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A properly structured trust is one of the most effective tools available to high-net-worth Texas families, giving you direct control over how assets are distributed, keeping your estate out of public probate proceedings, and reducing exposure to federal estate taxes. The challenges high-net-worth families face go well beyond what a simple will can address, and the strategies that protect significant wealth require deliberate structuring that cannot be assembled at the last moment.

Why Trusts Matter More When Estates Are Larger

The larger an estate, the more exposure it has to federal estate taxes, family disputes, and probate delays. Texas does not impose a state estate tax, but the federal estate tax applies to estates exceeding the current exemption threshold. 

Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed into law on July 4, 2025, the federal estate and gift tax exemption increased permanently to $15 million per individual as of January 1, 2026, with annual inflation adjustments going forward. For married couples with proper portability planning in place, that figure effectively doubles to $30 million. 

Even at these elevated thresholds, high-net-worth Texas families benefit significantly from proactive trust planning because the strategies that minimize estate tax exposure, protect assets across generations, and avoid probate require deliberate structuring that cannot be assembled at the last moment.

Transferring property at death, or placing it in trust during your lifetime, requires deliberate planning to avoid unnecessary tax exposure, court involvement, and family conflict. A well-designed trust plan can:

• Minimize or defer federal estate tax exposure
• Keep assets out of probate and out of the public record
• Protect inherited assets from a beneficiary’s creditors or divorce proceedings
• Provide for a surviving spouse while preserving assets for children from a prior relationship
• Fund long-term care or special needs without disqualifying a family member from government benefits

Common Trust Structures for High-Net-Worth Texans

No single trust type works for every family. The composition of your estate, business, your family’s circumstances, and the timing of anticipated transfers all influence which structures belong in your plan. Any trust you form must comply with Texas trust law.

Some of the most commonly used trusts for high-net-worth planning include:

• Revocable living trust: Allows you to retain control during your lifetime while avoiding probate. It does not reduce estate taxes but is the foundation of most comprehensive plans.
• Irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT): Holds a life insurance policy outside your taxable estate so proceeds pass to beneficiaries free of estate tax.
• Spousal lifetime access trust (SLAT): Lets you transfer assets out of your estate while your spouse retains access to income or principal if needed.
• Grantor retained annuity trust (GRAT): Allows you to transfer appreciation on assets to heirs with little or no gift tax if the assets grow faster than the IRS Section 7520 hurdle rate, the monthly rate used to calculate the retained annuity.
• Dynasty trust: Designed to hold assets across multiple generations, potentially shielding wealth from estate taxes at each generational transfer. Proper structuring also accounts for the federal generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax, which applies to transfers that skip a generation and carries its own exemption separate from the estate tax.

Considerations for Texas Families With Business Interests

Business owners face a distinct layer of complexity in trust planning. Closely held businesses, ranches, and family limited partnerships frequently make up the bulk of an estate’s value but are difficult to divide, appraise, or liquidate on a predictable timeline. 

Techniques like valuation discounts, family limited partnerships, and buy-sell agreements funded through trusts can help manage how ownership transfers when a partner or shareholder passes away. Getting those structures right before a transition becomes urgent is considerably easier than attempting to negotiate them during a crisis.

A revocable living trust lets you transfer ownership of business interests into the trust while you remain the trustee. You keep full control and management authority, but when you pass away, the interests transfer to your named successors without going through probate. That means no court delays, no public record of what the business is worth, and no interruption to daily operations during what is already a difficult period for the people taking over.

Keeping Your Trust Plan Current

A trust signed in 2005 may not reflect where your family stands today. Tax law changes, the birth of grandchildren, a divorce, a significant increase in asset value, or the acquisition of property in another state can all affect how a trust performs. 

High-net-worth families should review their plans at least every few years and immediately after any major life event. Treating a trust as a finished product rather than a living document is one of the most common and costly mistakes in estate planning.

The same applies to beneficiary designations on retirement accounts, life insurance, and annuities. These assets pass outside of a trust and outside of a will, which means an outdated beneficiary designation can undo an otherwise solid plan, regardless of what the trust documents say. Keeping these designations current and consistent with the broader plan requires the same attention as the trust documents themselves.

A few questions worth revisiting regularly:

• Are the trustees named in your documents still the right people for that responsibility?
• Have any trust assets grown significantly in value since the trust was drafted?
• Does your plan account for assets acquired or sold since the trust was created?
• Are your healthcare directive and durable power of attorney aligned with your trust documents?

Speak With Our Texas Trust Planning Attorneys

Ford + Bergner, LLP has devoted 25 years of focused practice to estate planning and trust matters across Texas, working with high-net-worth individuals and families whose estates require a level of precision and strategic thinking that general practitioners rarely provide. 

Our firm is a boutique practice, meaning the attorney you engage handles your matter directly rather than delegating it to an associate. Call us at (713) 260-3926 or contact us online to speak with our trusts attorneys about your situation.

In Need of Legal Help? Contact Ford + Bergner LLP today

Contact the experienced lawyers at Ford + Bergner LLP today & schedule your free consultation. We proudly serve Houston, Austin, Dallas & all throughout Texas. Visit our law offices at:

Ford + Bergner LLP – Houston Office

700 Louisiana St 41st Floor,
Houston, TX 77002, United States

Phone: (713) 260-3926
Fax: (713) 260 3903

Ford + Bergner LLP – Dallas Office

901 Main St 33rd floor,
Dallas, TX 75202, United States

Phone: (214) 389 0887
Fax: (214) 389 0888

Ford + Bergner LLP – Austin Office

221 W 6th St #900,
Austin, TX 78701, United States

Phone: (512) 610 1100
Fax: (512) 610 1101