If you own a home in Texas and are asking, “should I put my home in a trust in Texas?”, you are really asking two things: will a trust make life easier for my family, and do I need a Texas living trust attorney to set it up correctly? In many cases, a revocable living trust can keep your homestead out of probate, maintain privacy, and provide a clear roadmap for your spouse and children. But it will not automatically shield your house from all creditors or nursing home costs. A Texas estate planning and living trust attorney should review your goals, deed, and family situation before you sign anything. Warren & Migliaccio offers free consultations at (888) 584-9614.
How Texas Estate Planning Works With Trusts and Your Home
Introduction to Estate Planning for Texas Homeowners
Your estate plan is the legal roadmap for what happens to your money, house, and other property if you become incapacitated or pass away. A complete Texas plan usually includes:
- A will
- One or more trusts
- Financial and medical powers of attorney
- Beneficiary designations on accounts and life insurance
- Guardianship or conservatorship planning for minor children
For Texas homeowners, common goals include:
- Avoiding or reducing the probate process and court costs
- Protecting minor children and a surviving spouse
- Keeping your financial situation out of public records
- Reducing stress and conflict for your family
Once you own a home, have minor children, or have built meaningful savings, it is usually time to talk with a Texas estate planning attorney about whether a revocable living trust should be part of your plan.
Even though Texas offers “independent administration,” probate is still a court process with filings, deadlines, and potential delays, especially when real property like a homestead is involved. Probate filings and inventories often become part of the public record, meaning your estate can be open to public scrutiny.
Where a Trust Fits in a Texas Estate Plan
In many modern Texas estate plans, a revocable living trust sits at the center of how you manage and transfer assets, including your home. You keep full control as trustee while you’re alive and well, and your chosen successor trustee can step in and manage assets without a court‑appointed guardian if you become incapacitated. The main disadvantage of a trust is that it typically costs more to set up than a simple will.
Most homeowners who use a trust in Texas also sign:
- A “pour‑over” will that moves any stray assets into the trust at death
- Durable powers of attorney
- Medical directives and HIPAA releases
Working with an experienced Texas living trust attorney helps coordinate all of these parts so they follow Texas trust laws and match your trust terms.
Types of Trusts Texas Homeowners Use to Protect a House
Revocable Trusts vs. Irrevocable Trusts in Texas
Revocable trusts
- You keep full control as trustee.
- You can change the trust terms, add or remove assets, or even revoke the trust.
- For tax purposes, the trust’s assets are still part of your estate; you report income on your own return.
- Under Texas law, your own creditors can usually still reach assets in your revocable trust, so this is not strong asset protection.
Irrevocable trusts
- You generally give up control over the terms of the trust and distributions.
- In certain situations, irrevocable trusts can help with estate tax planning, long‑term care or nursing home planning, or creditor protection.
- Transfers into an irrevocable trust are usually permanent and can create gift‑tax and Medicaid eligibility issues if not planned carefully.
Because the trade‑offs are significant, no one should transfer a homestead into an irrevocable trust without detailed advice from a Texas estate planning attorney. For most homeowners asking whether to put a house in a trust, we are talking about a revocable living trust, not an advanced irrevocable asset‑protection trust.
Revocable Living Trusts for Real Estate
Many Texas homeowners use a revocable living trust to hold:
- Their primary residence (homestead)
- Rental houses
- Vacation homes or land
They do this because a funded trust can:
- Avoid probate for the house and other trust assets—your successor trustee can follow the trust instructions instead of going through a full probate case. If you are considering this option, it helps to start with a focused estate planning consultation.
- Keep trust terms—who gets what and when—out of the public eye.
- Allow a successor trustee to manage mortgage payments, insurance, repairs, and even a sale of the home if you become incapacitated, without a court guardianship.
