The costliest trust in Texas is the one that was never funded.
About this book
You have heard that a living trust can keep your family out of probate, but you are not sure whether you need one or how to make it work. The Texas Trusts Guide explains how to choose, fund and run a trust under the Texas Trust Code, Property Code Chapters 111 to 117.
The guide starts with whether you need a trust at all or whether a will is enough in Texas. It explains the five elements that create a valid Texas trust in §112.001 to .004 and the revocability presumption in §112.051. It compares revocable and irrevocable trusts and explains why a revocable trust does not protect assets from creditors or Medicaid.
A full section covers funding asset by asset: the recorded deed, the bank retitle, the beneficiary designation, and the warning about retirement accounts. Other chapters match special-needs, spendthrift, charitable and pet trusts to specific goals, and walk a successor trustee through the first 90 days, from death certificates and the EIN to the trust account and six fiduciary duties.
The guide closes with advanced strategies and 2026 Texas points, including homestead in a trust, community property and the double step-up, SECURE's 10-year rule, decanting and digital assets. It is for Texas adults planning an estate and the people who will serve as trustee. Legal information, not legal advice.
What's inside
- Whether you need a trust at all — or whether a will is enough in Texas
- The five elements that create a valid Texas trust (§112.001–.004) and the revocability presumption that surprises every transplant (§112.051)
- Revocable vs. irrevocable — the control-for-protection trade , and why a revocable trust protects nothing from creditors or Medicaid
- How to fund the trust asset by asset — the recorded deed, the bank retitle, the beneficiary designation, and the retirement-account warning
- Special-needs, spendthrift, charitable, and pet trusts — matched to the goal, not the brochure
- The successor trustee's first 90 days — death certificates, the EIN, the trust account, and the six fiduciary duties
- Advanced strategies — the 300-year dynasty trust, ILITs, QPRTs, CRT vs. CLT, and the family business
- The 2026 Texas edges — homestead in a trust, community property and the double step-up, SECURE's 10-year rule, decanting, and digital assets
Why readers can trust these guides
Every STACKED LEGAL guide is legal education in plain English, cited to Texas law, and dated so you know how current it is.
Cited, so you can check it
Every rule names the section of Texas law it comes from.
Plain English
Written for the person in the situation, not for lawyers.
2026 Edition
States when it was written and the law it relies on.
Legal education, not legal advice. STACKED LEGAL® is a publisher, not a law firm. Buying or reading this book creates no attorney-client relationship and promises no outcome. Laws change; verify current law and talk to a licensed Texas attorney about your situation.