Irrevocable Trust Attorney in Houston, TX

An attorney is strongly recommended. An irrevocable trust is hard to undo, so a drafting mistake is hard to fix. A form can't tell you whether the trust will count against Medicaid eligibility, keep life insurance out of your taxable estate, or protect a beneficiary from creditors. Those results depend on precise wording about who controls the trust, who can receive income or principal, and when transfers happen. A flat-fee trust drafted under Texas law costs more up front and avoids mistakes that can't be reversed.

A revocable living trust stays under your control, and you can change it anytime. It avoids probate and plans for incapacity, but it doesn't remove assets from your estate or protect them from your creditors. An irrevocable trust is generally permanent. You give up control and ownership of what you put in it. In exchange, it can serve goals a revocable trust can't, such as long-term care planning, keeping life insurance out of your taxable estate, or holding wealth for future generations.

Sometimes, but only in limited ways. Texas lets a court modify an irrevocable trust in certain circumstances, such as when its purposes have become impossible to meet. A trustee may also be able to move assets into a new trust with updated terms, a process called decanting, if the trust gives the trustee enough discretion. Some trusts name a trust protector with power to make specific changes. Francisca drafts with those options in mind, but you should treat an irrevocable trust as permanent when you sign it.

It can be part of a plan, but timing is everything. Texas Medicaid for nursing home care has a resource limit of $2,000 for an individual, and assets moved into an irrevocable trust within five years before you apply can trigger a penalty period. A long-term care planning trust must also be drafted so you can't reach the principal. Francisca designs these trusts as part of Medicaid planning. The firm does not file Medicaid applications, and it refers that work to trusted colleagues.

Most Houston families don't. Texas has no state estate or inheritance tax, and the federal estate tax exemption is $15 million per person for 2026, so very few estates owe federal estate tax. Irrevocable trusts still matter for larger estates and for specific goals, such as keeping a large life insurance payout out of your taxable estate or holding wealth for grandchildren. Francisca coordinates estate tax planning with your CPA so the trust fits your full financial picture.

An irrevocable life insurance trust, or ILIT, owns a life insurance policy on your life. When you die, the proceeds go to the trust instead of to you, so they generally stay out of your taxable estate and are managed under your instructions. That can protect a payout meant for young children or a beneficiary who isn't good with money. If you transfer an existing policy into an ILIT and die within three years, the proceeds can be pulled back into your estate, so a new policy bought by the trust is often cleaner.

Usually someone other than you. For a long-term care planning trust or an ILIT, keeping control yourself can undo the trust's purpose, so most people name a trusted family member, friend, or professional as trustee. Pick someone organized, honest, and willing to keep records, and name at least one backup. The trustee has legal duties to manage the trust for the beneficiaries. Francisca drafts clear trustee powers so the person you choose can act with confidence.

Not from your own creditors, but it can protect your beneficiaries. Texas does not protect a trust you create for your own benefit from your own creditors. A trust with a spendthrift clause can keep an inheritance safe from a child's creditors or a divorcing spouse. Transfers made to avoid a creditor you already owe can also be undone. Francisca explains what each trust can and can't protect before you decide.

Each asset is transferred to the trust by its own document, such as a deed for real estate or a change of ownership for an account or insurance policy. Once transferred, the asset belongs to the trust, not to you. The firm's long-term care planning trust package includes the deeds and transfers into the trust, and a signed acknowledgment that explains the trust's irrevocable terms. Timing matters, especially for Medicaid planning, so transfers follow the plan Francisca designs with you.