Revocable living trusts are especially helpful for:
- Married couples who want to protect a surviving spouse while preserving an inheritance for children
- Blended families where family dynamics may be complex
- Parents of minor children who need housing and financial stability if something happens to both parents
With the right wording, a trust can ensure that a surviving spouse has the right to live in or own the house immediately upon the other spouse’s death, while still preserving an inheritance for children. If you are also wondering how your will interacts with a trust, see our article on whether a will overrides a trust in Texas.
Special Trust Planning for Minor Children and Special Needs Loved Ones
If you have:
- Minor children
- A special needs child or adult
- A vulnerable family member with addiction or money issues
…it may not be wise to leave them a house outright.
Instead, your trust can:
- Hold the house in a trust or hold sale proceeds for their benefit
- Allow a trustee to manage assets, decide whether to keep or sell the home, and protect assets from bad decisions
- Provide for a special needs beneficiary without disrupting vital government benefits
Your trust agreement can create separate “subtrusts” at your death, tailored to each beneficiary’s needs. This careful structure can reduce conflict among siblings, stepchildren, and other relatives.
How Trusts Own Texas Real Property (and Help Avoid Probate)
Trusts and Real Property in Texas
Under the Texas Trust Code, a trust can hold title to real estate. To move your house or other real estate into a trust, the basic steps are:
- Create the trust document under Texas law.
- Prepare and sign a new deed transferring ownership from you individually to you (or another trusted person) as trustee.
- Record the deed in the county where the property sits.
Texas does not require that a trust document be notarized, but notarization is considered a best practice.
Once funded, your home becomes part of the trust’s assets. At your death, the successor trustee follows the trust terms instead of relying on a probate judge to interpret a will. Proper funding can:
- Reduce or completely eliminate probate for that property
- Lower court costs
- Shorten the overall legal process for your beneficiaries
- Keep the details out of public records
- Help keep property taxes predictable when combined with a properly maintained homestead exemption (check with your local appraisal district)
Home in a Trust vs. Transfer on Death Deed in Texas
A transfer on death deed (TOD deed) is authorized by Chapter 114 of the Texas Estates Code. It lets you name one or more beneficiaries to receive a specific piece of real property at death, without probate.
TOD deed – key points
- Simple and often low‑cost
- Works well if you have one house and one or two trusted adult beneficiaries
- Offers no built‑in oversight for minor children or beneficiaries with serious problems
- The property remains subject to your liens, mortgages, and some creditor claims
Home in trust – key points
- Can manage multiple assets and multiple houses
- Lets you control trust terms: who can live in the home, when it can be sold, and how money is distributed
- Provides better tools to protect a surviving spouse while still leaving an inheritance to children
- Helps keep family disputes out of open court and the public record
For many homeowners, a TOD deed is a useful estate planning tool, but a home in a trust offers greater flexibility and protection, especially when family dynamics are complicated or when you want ongoing oversight for children or vulnerable beneficiaries.
Homestead, Mortgage, and Insurance Issues
Your homestead rights are strongly protected by the Texas Constitution. Those protections can continue even when the home is held in a properly drafted living trust, and the homestead will still pass under Texas descent and distribution rules if not otherwise directed.
Key issues we review:
- Homestead exemption and property taxes – If you still occupy the home as your principal residence and meet the other requirements, you can usually continue to claim the homestead exemption even when the home is in your revocable trust.
- Mortgage – Most lenders allow transfers to a revocable living trust without calling the loan due, but you must keep payments, property taxes, and insurance current.
- Homeowners’ insurance – Your insurer should list the trust or trustee as an insured interest so any claim checks are properly issued.
- HOA rules – Some associations require notice if title changes, even when you still live in the home.
The Trust Document, Creditor Protection, and Tax Considerations in Texas
Key Trust Terms for Managing a Texas Home
Your trust document is the instruction manual for your trustee. When a Texas trust will hold your home, or if you are considering alternatives like a Transfer on Death Deed in Texas, we typically address:
- Who serves as initial trustee and successor trustee
- Your right to live in the house for life
- Whether your spouse has the same right of occupancy
- Who pays the mortgage, taxes, insurance, and repairs
- When and how the trustee may sell or rent the home
- How any sale proceeds are invested and used for your benefit
We also coordinate these terms with your will and the protections Texas law gives a surviving spouse and minor children in the homestead.
