The Estate Planning Guide Est. 2026

Estate Planning in Texas: The Complete Guide

By The Estate Planning Guide Editorial Team Researched against primary sources

Published June 30, 2026 7 min read

Quick answer

Estate planning in Texas means putting a few documents in place — a will, a durable power of attorney, a medical power of attorney and directive, and good beneficiary designations — so your family isn't left to the courts and the intestacy statute. The thing that makes Texas different from a state like California: probate here is cheap and simple thanks to 'independent administration,' so the cost a trust displaces in Texas is lower than in a statutory-percentage state. A will, beneficiary designations and a transfer-on-death deed for the home each pass property outside probate. A trust additionally covers privacy, incapacity, out-of-state property and staged distributions. Texas also has no state estate or inheritance tax, and it's a community property state, which shapes what passes to a surviving spouse. This guide walks through every piece.

Educational guide — not legal advice. Texas law is set by statute and changes over time. Consult a licensed Texas attorney about your specific situation.

Why Texas is different

Estate planning is broadly the same everywhere — decide who gets your assets and who makes decisions if you can’t. But Texas has one feature that changes the arithmetic: probate here is cheap.

Texas offers independent administration (Texas Estates Code Chapter 401), which lets an executor settle an estate with minimal court supervision. Texas sets no statutory fee schedule for probate compensation and imposes no state estate or inheritance tax. What the attorney charges is set by the firm; we found no independent published source for that figure as of September 2026; the ranges that are published come from law firms, from online document sellers, or from sites paid to refer customers to them, so none is cited here.

That matters because in many states, the main reason to buy a living trust is to dodge expensive probate. In Texas, the probate a trust displaces is already inexpensive. A will, beneficiary designations and a TOD deed on the home each pass property outside probate at the costs set out below.

The core documents

1. A will

Your will names who inherits, who serves as executor, and who serves as guardian for minor children — the one job only a will can do. A valid Texas typed will needs your signature and two witnesses (age 14+); a fully handwritten will needs no witnesses at all (Texas Estates Code §§251.051–052). It does not need to be notarized. A notarized self-proving affidavit lets the court admit the will without testimony from the subscribing witnesses. See Does a Will Have to Be Notarized in Texas? and Do You Need a Lawyer to Make a Will in Texas?.

2. A durable financial power of attorney

Names someone to manage your money if you become incapacitated, avoiding a court guardianship. Inexpensive and high-value.

3. A medical power of attorney + directive to physicians

The medical POA names someone to make health decisions for you; the directive to physicians (Texas’s living will) states your end-of-life wishes. Add a HIPAA authorization so your agent can access records.

4. Beneficiary designations and TOD tools

Often the most important part, and the cheapest. These pass outside probate automatically:

Keeping these current is some of the highest-value estate planning you can do. See Transfer on Death Deed vs. Living Trust in Texas.

5. A living trust — only if you need one

A revocable living trust operates on the assets retitled into it — what it costs to draft is quoted by the preparer and no independent source for it is cited — providing non-public administration, successor-trustee authority on incapacity, out-of-state property administration without an ancillary proceeding, and controlled distributions — not for avoiding Texas’s already-cheap probate. See How Much Does a Living Trust Cost in Texas?. If you do set one up, fund it — an unfunded trust avoids nothing.

Texas community property: how it affects your plan

Texas is a community property state. Most assets acquired during marriage are owned 50/50 by the spouses. You can generally only give away your half of community property by will; your spouse already owns the other half. Community property also gets a favorable double step-up in cost basis at the first spouse’s death. This is worth understanding before you draft, especially for couples.

What happens if you do nothing

If you die without a will in Texas, the intestacy statute (Texas Estates Code Chapter 201) decides who inherits — and for married couples with children, the split between the surviving spouse and the children can be surprising, especially with separate property or children from another relationship. The estate still goes through probate, just without your input. See What Happens If You Die Without a Will in Texas.

