Living Trust in Texas

As a part of your comprehensive estate plan, should you consider using a revocable living trust?

Texas probate law is complex and potentially detrimental to the value of your estate should you die without adequate protections in place.

Living trusts offer a number of clear benefits, but they also come with a few caveats. Whether this estate planning tool is right for you depends on your goals and the details of your assets and holdings.

What Is a Living Trust?

Living trusts, also called revocable living trusts or revocable trusts, are legal entities established for the purpose of holding assets during your lifetime.

Once the entity is established, you must transfer title of your chosen assets to the trust. Unless you make changes, those assets will remain in the trust until you die or become incapacitated, depending on your instructions.

You can place real property, cars, investment accounts, and other types of assets in a living trust. During your lifetime, any assets held in a living trust will be for your benefit, unless you specify otherwise.

As with any type of trust, you must designate a trustee to manage the assets and name anyone who will be a beneficiary.

The designated trustee (you can designate yourself as trustee) administers the trust based on the formal instructions outlined in the legal documents required to establish the trust entity. Unlike some other entity types, you can make changes to or revoke a living trust any time prior to your death.