When a Trust Protects Your Home From Creditors (and When It Doesn’t)
This is where many internet articles are misleading.
- A revocable trust by itself does not shield your home from your personal creditors, lawsuits, or back taxes. If a creditor could reach your house before, it can usually reach it after you place the house in a revocable trust.
- A revocable trust can, however, offer some creditor protection for beneficiaries after your death if it includes “spendthrift” clauses and limits on how and when they receive assets.
- Certain types of irrevocable trusts can provide stronger protection for you and your beneficiaries, but only if set up correctly and well before problems arise.
If you are worried about business or professional liability, or you have heard pitches about “bullet‑proof trusts,” it is critical to talk to an experienced estate planning attorney who can explain what Texas laws actually allow—and what they do not.
Estate Tax and Nursing Home (Medicaid) Considerations
Right now, most Texas families do not face federal estate tax because the exemption is very high, and Texas does not impose a separate state inheritance or estate tax. Still, higher‑net‑worth families may use trusts and other strategies to manage future estate tax risk.
Nursing home and Medicaid planning is a different issue:
- Texas participates in the Medicaid Estate Recovery Program (MERP), which allows the state to seek repayment for certain long‑term care costs from a deceased person’s estate.
- A standard revocable living trust usually does not keep the homestead out of reach of MERP.
- Some families use specially designed Medicaid asset protection trusts, which are irrevocable and must be created years before applying for Medicaid to be effective.
Because small mistakes can cause major legal issues, no one should transfer a homestead into an irrevocable trust or start gifting away assets for Medicaid purposes without detailed legal advice from a Texas elder‑law or estate planning attorney.
Creating and Maintaining a Texas Trust for Your Home
Creating a Trust in Texas
When a client asks, “should I put my home in a trust in Texas?”, we walk through a clear process:
- Clarify goals – Avoiding probate, helping a surviving spouse, protecting special needs beneficiaries, or planning for nursing home care.
- Select your trustee – You may serve as your own trustee, with a trusted family member or professional as successor.
- Draft the trust – We prepare a trust under the Texas Trust Code, tailored to your assets, debts, and family situation.
- Sign with proper formalities – You sign the trust, powers of attorney, and “pour‑over” will in a formal signing meeting.
- Fund the trust – We create and record a new deed so your house, and later other assets, are properly titled in the trust.
Our law firm is Lead Counsel Verified, and we bring nearly 20 years of combined financial and legal experience to each new plan.
If you are ready to look at your deed and options, a brief conversation with a Texas living trust attorney can help you compare a will‑only plan, a transfer on death deed, and a revocable trust so you can choose the option that fits your family. Call (888) 584-9614 to get started.
Maintaining a Trust Over Time
Trusts are not “set it and forget it.” To keep your plan working, you should:
- Review your trust every few years or after major life changes (marriage, divorce, birth of a child or grandchild, new houses, business interests, or an inheritance).
- Make sure new assets (such as other property or investment accounts) are titled correctly or have up‑to‑date beneficiary designations.
- As trustee, manage assets prudently, pay ongoing expenses, and keep basic records.
An unfunded trust—where you sign the legal documents but never deed the house into it—gives a false sense of security and may still require probate.
Case Study: Using a Revocable Living Trust to Keep a Texas Home Out of Probate
Problem: A North Texas couple came to us exhausted and worried. They had two young children, a new mortgage, and a basic online will. They feared a messy probate, family conflict between relatives, and what might happen to the homestead if one of them became ill or needed nursing home care.
Action: We reviewed their assets, goals, and Texas homestead protections, then compared options: will‑only planning, a transfer on death deed, and a revocable living trust. We recommended a trust‑based plan. We drafted a revocable living trust, pour‑over wills, powers of attorney, and medical directives, then prepared and recorded a new deed transferring the homestead into the trust and coordinated beneficiary designations.
