Updating an Existing Texas Trust.
An older trust may no longer match the family, tax environment, asset mix, fiduciary needs, or beneficiary circumstances it was designed to address. Depending on the trust terms and applicable law, modification, decanting, non-judicial settlement, judicial reformation, or other solutions may be available. We begin with the trust instrument and the actual objective — not assumptions.
Trustees, beneficiaries, and families whose existing trust is difficult to administer, out of step with current law or family circumstances, or in need of clarification.
- Trust-instrument review and objective identification
- Non-judicial settlement agreements where appropriate
- Decanting analysis under Texas statute
- Judicial modification and reformation options
- Trustee, situs, and administrative-term updates
- Beneficiary communication and consent considerations
- Coordination with tax and reporting consequences
The Lone Star Counsel process, adapted to the matter.
- 01Understand
Family, assets, and objectives.
- 02Design
Legal architecture appropriate to the matter.
- 03Draft
Trust and companion instruments.
- 04Fund
Assets and beneficiary designations aligned.
- 05Maintain
Reviews as life and law evolve.
About trust modification, decanting & reformation.
- Can an irrevocable trust ever be changed?
- In defined circumstances, yes. Texas recognizes several tools — non-judicial settlement agreements, decanting, judicial modification, and reformation — each with different requirements and effects.
- Do all beneficiaries have to agree to a trust modification?
- It depends on the tool used. Some require the consent of qualified beneficiaries; others do not. The analysis begins with the trust instrument and applicable statute.
- Does changing a trust have tax consequences?
- It may. Any modification should be evaluated for gift-tax, income-tax, and generation-skipping-transfer-tax consequences before it is implemented.
A confidential conference with Darryl V. Pratt, Esq., CPA.
Nearly 30 years of business, estate, trust, and succession counsel. Frisco headquarters, or by secure video across the state of Texas.