Category Archives: Wills

As an estate planning attorney, I’m often asked a simple question with a very complicated answer: “How much can I give away without paying gift tax?” The good news is that the tax law gives us several powerful pathways for making nontaxable gifts—if we understand and follow the rules.

These rules matter because every dollar you can transfer out of your estate tax‑free today can reduce future estate tax exposure and shift investment growth to younger generations. Using the strategies discussed below, it is entirely realistic for a committed grantor to move well into seven figures—often several million dollars of economic value—to or for a minor over 18 years, all without federal gift tax.

In this post, I’ll walk through:

• The federal annual exclusion for gifts
• Common “vehicles” for making nontaxable gifts (UTMA, 529 plans, certain trusts)
• Direct payment strategies that bypass the gift tax rules entirely
• The new opportunity: rolling unused 529 funds into a beneficiary’s Roth IRA
• What these tools can add up to over an 18‑year childhood

Annual Exclusion Gifts: Your First Line of Defense

Federal gift tax law allows you to make gifts each calendar year, to as many people as you like, up to the annual exclusion amount per recipient, without gift tax, without using your lifetime basic exclusion amount, and without any allocation of GST exemption. In 2026, that annual exclusion is $19,000 per donee; if you are married and elect to “split” gifts with your spouse, you can effectively double that amount to $38,000 per recipient.

To qualify for the annual exclusion, the gift must be a present interest—meaning the recipient has an unrestricted right to the immediate use, possession, or enjoyment of the property or its income. Outright gifts of cash or marketable securities typically qualify; gifts of “future interests,” such as remainder interests or highly restricted family business interests, often do not.

Over an 18‑year period, a single grantor who fully uses the annual exclusion for one child can transfer roughly $342,000 in present‑interest gifts; a married couple who splits gifts can move about $684,000, all outside the gift tax system. Done correctly, those annual exclusion gifts can also accomplish valuable income tax “shifting,” by moving income‑producing or appreciated assets to family members in lower income or capital gains brackets.

Common Vehicles for Nontaxable Gifts

While a simple check works, clients frequently want more structure or control around gifts. The tax law recognizes several vehicles through which annual‑exclusion and other nontaxable gifts can be made.

1. UTMA Accounts (Custodial Accounts for Minors)

Most states have adopted the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (UTMA), which allows an adult custodian to hold property for a minor until a specified age, usually 21. A transfer to a UTMA account is treated as a completed gift, and, up to the annual exclusion amount, it normally qualifies as a present‑interest gift for gift tax and GST tax purposes.

Key features include:

• The custodian may use the property for the minor’s benefit during minority without regard to the custodian’s own support obligation.
• When the child reaches the statutory age, the remaining custodial property must be distributed outright to the child; if the child dies earlier, the property passes to the child’s estate.

One important caveat: if the donor also serves as custodian and dies while the custodianship is still in place, the value of the custodial property will generally be included in the donor‑custodian’s taxable estate.

2. 529 College Savings Plans

Contributions to a 529 plan are one of the most flexible ways to make nontaxable gifts for education. A 529 plan is a state‑sponsored qualified tuition program that allows contributions for a designated beneficiary, with tax‑favored treatment on investment growth when used for “qualified higher education expenses.”

Qualified expenses include tuition, fees, books, supplies, certain equipment (such as computers and related services), and room and board for eligible post‑secondary programs. Recent legislation expanded that concept to include substantial amounts annually for certain elementary and secondary education costs, including curriculum materials, tutoring, online learning platforms, educational therapies for disabled students, standardized test fees, and dual‑enrollment tuition.

From a gift‑tax standpoint:

• All contributions are treated as completed gifts to the beneficiary (even though the account owner retains control) and qualify for the annual exclusion and as nontaxable GST‑exempt gifts.
• You may elect to “front‑load” contributions in excess of the annual exclusion by treating a single large contribution as made ratably over a five‑year period for gift tax purposes.
• Contributions can be “split” between spouses, effectively doubling the planning leverage.

Generally, the value of the 529 account is excluded from the account owner’s gross estate, even though the owner can change beneficiaries and make limited investment choices. Distributions not used for qualified education are partially taxable and subject to a 10 penalty, with tax imposed on the distributee (beneficiary or owner), but this is often manageable with careful planning.

Given 18 years of funding, including possible five‑year front‑load elections, it is realistic for a family to accumulate a high‑six‑figure 529 balance for a single child, all within the annual exclusion framework.