Result: Their home now passes under clear trust instructions, with a chosen successor trustee able to manage the property without guardianship or a full probate proceeding. They told us they finally slept through the night knowing their children will have a stable place to live and a roadmap to follow.
Takeaway: A properly drafted and funded revocable living trust can keep a Texas homestead out of probate, reduce conflict, and give families practical protection and peace of mind—especially when minor children and a significant mortgage are involved.
Strategic Process – How to Decide Whether to Put Your Texas Home in a Trust (Step-by-Step)
If you are wondering, “should I put my home in a trust in Texas?”, use this practical roadmap:
Step 1 – Clarify Your Goals and Family Situation
- Avoiding probate and avoiding probate in other states
- Protecting a surviving spouse
- Caring for minor children or a special needs beneficiary
- Seeking some level of asset protection or privacy
Step 2 – Inventory Your Assets and Debts
List your:
- Home value and mortgage
- Other real property (rental houses, land)
- Retirement accounts and life insurance
- Bank and investment accounts
- Business interests and significant personal property
Step 3 – Compare Your Options for the Home
Consider:
- Will‑based plan only
- Transfer on death deed
- Joint ownership of your home with right of survivorship
- Revocable living trust
- Special irrevocable trust in certain types of Medicaid or tax planning
Step 4 – Meet with a Texas Estate Planning Attorney
An estate planning attorney can:
- Explain how Texas laws treat your homestead, creditors, and beneficiaries
- Review your tax situation and nursing home concerns
- Address complicated family dynamics (second marriages, estranged children, conservatorship orders, and more)
Step 5 – Implement and Fund the Plan
- Sign all documents in proper Texas form
- File the deed that transfers the house into the trust, if that is your chosen path
- Update life insurance and retirement beneficiary designations
Step 6 – Review Regularly
Revisit your plan every few years or after major life changes to keep it aligned with your life and goals.
To talk through your options, schedule a free consultation at (888) 584-9614.
Texas Statutes & Case Law That Affect Home Trusts
This article is for information only and is not legal advice. Laws change, and your facts matter. Always consult a Texas‑licensed attorney about your specific situation.
Key authorities that impact trusts and homes in Texas include:
- Texas Property Code, Title 9, Subtitle B – Texas Trust Code (creation, operation, and termination of trusts).
- Texas Estates Code, including Chapter 114 – transfer on death deeds, and provisions on probate and nonprobate transfers of real property.
- Texas Estates Code Chapter 102 and related sections on homestead descent, distribution, and limits on partition when a surviving spouse or minor child occupies the homestead.
- Texas Constitution Article XVI homestead protections against most forced sales.
- Texas Tax Code and Comptroller guidance on residence homestead exemptions and property taxes.
- Texas appellate cases and probate decisions interpreting trust funding errors, defective deeds, and homestead rights in probate disputes.
Common Mistakes We’ve Seen Texans Make With Home Trusts
Drawing on nearly two decades of practice, here are frequent pitfalls:
- Assuming a revocable trust automatically protects the home from all creditors, lawsuits, or nursing home bills
- Signing a trust but never deeding the house into it (the “unfunded trust” problem)
- Relying on an online form that does not handle Texas homestead or community property rules
- Forgetting to coordinate the trust with the mortgage, homeowners’ insurance, and HOA requirements
- Ignoring family dynamics such as second marriages, estranged children, or blended families
- Overlooking the needs of minor children or a special needs beneficiary when deciding who gets the house
The good news: many of these issues can be fixed if you seek legal guidance before a crisis hits.
Frequently Asked Questions About Putting a Home in a Trust in Texas
FAQs About Taxes, Wills, and Deeds
Q1: Does putting my Texas home in a revocable trust affect my property taxes or homestead exemption?
