What Is a Revocable Living Trust in Texas?
A revocable living trust is a written agreement you create and control while you are alive. You transfer assets into it, you can change or cancel it at any time, and at your death a successor trustee distributes the assets to your beneficiaries under the terms you wrote. Assets titled in the trust generally skip probate in Texas. It does not shield assets from your creditors and it does not lower federal estate tax.
The three roles in a trust
Every living trust has three roles, and one person often fills all three at the start. The settlor (also called the grantor or trustmaker) creates the trust and puts assets in it. The trustee manages the assets. The beneficiaries receive the benefit. In a typical Texas plan for an individual, you are the settlor, the trustee and the beneficiary while you are alive, so day to day nothing changes: you still live in your house and spend your money.
The document also names a successor trustee who steps in if you die or can no longer manage your affairs, and it spells out who receives what afterward.
What revocable means
Revocable means you keep the power to amend the trust, move assets in and out, or end it entirely. Because you keep that control, the law treats the assets as still yours for most purposes. That has three consequences. Creditors can generally reach the assets as they could before. The assets are counted in your estate for federal estate tax. And the trust usually uses your Social Security number for tax purposes while you are alive, so you report income as you always did.
When you die, the trust becomes irrevocable. The terms are locked in and the successor trustee carries them out.
What a living trust does in Texas
- Avoids probate for trust assets. Property titled in the trust passes under the trust document, not through the county probate court.
- Plans for incapacity. If you cannot manage your finances, the successor trustee can step in without a court-supervised guardianship over your property.
- Keeps the details private. A will becomes a public record when probated. A trust does not.
- Controls timing. You can pay a beneficiary over time or at set ages instead of in one lump sum.
What it does not do
A trust only controls what is in it. A house still deeded to you personally, or a bank account still in your name, is not covered until you retitle it, which is why funding the trust matters as much as signing it. A revocable trust also does not protect against lawsuits; that takes a different structure, covered in our asset protection guides. And Texas has no state estate or inheritance tax, so a trust is not needed to avoid one.
Is a living trust right for you
A trust tends to make the most sense if you own real estate, own property in more than one state, have minor or young adult beneficiaries, want privacy, or want a plan that works if you become incapacitated. For a small estate with simple assets, a will plus beneficiary designations and a transfer on death deed may be enough. A partner attorney can compare the options for your situation.
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Book Free ConsultationFrequently asked questions
Does a living trust avoid probate in Texas?
Assets titled in the name of the trust generally pass without probate. Assets left in your own name do not, unless they pass by beneficiary designation, survivorship or a transfer on death deed.
Can I be my own trustee?
Yes. Most people serve as their own trustee while they are alive and capable, and name a successor trustee to take over at death or incapacity.
Does a revocable living trust protect my assets from creditors?
No. Because you can revoke it and take the assets back, creditors can generally reach them as they could if you owned them directly.
Do I still need a will if I have a living trust?
Usually yes. A pour-over will catches any asset you forgot to retitle and names guardians for minor children, which a trust cannot do.