3. Section 2503(c) Trusts for Minors

A Section 2503(c) trust is a special type of trust for beneficiaries under age 21 that allows gifts in trust to qualify as present‑interest gifts eligible for the annual exclusion. To qualify:

• The property and income must be available for distribution for the beneficiary’s benefit before age 21.
• The trustee’s discretion to distribute cannot be subject to a “substantial restriction” (broad standards like “welfare” or “happiness” are acceptable).
• Any property not expended must pass to the beneficiary at age 21 or be subject to a general power of appointment in the beneficiary if the beneficiary dies before 21.

Transfers within the annual exclusion amount qualify for both the gift tax and GST tax annual exclusions, but the trust property is included in the beneficiary’s estate at death, and may be included in the donor’s estate if the donor serves as trustee with broad discretionary powers.

4. Crummey Trusts

Crummey trusts use carefully drafted withdrawal rights to convert what would otherwise be future‑interest gifts into present‑interest gifts that qualify for the annual exclusion. Each beneficiary receives a limited right (typically for 30–90 days) to withdraw all or a portion of each contribution to the trust.

Key design considerations include:

• Limiting withdrawal rights to the greater of $5,000 or 5 of trust assets to avoid adverse “lapse” consequences for the beneficiary’s own estate; or using larger withdrawal rights paired with “hanging powers” so that lapses never exceed those thresholds in any year.
• Providing notice and a reasonable period for beneficiaries to exercise their rights; IRS rulings have approved 30–90-day withdrawal periods, and case law has focused on the legal enforceability of the right rather than actual exercise.
• Avoiding trust provisions that make withdrawal rights illusory or effectively unenforceable, the IRS has denied annual exclusion treatment when beneficiaries are barred from going to court or would be penalized for attempting to enforce their rights.

Crummey trusts can also be used in GST planning, but the GST annual exclusion is much more narrowly available when the trust has multiple beneficiaries or is drafted to avoid inclusion in any beneficiary’s estate, requiring careful GST exemption allocation.

Direct Payments That Bypass Gift Tax Entirely

Some of the most powerful “gifts” for tax purposes are never treated as gifts at all.

Section 2503(e): Direct Tuition and Medical Payments

Under Section 2503(e), payments made directly to an educational organization for tuition, or to a medical provider for qualifying medical care, are completely excluded from the gift tax rules—no annual exclusion usage, no reporting, and no GST allocation required.

Important points:

• There is no dollar limit on qualifying 2503(e) payments; they can be unlimited in amount and still avoid both gift and GST tax.
• The payment must be made directly to the school or provider; reimbursing a child for tuition or medical costs does not qualify and would instead be treated as a normal gift.

Over an 18‑year period, a high‑net‑worth family can easily pay several hundred thousand dollars or more of private K‑12, undergraduate, and even graduate tuition for a child through 2503(e), all outside the gift tax system and in addition to annual‑exclusion‑based planning.

You can combine 2503(e) payments with other techniques. For example, a grandparent might pay a grandchild’s tuition directly under 2503(e) while also making annual exclusion gifts to a 529 plan to cover non‑tuition expenses.^[18]

The New Opportunity: 529 Plan Rollovers to Roth IRAs

A particularly exciting development is the ability of a 529 beneficiary to roll over certain unused 529 funds into a Roth IRA in the beneficiary’s name, without income tax or penalties, if specific conditions are met. This rule, enacted as part of the SECURE 2.0 Act, turns overfunded college accounts into a long‑term tax‑free retirement asset for the next generation.

To qualify for tax‑free rollover treatment:

• The 529 account must have been maintained for at least 15 years.
• The rolled amount cannot exceed the aggregate contributions and related earnings made more than five years before the rollover date.
• The rollover must be completed via a direct trustee‑to‑trustee transfer.
• The amount rolled over in a given year cannot exceed the annual Roth IRA contribution limit, and total lifetime rollovers from that 529 to the beneficiary’s Roth IRA are capped at $35,000.

From an estate planning perspective, this means:

• Parents and grandparents can be more comfortable making aggressive 529 contributions, knowing that unused funds may later be redirected into a tax‑free retirement account for the beneficiary.
• Large 529 contributions—structured as annual exclusion gifts or five‑year front‑loaded gifts—can remove value from the donor’s estate, grow income tax‑free, and ultimately convert to Roth IRA dollars that are also tax‑free to the beneficiary in retirement.