Usually, no. If the trust is drafted so that you retain the right to live in the home and it remains your principal residence, appraisal districts generally allow you to keep your homestead exemption. You still must qualify for and maintain the exemption like any other homeowner.
Q2: If I already have a will, do I still need a trust for my house?
A will is important, but it does not avoid probate. Your executor still has to open a probate case, file an application, and work through the process. A trust can help your house (and other assets) pass outside probate, which may save time, cost, and stress for your loved ones.
Q3: Is a Texas transfer on death deed enough, or should I still consider a trust for my home?
A transfer on death deed is a helpful tool if you have a simple situation—one house, one or two adult beneficiaries, and no special needs issues. If you have minor children, blended families, or want more control over how and when beneficiaries receive property, a living trust often provides better protection and flexibility.
FAQs About Mortgages, Liability, and Protection
Q4: What happens to the mortgage when I deed my house into a trust?
You still owe the mortgage, and you must keep payments current. Most lenders allow transfers into a revocable living trust without triggering a due‑on‑sale clause, especially when you remain the borrower and occupant, but you should always review your loan documents and notify the lender.
Q5: Can my home in a trust be taken if I’m sued or have medical or nursing home bills?
If the trust is revocable and you retain control, your home usually remains available to your creditors and may still be subject to Medicaid Estate Recovery after death. Certain irrevocable trusts may offer stronger protection, but they require careful planning and often a waiting period before they are effective.
FAQs About Incapacity and Costs
Q6: How does a trust help if I become incapacitated before death?
If you cannot manage your own affairs, your successor trustee can step in under the trust document to manage the house and other assets—paying bills, arranging repairs, even selling the home if needed—without a court‑ordered guardianship. This can spare your family a separate court proceeding and ongoing oversight.
Q7: How much does it typically cost to set up a home trust in Texas, and how long does it take?
Costs depend on your goals, the complexity of your estate, and whether you need additional asset protection or tax planning. Many homeowners complete a trust‑based plan in a few weeks from consultation to signing. At our firm, we quote flat legal fees up front after reviewing your specific circumstances so there are no surprises.
Your answer to “should I put my home in a trust in Texas” depends on your assets, debts, health, and family situation. For many homeowners, a revocable living trust offers real benefits—avoids probate, maintains privacy, and gives clear control over what happens to the house and other assets. For others, a will and TOD deed may be enough.
To get personalized guidance and protect what matters most to your loved ones, call our Lead Counsel Verified Texas estate planning attorneys today.
Call (888) 584-9614 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation.
Legal Authorities (Endnotes & Citations)
- Texas Property Code, Title 9, Subtitle B – Texas Trust Code: Creation, Operation, and Termination of Trusts (e.g., Tex. Prop. Code chs. 111–117). Texas Statutes
- Texas Estates Code ch. 114 – Transfer on Death Deed Authorized and Related Provisions (including §§114.051, 114.104). Texas Estates Code
- Texas Constitution art. XVI, §50 – Protection of Homestead from Forced Sale, and related provisions in art. XVI. Texas Constitution
- Texas Estates Code ch. 102 – Homestead Passage and Partition protections for surviving spouse and minor children (e.g., §§102.003, 102.005). Texas Estates Code
- Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts – Property Tax Exemptions and Residence Homestead Exemption Guidance. Texas Comptroller
- State Bar of Texas and practitioner materials discussing family protections in probate and homestead occupancy rights of the surviving spouse. State Bar of Texas
- Texas Health & Human Services – “Your Guide to the Medicaid Estate Recovery Program (MERP)” and related guidance. Texas HHS
- TexasLawHelp and Texas State Law Library materials on estate administration, probate, and transfer of property after death in Texas. TexasLawHelp
- Supplemental legal references confirming language on trusts, TOD deeds, and creditor claims, including codifications of the Texas Estates Code and Property Code. Justia – Texas Property Code
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only, is not legal or tax advice, and does not create an attorney–client relationship. You should consult directly with a Texas‑licensed attorney about your specific situation.
