Trusts

Funding a Trust in Texas and the Assets Left Behind

Published on: August 24, 2026 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Last updated August 23, 2026 · Reviewed by Ryan S. Cook

A Texas revocable trust controls only the property that was actually transferred into it. Signing the trust instrument creates the arrangement, but it does not move a house, a brokerage account, or a certificate of deposit out of an individual name and into the name of the trustee. Funding a trust in Texas is a separate set of transfers, done one asset at a time, and it is the step most often left unfinished after the signing appointment ends.

The consequence lands on the family rather than on the person who signed. An asset still titled in the deceased person’s own name at death does not pass under the trust, however carefully the trust was drafted. It passes under the pour-over will instead, which has to be admitted to probate before the trustee can touch it. The probate avoidance the trust was created to accomplish does not happen. Trust planning at McCulloch & Miller treats funding as part of the engagement for that reason.

What an Unfunded Trust Looks Like Months After a Death

An unfunded trust is a trust that holds no property, or holds far less than the person who created it believed. It is rarely all or nothing. The common pattern is a trust that received one or two accounts in the year it was signed and nothing afterward.

The assets that go missing tend to be the same ones across families:

The homestead: the trust names the house, but no deed conveying it to the trustee was ever signed and recorded in the county real property records.
Brokerage and bank accounts: opened before the trust existed and never retitled, often because retitling requires new account paperwork the custodian did not volunteer.
Retirement accounts and life insurance: governed by a beneficiary designation form that was completed years earlier and never revisited.
Property acquired after signing: a rental house, a second vehicle, or a new account opened individually out of habit.

Each of these is fixable during life and expensive to work around after death, which is the argument for reviewing funding periodically rather than once.

How a Qualified Income Trust Opens Texas Medicaid Eligibility

Published on: July 16, 2026 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Last updated July 16, 2026 · Reviewed by Thomas W. McCulloch

Texas applies a hard income cap to Medicaid long-term care benefits, which separates it from most states. An applicant whose gross monthly income sits above the state’s special income limit is denied, even when that income covers a fraction of a Houston nursing home bill and nothing is left over. Families across Harris County usually learn this after a parent has already moved into a facility, and the denial notice rarely explains what comes next.

Federal law supplies the answer. Income routed each month into a trust that satisfies 42 U.S.C. § 1396p(d)(4)(B) is disregarded when Texas measures an applicant against the income limit, so the same person denied last month can qualify with the trust in place. The trust does not shelter savings or reduce what the facility is owed. It removes one specific barrier, the one that stops most applicants. Texas Medicaid crisis planning often begins and ends with getting this document right.

What a Texas Trust Beneficiary Can Demand From a Trustee

Published on: July 6, 2026 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Last updated July 6, 2026 · Reviewed by David W. Miller

Texas trust law gives beneficiaries an enforceable right to see how a trust is being run, and that right does not depend on the trustee’s willingness to cooperate. It sits in Chapter 113 of the Texas Property Code and reaches trusts administered in Austin and Travis County the same way it reaches any other Texas trust. While a trustee stays silent, distributions, sales, fees, and investments keep moving through the trust without any beneficiary able to see where the money went.

A beneficiary may make a written demand that the trustee deliver a written statement of accounts covering all transactions since the last accounting, or since the trust was created, whichever is later. If the trustee fails or refuses to deliver that statement on or before the 90th day after receiving the demand, any beneficiary of the trust may file suit to compel the trustee to deliver it to all beneficiaries. That rule is set out in Texas Property Code § 113.151(a), in Subchapter E of Chapter 113.

Revocable Living Trusts in Texas

Published on: June 2, 2026 | By David W. Miller

A revocable living trust is a legal arrangement you create during your lifetime to hold your assets, with instructions for managing them if you become incapacitated and distributing them when you die, all without going through probate. In Texas, you keep full control: you can change the trust, move assets in and out, or cancel it entirely at any time. The trust only does its job, though, if you actually transfer your assets into it, which is the step people most often get wrong.

McCulloch & Miller, PLLC helps families across Texas decide whether a revocable living trust fits their situation and, when it does, set it up so it works as intended. The firm’s trust planning attorneys handle these matters statewide, with flat fee pricing available on many estate planning packages.

What is a revocable living trust in Texas?

Irrevocable Trusts in Texas: When and Why to Use One

Published on: April 9, 2026 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

An irrevocable trust is a legal arrangement that, once established, generally cannot be changed, amended, or revoked by the person who created it. Unlike a revocable living trust — where the grantor retains full control and can modify the terms at any time — an irrevocable trust transfers ownership of assets out of the grantor’s estate permanently. That loss of control is the trade-off for significant benefits: asset protection, estate tax reduction, Medicaid planning advantages, and the ability to provide structured distributions to beneficiaries over time.

McCulloch & Miller, PLLC helps families in Dallas, Houston, and across Texas evaluate whether an irrevocable trust fits their estate planning goals. The firm’s trust planning attorneys have over 35 years of experience drafting and administering trusts under the Texas Property Code and the Texas Trust Code, with founding partner Thomas McCulloch bringing dual JD/CPA credentials that strengthen the tax-planning analysis behind every trust strategy.

What Is an Irrevocable Trust?

An irrevocable trust is a trust that the grantor cannot unilaterally modify, amend, or terminate after it is created. Once assets are transferred into the trust, they are owned by the trust — not by the grantor. The trustee manages the assets according to the trust’s terms, and the beneficiaries receive distributions as the trust document directs.