The rollover itself is not treated as a new gift from the original 529 donor; once the gift is made into the 529, and the conditions are met, the beneficiary’s ability to shift a portion into a Roth IRA is a further tax benefit layered on top of an already effective wealth transfer.

Using All These Techniques Over 18 Years: What’s the Total?

When you combine:

• Roughly $342,000 (single grantor) or $684,000 (married, split‑gift) of annual‑exclusion transfers over 18 years to/for one minor, using a mix of 529, UTMA, 2503(c), and Crummey trust contributions;
• A high‑six‑figure 529 funding strategy that can cover education and ultimately feed up to 35,000 into a Roth IRA for the child;^[18]
• Unlimited direct 2503(e) tuition and medical payments, which, for private schooling and college alone, can easily reach several hundred thousand dollars or more;^[18]

You can realistically move well over $1 million, and in many cases several million, of economic value out of the grantor’s estate for the benefit of a single child over 18 years, with no federal gift tax.

The exact ceiling for a particular family will depend on:

• Whether one or two grantors are making gifts
• How aggressively they use front‑loading to 529s
• How expensive the child’s education and health‑care track is
• How the annual exclusion amount inflates over time

But the core takeaway for clients is straightforward: by stacking annual‑exclusion transfers, 529 plans (plus Roth rollovers), trust structures, custodial accounts, and 2503(e) tuition and medical payments, a thoughtfully designed plan can transfer a multi‑million‑dollar package of education, healthcare, retirement funding, and protected capital to a child from birth to adulthood—without triggering gift tax.

For families with significant wealth, that makes these nontaxable gift strategies some of the most powerful tools in the estate planning toolkit.

If you are considering designing a gifting strategy as part of your estate planning strategy, consult with a Texas estate planning attorney like Michael A. Weaver at Saunders | Walsh to ensure compliance and avoid costly mistakes.

 

1. Gifts-not-Subject-to-Gift-Tax.pdf
2. https://www.nelsonmullins.com/insights/blogs/tax-reports/all/2026-estate-and-gift-tax-update
3. https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/frequently-asked-questions-on-gift-taxes
4. Gifts-not-Subject-to-Gift-Tax.pdf
5. https://www.tiaa.org/public/invest/services/wealth-management/perspectives/529-to-roth-ira-rules
6. https://www.fidelity.com/learning-center/personal-finance/529-rollover-to-roth
7. https://www.savingforcollege.com/article/roll-over-529-plan-funds-to-a-roth-ira
8. https://www.kiplinger.com/taxes/gift-tax-exclusion
9. https://smartasset.com/estate-planning/gift-tax-explained-2021-exemption-and-rates
10. https://www.northerntrust.com/united-states/institute/articles/gifts-to-minors-strategies-for-effective-transfers
11. https://www.morganlewis.com/pubs/2025/10/irs-announces-increased-gift-and-estate-tax-exemption-amounts-for-2026
12. https://blog.taxact.com/gift-tax-supporting-adult-children/
13. https://www.schwab.com/learn/story/529-to-roth-ira-rollovers-what-to-know
14. https://www.citizensbank.com/private-banking/insights/estate-tax-exemption.aspx
15. https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/whats-new-estate-and-gift-tax
16. https://www.merceradvisors.com/insights/family-finance/tax-free-gifting-in-2026-what-financial-givers-should-know/
17. https://www.adamsbrowncpa.com/blog/what-is-the-annual-gift-tax-exclusion-limit-for-2026/
18. Gifts-not-Subject-to-Gift-Tax.pdf

High‑net‑worth Texans with more than 10 million dollars in assets often need more than a simple will—using a carefully drafted living trust can be the most effective way to protect wealth, control distributions, and streamline the transition to the next generation.

Why High‑Net‑Worth Texans Need More Than a Will

When your net worth exceeds 10 million dollars, your estate raises issues that a will alone is not designed to handle efficiently. A will must go through probate, which is public, can be time‑consuming, and can expose complex asset structures, business interests, and family dynamics to court oversight and potential disputes.

A living trust, by contrast, allows you to organize and manage significant assets during life, plan for incapacity, and transfer wealth at death with far less court involvement. It also provides a structure for sophisticated tax planning and family governance that is difficult to build into a will alone.