Probate in Texas: cost and time

Because Texas probate is cheap, the planning emphasis is less about avoiding it entirely and more about doing a simple plan well:

  • Cost: no statutory fee schedule. The attorney’s charge is set by the firm and the filing fee by the county clerk’s published schedule; no independent published source for either was found. See Probate Cost in Texas.
  • Time: How long an administration runs is driven by the statutory steps, chiefly the creditor-claim period that state’s statute sets. See How Long Does Probate Take in Texas.
  • Small estates: Under Tex. Est. Code §205.001 a Small Estate Affidavit is available where the decedent died intestate, 30 days have elapsed since the death, no petition for the appointment of a personal representative is pending or has been granted, and the value of the estate assets on the date of the affidavit, excluding homestead and exempt property, does not exceed $75,000 — and then only to the extent those assets exceed the known liabilities of the estate, excluding liabilities secured by homestead and exempt property.
  • Ways to avoid it: TOD deed, beneficiary designations, joint ownership, and trusts. See How to Avoid Probate in Texas.

A simple sequence to get started

  1. Inventory what you own and how each asset is titled.
  2. Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance — free to change and immediate.
  3. The core documents — will, durable POA, medical POA, and directive to physicians.
  4. Add a TOD deed for your home and POD/TOD registrations on accounts.
  5. A trust, which addresses privacy, incapacity, multi-state and blended-family situations.
  6. Guardians for minor children, nominated in the will.
  7. Tell your executor where everything is, and review after any big life change.

What the record shows

Texas imposes no state estate or inheritance tax. Texas Estates Code chapter 401 provides three routes into independent administration, which limits the probate court’s role to probating and recording the will and the return of any required inventory, appraisement and list of claims: §401.001(a) where the will so provides, §401.002 by agreement of all distributees in a testate estate, and §401.003 by agreement of all distributees in an intestate estate after a heirship determination under chapter 202; §401.001(b) lets a testator forbid it, and no section states what share of estates use it. Texas sets no statutory attorney fee percentage; §352.002(a) allows the executor a 5% commission on cash actually received and paid out, capped in the aggregate by §352.002(b)(1) at 5% of the gross fair market value of the estate subject to administration, with §352.002(b)(2) allowing no commission on funds already on hand or at a financial institution or brokerage at death, on life insurance proceeds collected, or on cash paid to an heir or legatee as such. A typed will requires two or more credible witnesses at least 14 years of age (§251.051); a holographic will requires none (§251.052); the self-proving affidavit under §251.104 is optional. Texas has a statutory transfer-on-death deed for real property (§114.051 et seq.). A funded revocable trust operates on the assets retitled into it and additionally provides non-public administration, successor-trustee authority on incapacity, and administration of out-of-state real property without an ancillary proceeding.

Common questions

What does a living trust do in Texas that a will does not?

Texas Estates Code chapter 401 provides for independent administration, which limits the probate court’s role to probating and recording the will and the return of any required inventory, appraisement and list of claims. Texas sets no statutory attorney fee percentage. A will passes probate; beneficiary designations and a transfer on death deed pass outside it by operation of law. A funded trust additionally keeps administration off the public record, gives a successor trustee authority on incapacity, holds property on stated terms rather than transferring it outright, and administers out-of-state real property without an ancillary proceeding.

Does Texas have an estate or inheritance tax?

No. Texas has neither. Only the federal estate tax applies, and it affects only very large estates.

Yes. A will entirely in your own handwriting and signed is valid with no witnesses (a holographic will). Typed wills need two witnesses.

What’s the most important step for a Texas homeowner?

A TOD deed is the usual path out of probate for a Texas home, and current beneficiary designations carry the accounts. Those two cover most of what matters, cheaply.

The full Texas cluster

Educational information only — not legal, tax, or financial advice. Texas law is set by statute and changes; thresholds and figures adjust periodically. Confirm your specific situation with a licensed Texas attorney. Sources: Texas Estates Code Chapters 201, 401, 114, §§205, 251.051–052, 352.002; State Bar of Texas.

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