What a trust is
A trust is a legal device used for the management of property. Legal title to the property — the right to manage it — is held by one person, the trustee, while another person, the beneficiary, has the beneficial right to use and enjoy it.
Living trust vs. testamentary trust
A living trust is created while the creator is living, as compared to a testamentary trust, which is created at or after the creator's death under the terms of a will. A living trust may be revocable (changeable before death) or irrevocable.
When most people say "living trust," they mean a revocable trust created during the creator's lifetime for the management and disposition of substantially all of their property. Marketers give these arrangements many names — "loving trust," "family trust," "revocable management trust" — but the underlying structure is the same.
How it typically works
In a typical case, the creator of the trust — the settlor — names himself or herself as both the initial trustee and the initial beneficiary. The settlor holds legal title to trust property as trustee, for his or her own use and benefit as beneficiary. When the settlor dies, becomes incapacitated, or resigns as trustee, a successor trustee takes over and manages the property for the settlor, if living, or for the beneficiaries the settlor named.
Is a living trust right for you?
Sometimes yes, often no. A trust only works if it is actually funded and maintained, and Texas offers efficient probate procedures that make a well-drafted will a strong option for many families. That comparison — cost, privacy, incapacity planning, out-of-state property — is exactly what a consultation is for.