What a Living Trust Does for an 8‑Figure Estate

A revocable living trust is a legal arrangement where you (as grantor) transfer assets into a trust you typically control as trustee during your lifetime. You can amend or revoke it while you are alive and competent, and you name successor trustees and beneficiaries to step in at incapacity or death.

For estates over 10 million dollars, a living trust can:

• Consolidate control of diverse assets. Ranchland, closely held business interests, investment portfolios, mineral interests, and out‑of‑state real estate can be managed under one coordinated structure.
• Provide a clear succession path. Successor trustees can step in immediately upon incapacity or death, avoiding delays while the court appoints a personal representative.
• Keep your affairs private. Unlike a will admitted to probate, a trust generally remains a private document, which is important when significant wealth or business information is involved.
• Allow for phased and conditional distributions. You can direct when and how beneficiaries receive funds—age‑based steps, incentive provisions, education milestones, or protections against divorce and creditors.

Using Living Trusts to Address Texas‑Specific Issues

Texas community property rules and relatively streamlined probate can give a false sense of security, especially to affluent families. For larger estates, those rules do not prevent disputes or complexity; they simply define default outcomes if you do nothing.

A living trust lets you:

• Coordinate community and separate property. You can divide and title assets so that each spouse’s share is clearly identified and then placed into separate or joint trusts designed to meet tax and family goals.
• Avoid multiple probates. If you own real property in other states, placing those assets in your Texas‑centered trust can help avoid ancillary probate proceedings elsewhere.
• Manage business continuity. Operating agreements, buy‑sell provisions, and your trust can be synchronized so the trustee has clear authority to vote interests, manage entities, and execute transition plans if you die or become incapacitated.

Advanced Planning Within a Trust‑Centered Structure

For clients above 10 million dollars in gross assets, the living trust often becomes the hub for additional advanced strategies. While the trust itself is typically revocable during your life, it can be drafted to:

• Split into multiple sub‑trusts at the first spouse’s death. These may include a credit‑shelter or bypass trust to lock in use of that spouse’s federal exemption, and a marital trust to provide for the survivor while still protecting ultimate beneficiaries.
• Coordinate with irrevocable trusts. You may complement your revocable trust with irrevocable life insurance trusts, spousal lifetime access trusts, or intentionally defective grantor trusts designed to remove appreciation from your taxable estate.
• Implement generation‑skipping strategies. Proper trust design can preserve wealth for children and grandchildren while providing creditor and divorce protection and leveraging available transfer‑tax exemptions.

The result is a flexible “trust system” that can adapt as tax laws and family circumstances change, while keeping overall control anchored in a single, coherent structure.

How an Estate Planning Attorney Adds Value

Designing and funding a living trust for an 8‑figure estate is not a form exercise—it is a strategic project that should be led by an experienced Texas estate planning attorney. Your attorney can:

• Inventory and analyze your estate. This includes entity structures, community vs. separate property, qualified accounts, insurance, and existing agreements to determine what should be retitled into the trust and what should be coordinated by beneficiary designation.
• Draft a trust that fits your family. Provisions can address second marriages, children from prior relationships, special‑needs beneficiaries, business succession, and charitable goals, all tailored to your specific risk tolerance and values.
• Implement and maintain funding. The best trust in the world fails if assets are not properly titled to it; your attorney and advisory team help ensure deeds, account ownership, and assignments actually move your estate under the trust umbrella.
• Adjust the plan over time. As markets move, laws change, or your net worth grows, your attorney can help amend the trust or layer on additional irrevocable strategies, keeping your plan aligned with current law and your objectives.

For Texas families with estates over 10 million dollars, a living‑trust‑centered plan offers privacy, control, tax efficiency, and a smoother transition for the next generation. If your balance sheet is approaching or exceeding eight figures, now is the time to sit down with a Texas estate planning attorney and build a trust structure that protects your legacy and the people who depend on it.

If you live in Texas and have family, a home, a ranch, or a business, now is an ideal time to review your existing plan—or to put one in place for the first time—while today’s favorable federal exemption amounts are still available. An experienced Texas estate planning attorney, like Mr. Michael Weaver at Saunders | Walsh, can help you protect what you’ve built and make things easier for the people you love most. Call us today to schedule your consultation with Mr. Weaver.

 

Best Practices Every Texas Family Should Review in 2026

As a new year begins, Texans need to pause and make sure their estate planning reflects their current lives, families, and financial picture. A well‑crafted plan helps ensure that assets pass according to your wishes, medical decisions are honored, and loved ones are supported when it matters most.