Handling Oil-and-Gas Mineral Interests in a Dallas Revocable Living Trust

Published on: July 14, 2025 | By David W. Miller

Dallas families often own mineral rights that pump royalties long after the original lease. Placing those interests into a revocable living trust avoids probate, streamlines management, and protects your heirs. Yet the process involves nuances absent from typical stock transfers. Addressing title, division orders, and ongoing production requires careful attention.

Verify Ownership and Locate Legal Descriptions

Pull the original mineral deed, lease, or royalty contract. Identify the legal description, net-revenue interest, and operator information. Title often fragments through generations, so confirm exact acreage and decimal ownership. Without accurate details, the trust transfer may fail, and operators will suspend payments.

Execute a Proper Mineral Conveyance

A standard assignment is not enough. Draft a mineral deed conveying your interests to the trust, complete with legal description, prior instrument references, and a grantor’s retained override, if any. Record the deed in the county where the property sits—frequently multiple counties if pooling occurs across county lines. Failure to record leaves royalties in limbo.

Funding a Charitable Remainder Trust with Houston Real Estate

Published on: July 9, 2025 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

You love giving back to Houston and hold significant real-estate equity. Selling property triggers hefty capital-gains tax, but funding a charitable remainder trust (CRT) turns that hidden value into lifetime income and future philanthropy. When structured correctly, a CRT slashes taxes, boosts cash flow, and leaves a legacy in the Bayou City.

CRT Basics in Plain English

A CRT is an irrevocable trust that pays you, or another non-charitable beneficiary, income for life or up to twenty years. At term’s end, the remaining assets go to one or more charities. Because the remainder benefits charity, the IRS grants an immediate income-tax deduction and exempts the trust from capital-gains tax on property sales.

Selecting the Right Houston Property

Appreciated rental buildings and undeveloped land make ideal CRT contributions. Homesteads do not qualify for capital-gains exclusion inside the trust, so focus on investment real estate. Obtain a recent appraisal and verify no environmental issues exist, because cleanup liabilities follow the trust and reduce the charitable deduction.

Options When it Comes to Funding a Trust

Published on: February 23, 2025 | By David W. Miller

Many people assume that when it comes to funding a trust, money from a bank account is the only possible source of assets. Today’s blog post serves to dispel that misconception, because there are many different options available to individuals looking to fund their trusts. There are also important procedural steps to keep in mind if you are thinking of starting your own trust, and we will review some of those steps today. As always, with specific questions about how this blog post applies to you, contact an experienced Houston estate planning attorney for tailored legal advice.

Assets Used to Fund a Trust

Before funding your trust, it is important to write a list of all of the assets you might put into the trust. These assets can include: bank accounts, real estate, investment accounts, retirement accounts, stocks, brokerage accounts, and even personal belongings. Your accounting of your assets should be as detailed as possible so that you have a comprehensive understanding of what you could use to fund your trust.

Legal Services

Also before funding the trust, you will also need to create a trust document with the help of an attorney. The trust document should name your trustor, your trust’s purpose, the trust’s beneficiaries, and the instructions for carrying out the intended purpose. This document should be as detailed as possible and should conform with Texas laws.

Using Life Insurance Trusts to Protect Your Legacy

Published on: February 20, 2025 | By Thomas W. McCulloch

If you are looking for ways to ensure that your loved ones are well-protected in the event of your death, consider the advantages of a life insurance trust. A life insurance trust is a form of legal agreement that puts the grantor’s life insurance into a trust. The designated trustee gains control of the insurance policy, and when the grantor dies, the trustee is responsible for distributing the money from the policy to the grantor’s designated beneficiaries.

Why Use a Life Insurance Trust?

There are several key advantages to the life insurance trust. First, by putting your life insurance into a trust, you allow the funds from the policy to bypass probate completely. This gets money into your beneficiaries’ hands more quickly, more efficiently, and more privately.

The life insurance trust also guarantees some form of liquidity when you die. The cash from the policy can go toward settling the estate, paying off debts, covering the cost of a funeral, or paying estate taxes. The money could also provide your beneficiaries with immediate cash for payments that you might have been making before your death, so that they can have time to figure out a long-term solution in your absence.

Leaving Money to a Child Who Isn’t Financially Savvy

Published on: October 28, 2024 | By David W. Miller

Leaving Money to a Child Who Isn’t Financially Savvy

Many of our clients are interested in leaving money to their children when they pass. For some clients, though, there is a question about what to do when their child is not financially savvy. Do they leave unrestricted assets for the child anyway? Are there tools they can use to restrict the funds? Today, we review the basics of what you can do to set your child up for financial success even if he or she is not financially savvy. As always, for specific advice tailored to your circumstances, contact a Houston estate planning attorney you can trust.

Establishing a Trust

For some children, it works well to give unrestricted access to assets in a will or estate plan. If you do not want to go that route, however, many clients choose to leave their assets in a trust. Establishing a trust offers a level of protection for the assets you are leaving behind.

You could, as part of this process, designate a trusted individual as the trustee, and you could establish protocols for how often (and for what purpose) your child could access money from the trust. The trust could be established for educational purposes, a wedding fund, yearly travel, or housing costs. You could also implement distribution triggers as part of the trust, which would allow your child to access funds once he or she reaches certain life stages (for example, celebrating a specific birthday or finishing school).