, by a valid beneficiary designation). Assets that were never re-titled, or that pass by beneficiary designation to someone other than the trust, are not controlled by the trust and generally still require their own administration. Funding is the step most often overlooked; a trust that is not funded does not avoid probate.

What assets should be titled to a trust?

The working list depends on the family and the plan, but commonly includes: (i) real estate that would otherwise pass through Texas probate — including out-of-state real property where ancillary probate would otherwise be required, (ii) non-retirement investment and bank accounts, (iii) closely held business interests where the company agreement permits, (iv) valuable personal property, and (v) intellectual property. Retirement accounts, life insurance, and annuities generally pass by beneficiary designation and are coordinated with the trust rather than re-titled into it. Funding is a coordinated exercise, not a form change.

Who should serve as trustee?

A trustee should be a person or institution the settlor trusts to act with judgment, discipline, and impartiality, and who has the capacity to perform trustee duties over time. Common choices include the settlor (during life, for a revocable trust), a surviving spouse, an adult child, a professional co-trustee, or a corporate trustee for larger, longer-duration, or more complex trusts. Successor and back-up trustees are essential — the appointment sequence should anticipate incapacity, death, resignation, and removal, and should account for the specific family and asset dynamics involved.

What is a special-needs trust?

A special-needs trust is a trust designed to hold assets for the benefit of a person with a disability without disqualifying that person from means-tested public benefits such as SSI and Medicaid. Third-party special-needs trusts hold assets contributed by parents, grandparents, or other family members. First-party (self-settled) special-needs trusts hold assets belonging to the person with the disability (for example, from a personal-injury settlement) and are subject to distinct statutory requirements, including Medicaid payback provisions. Design and administration are fact-specific and must be coordinated with the beneficiary's benefits, care plan, and family.

Can a trust protect a beneficiary's inheritance?

Often, yes. Carefully drafted discretionary distribution standards, spendthrift provisions, trustee-selection rules, and trust-duration terms can provide meaningful protection against a beneficiary's creditors, a beneficiary's divorce, and a beneficiary's own financial decisions — though the exact degree of protection depends on the trust language, the beneficiary's rights, the timing of any claim, and applicable law. No trust is a complete answer, and no design is a substitute for the beneficiary's own responsibility, but well-drafted trust terms can materially change outcomes.

How is a trust administered after death?

After the settlor's death, the successor trustee typically identifies and marshals trust assets, sends required notices to beneficiaries, coordinates any tax filings, addresses debts and expenses of the estate as required, and distributes the trust according to its terms and applicable Texas law. Trust administration in Texas is generally less public and less court-supervised than probate, but the trustee's duties — loyalty, prudence, impartiality, information, and accounting — are still substantial. Coordinated legal counsel at the outset reduces cost and materially reduces the risk of fiduciary disputes.