1. Review Your Will and Any Trusts: Your will and any trusts are the cornerstone of your estate plan, and they should evolve as your life changes. Major events such as marriage, divorce, the birth or adoption of a child, a death in the family, or a significant change in assets often require updates.

When reviewing these documents, consider:

• • Whether beneficiaries are current and accurately named.
  • Whether specific gifts are still appropriate given your current assets and relationships.
  • Whether your chosen executor or trustee is still willing, able, and the best person for the role.

A periodic review with your attorney helps prevent unintended results and avoids confusion for your family later.

 

2. Update Powers of Attorney and Healthcare Directives: Financial and medical powers of attorney ensure someone you trust can act on your behalf if you become incapacitated. Without these documents, loved ones may be forced into court processes to manage your finances or make healthcare decisions for you.

Key questions to ask each year:

• • Are your named financial and medical agents still the right people to serve.
  • Do your healthcare directives clearly state your wishes regarding life‑sustaining treatment, organ donation, and end‑of‑life care.
  • Have you changed doctors or medical providers, and do your agents know how to contact them.

Refreshing these documents periodically helps your agents act confidently in line with your current values and preferences.

 

3. Revisit Life Insurance Coverage: Life insurance often plays a central role in providing financial stability for a surviving spouse, children, or other dependents. As your family and financial responsibilities grow or change, your coverage amount and structure may need to be adjusted.

During your review, consider:

• • Whether coverage is still sufficient given your income, debts, and long‑term goals.
  • Whether the policy beneficiaries match your estate planning documents.
  • Whether riders or supplemental benefits still fit your situation.

Coordinating beneficiary designations with your will or trust helps avoid conflicting instructions and unintended results.

 

4. Check Beneficiary Designations on Accounts: Many important assets pass by beneficiary designation rather than under your will, including retirement accounts, life insurance, and many financial accounts. If these designations are outdated, your assets may bypass your estate plan and go to the wrong person.

Each year, review:

• • Retirement accounts such as 401(k)s, IRAs, and pensions.
  • Bank, brokerage, and investment accounts with pay‑on‑death or transfer‑on‑death designations.
  • Any annuities or similar contracts with named beneficiaries.

Confirm that these designations are consistent with your overall estate planning strategy and current family situation.

 

5. Safeguard and Manage Precious Metals, Fine Art, and Gemstones: For clients with collections of precious metals, fine art, or gemstones, these assets deserve special attention in your estate plan. These items often hold both significant monetary value and deep personal meaning, and they require specific planning to ensure they are preserved, properly valued, and transferred according to your wishes.

Precious Metals (Gold, Silver, Platinum)

Inventory and Documentation: Maintain a detailed inventory of all precious metal holdings, including:

• • Type of metal and purity (for example, 14K gold, 999 silver).
  • Weight and quantity of each item.
  • Purchase date, price, and source of acquisition.
  • Current estimated value and date of valuation.
  • Location where items are stored.

Appraisal and Valuation: Have your precious metals professionally appraised by a qualified numismatist or precious metals dealer, and update appraisals every three to five years or after significant market shifts. Include copies of appraisals in your estate planning notebook so your executor and beneficiaries understand the value of what they are inheriting.

Storage and Security: Store precious metals in a secure location such as a safe deposit box, home safe, or insured depository vault. Document the location and provide your executor or trustee with access instructions, and review insurance coverage to confirm that these assets are adequately protected against loss or theft.

Tax Considerations: Precious metals are treated as collectibles for federal income tax purposes and may be subject to higher capital gains tax rates upon sale, so discuss with your tax advisor how a step‑up in basis at death and potential estate taxes should be handled in your plan.

Fine Art and Collectibles

Professional Appraisal and Documentation: Fine art should be appraised by a qualified art appraiser who specializes in your type of collection. A good appraisal will include a detailed description, photographs, provenance, condition, and a current fair market value with the valuation date, and should be updated periodically or when markets move significantly.

Insurance and Protection: Collections often need specialized fine art insurance that goes beyond standard homeowner’s coverage. Make sure the storage environment, security measures, and transit practices meet your insurer’s requirements to preserve both physical condition and coverage.

Succession Planning for Collections: Decide whether you want your collection to stay together, be divided among family members, donated, or sold, and identify which beneficiaries have the interest and capacity to care for specific pieces. Clear written instructions can reduce the risk of conflict and help preserve both value and family harmony.

