Houston Estate Planning and Elder Law Attorney Blog
Hill Country acreage carries memories, water, and wide horizons—but it also carries management challenges. Multiple siblings, roaming property lines, county taxes, and seasonal income make succession tricky. A Family Limited Partnership (FLP) can centralize control, protect against creditor chaos, and hand the land to the next generation with fewer court trips. When you set up the structure correctly, fences stay fixed and family ties stay strong.
Understand The Roles Inside An FLP
An FLP has two parts: a general partner (often an LLC you control) that manages daily decisions, and limited partners (you and your family) who hold economic interests. The general partner signs grazing leases, approves hunting contracts, hires fence crews, and pays taxes. Limited partners receive distributions and reports. That split lets you guide the ranch while training the next leader without handing over the keys too soon.
Put The Land, Water, And Minerals On Paper
Before you transfer title, gather every deed, survey, and easement affecting the acreage. Confirm water rights, well permits, and pipeline or roadway easements. If minerals exist, decide whether the FLP will own them or reserve overrides. A clean schedule of assets goes into the partnership agreement so no one later claims that “the back pasture” was excluded. Precision today prevents family disputes tomorrow.
Build A Partnership Agreement That Prevents Splits
Your agreement should restrict transfers, require right-of-first-refusal among family, and ban court partitions. Include a buy-sell formula for death, divorce, or departure so no outsider forces a sale. Set annual budgets for fencing, brush management, tanks, and roads, and require a reserve fund for emergencies. When rules are clear, you solve problems with a meeting—not litigation.
Keep Ag And Wildlife Exemptions Alive
Travis, Hays, Blanco, and Llano counties each enforce use requirements for agricultural or wildlife valuation. Calendar deadlines, file annual reports, and document qualifying activities. The general partner should store photos of grazing rotations, brush clearing, and supplemental feeding. Losing an exemption spikes property taxes and pressures the family to sell; disciplined record-keeping keeps taxes stable.
Pair The FLP With A Living Trust
Place your general-partner LLC interest and your limited-partner units into a revocable trust. If you die or become incapacitated, the successor trustee immediately votes your units and manages the LLC, avoiding a probate gap. Heirs inherit partnership interests rather than chopped-up acres, and the partnership keeps running on day one—paying taxes, leasing pastures, and maintaining gates without court orders.
Address Liability And Everyday Safety
The FLP should carry liability insurance that covers guests, hunters, employees, and contractors. Post signage at boundaries, keep locks working, and maintain cattle guards. The general partner must verify that hunting lessees sign waivers and carry their own insurance. Safety protocols lower risk and protect partners’ distributions.
Consider Conservation And Cash Flow
A conservation easement can preserve views and habitat while providing cash if a land trust purchases development rights. If that fits your goals, bake the easement into the partnership plan so future partners cannot unwind it without supermajority approval. For cash flow, explore seasonal glamping, bird leases, or specialty grazing—but require written policies for new ventures so neighbors and counties remain supportive.
Train The Next Generation
Name an assistant manager or co-manager and assign real duties: vendor bids, water-line logs, or lease negotiations. Invite younger partners to budget meetings and site walks. When a successor learns operations in your lifetime, they avoid expensive mistakes after you are gone. Education is the cheapest insurance your family can buy.
Keep Records That Title Companies Trust
Store digital copies of deeds, plats, leases, soil maps, and tax filings. When the partnership sells a small tract or grants an easement, a clean file accelerates closing. Better records also convince appraisers and lenders that your acreage is well-run and valuable.
You can keep Hill Country land intact for the people you love. To design an FLP and companion estate plan that fit your acreage and your family, contact McCulloch & Miller, PLLC at (713) 936-9073 and start building a ranch-smart succession strategy.