Tax Planning and Charitable Contributions: Donating selected works to museums or charities can yield meaningful income tax deductions and may help reduce estate tax exposure, especially for high‑value collections. Coordinate these gifts with your overall estate, income tax, and philanthropic goals.

Gemstones and Jewelry

Professional Gemological Certification: Have significant gemstones certified by a reputable gemological laboratory so that carat weight, color, clarity, cut, and any treatments are clearly documented. Certification provides objective support for valuation, insurance, and tax reporting.

Comprehensive Inventory: Create a detailed inventory of jewelry and gemstone holdings that includes descriptions, photos, purchase dates and prices, current appraised values, locations, and insurance details. Keeping this inventory with your estate planning records helps your executor quickly understand what exists and how it should be handled.

Storage, Security, and Insurance: Store high‑value pieces in secure locations such as safe deposit boxes or high‑quality home safes and ensure that insurance coverage is sufficient for loss, theft, and damage. Provide your executor with clear instructions about where items are kept and how they can be accessed.

Family Communications and Heirlooms: If certain pieces are family heirlooms, consider documenting who should receive which item and why. This can be done through specific bequests in your will or a separate memorandum referenced by your estate plan to reduce misunderstandings and disputes.

Liquidity and Estate Administration: Because metals, art, and gemstones may take time to sell and can be volatile in value, discuss with your attorney how your estate will generate cash to pay taxes, debts, and expenses without forcing a rushed sale of prized items. Life insurance, cash reserves, or other liquid assets can provide breathing room for a thoughtful sales strategy.

Organize and Safeguard Important Documents: Even the most carefully drafted documents cannot help if no one can find them. Organizing and safeguarding your estate planning records makes it easier for your loved ones to act quickly and confidently in a crisis.

Consider:

• • Keeping originals in a fireproof safe, secure digital vault, or other protected location.
  • Ensuring your executor, trustee, or agents know where documents are stored and how to access them.
  • Maintaining an updated list of key documents, accounts, professional advisors, and asset inventories, including collections and appraisals.

6. Consider Tax and Lifetime Gifting Strategies: While Texas does not impose a state estate tax, federal estate tax rules may affect larger estates, especially those holding concentrated collections. Regular reviews with your advisors can keep your plan tax‑efficient.

Topics to discuss with your attorney and tax advisor include:

• • Whether your projected estate size could trigger federal estate tax.
  • Use of lifetime gifts to reduce the size of your taxable estate, including gifts of art or gemstones to family members or charities.
  • Coordination of charitable gifts with your overall planning.
  • Tax implications of passing collectible assets at death versus selling or gifting them during lifetime.

7. Do Not Overlook Digital Assets: Many people now hold meaningful value—sentimental or financial—in digital assets, such as online investment platforms, cryptocurrency wallets, and cloud‑stored records that may relate to your collections. Make sure someone you trust can access these accounts, passwords, seed phrases, hot and cold wallets and records when needed.

8. Address Special Family Circumstances: Families with minor children, beneficiaries with special needs, blended families, or beneficiaries who struggle with finances often require additional planning tools, such as special needs trusts or spendthrift protections. Your collections may need special handling in these contexts as well.

9. Schedule a Regular Estate Plan Review: Estate planning is not a one‑time event; it should grow as your life, assets, and goals evolve. Many Texans benefit from a full review every few years or after major life or financial changes, including significant changes in the value or composition of collections.

 

It’s essential to consult with an experienced estate planning attorney to determine the best approach for your specific circumstances and ensure your estate planning documents are properly prepared and legally sound. Mr. Michael A. Weaver, Partner at Saunders | Walsh, specializes in estate planning law and looks forward to working with your family to protect your legacy assets. Call us today to schedule your consultation with Mr. Weaver.

 

The Texas Estate Plan
How to Cut Taxes, End Heirship Disputes, and Avoid Probate in 2026

Why Estate Planning Matters in Texas

Without the right documents and strategies, your estate may face delays in probate, higher federal estate taxes, and disputes between heirs.

Unlike some states, Texas does not impose its own estate or inheritance tax, so most tax exposure for larger estates in 2026 comes from the federal system. Careful planning lets you use the updated 2026 federal exemptions, trusts, and lifetime gifts to keep more of your estate in the family instead of losing it to tax, probate, or litigation costs.

2026 Estate Tax Numbers Texans Need to Know

As of 2026, the federal estate and gift tax exemption is $15,000,000 per person, or $30,000,000 for a married couple that uses portability and coordinated planning. This exemption applies to transfers made during life or at death, and amounts above the exemption are still subject to federal estate or gift tax at rates up to 40%.

The federal annual gift tax exclusion for 2026 remains $19,000 per recipient, or $38,000 per recipient for a married couple that elects gift‑splitting. Gifts within the annual exclusion do not use any of your $15,000,000-lifetime exemption or require filing a gift tax return, which makes them a simple way to move value out of your future taxable estate over time.

Even if your projected estate is under these federal thresholds, planning still matters because poor asset titling, outdated beneficiary designations, or lack of incapacity documents can cause costly problems for families. Key tax drivers include the total value of real estate, investments, closely held business interests, and large lifetime gifts that have already used part of the lifetime exemption.

Using Trusts to Minimize 2026 Taxes and Protect Assets

Trusts remain one of the most flexible tools for Texans who want to reduce taxable estates, protect beneficiaries, and avoid probate under the 2026 rules. By placing assets into carefully designed trusts, you can remove future appreciation from your taxable estate, shield property from certain creditors, and set guardrails for how and when heirs receive their inheritance.

Common 2026 trust strategies include:

• • Revocable Living Trusts to keep assets out of court‑supervised probate, provide privacy, and make incapacity administration smoother while you retain control during life.
  • Irrevocable Trusts to remove assets (and future growth) from your taxable estate and add creditor and divorce protection for beneficiaries.
  • Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRTs) allow you to support favored charities, keep an income stream, and reduce the taxable value of your estate.
  • Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs) that shift appreciating assets to the next generation at a reduced transfer‑tax cost if the assets outperform the assumed IRS rate.

With the 2026 exemption at $15,000,000 per person and indexed going forward, high‑net‑worth families can still use these techniques to “lock in” today’s high exemption while shifting additional growth to younger generations.

Strategic Gifting Under the 2026 Rules

Lifetime gifting remains an efficient way to shrink a taxable estate while helping family members when they actually need the funds. For 2026, you can give up to $19,000 per recipient per year (or $38,000 per recipient for a married couple that splits gifts) without using any of your lifetime exemption.

Larger gifts above the annual amount simply reduce your remaining $15,000,000 lifetime exemption, which can still be advantageous if you expect your estate to grow or want to take advantage of today’s historically high exemption before future legislative changes. Coordinated gifts to irrevocable trusts, 529 plans, or family entities can magnify these benefits while keeping structure and protection around the wealth.

Life Insurance, Asset Protection, and 2026 Planning

In 2026, life insurance continues to play a key role by creating liquidity to pay estate taxes, debts, and administration expenses, so real estate or business interests do not have to be sold in a rush. When held in an irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT), the policy proceeds can stay outside the taxable estate while still being available to support heirs or equalize inheritances.

Beyond tax planning, Texans should also think about asset‑protection structures that work hand‑in‑hand with estate planning, such as LLCs and family limited partnerships for business and investment property, homestead protections for the primary residence, and spendthrift‑style trusts for beneficiaries who may need guardrails. Properly integrated, these tools can reduce risk from lawsuits, creditors, and divorce while preserving flexibility for legitimate business and family needs.

Avoiding Probate and Getting the Right Documents in Place

Keeping loved ones out of a drawn‑out probate process remains a core goal for many Texas families in 2026. That often means combining a revocable living trust with updated beneficiary designations, payable‑on‑death and transfer‑on‑death instructions for financial accounts, and transfer‑on‑death deeds for real property.

Every comprehensive Texas estate plan should still include:

• • A carefully drafted pour-over will that coordinates with any trusts and names guardians for minor and special needs children.
  • A statutory durable financial power of attorney and medical power of attorney so someone you trust can act if you are incapacitated.
  • A directive to physicians (living will) and HIPAA releases so medical providers can communicate with decision‑makers.

When these documents work together with 2026‑appropriate trust strategies, gifting, and insurance planning, families are far better positioned to minimize taxes and maximize what ultimately reaches the next generation under the new exemption regime.

 

 

It’s essential to consult with an experienced estate planning attorney to determine the best approach for your specific circumstances and ensure your estate planning documents are properly prepared and legally sound. Mr. Michael A. Weaver, Partner at Saunders | Walsh, specializes in estate planning law and looks forward to working with your family to protect your legacy assets. Call us today to schedule your consultation with Mr. Weaver.