TX trust records

Texas Revocable Trust Minutes Template

Texas trusts are administered without court supervision, which means the trustee’s own file is the only contemporaneous record that decisions were proper. This sample builds a Texas revocable-trust review around Property Code § 113.062 accounting items and the community-property questions Texas spouses co-serving as trustees must answer.

Texas trust administration context

Texas trust law sits in the Property Code (chapters 111 through 115) rather than the Uniform Trust Code, and the state’s strong tradition of independent administration means trustees act — and document — without court supervision. Because Texas trusts are usually administered outside any court’s supervision, the trustee’s own records are the only contemporaneous account of decisions; fiduciary litigation plays out in district courts under Texas Supreme Court precedent. A beneficiary has four years to sue for breach of fiduciary duty (Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.004), and Texas courts expect the trustee to have kept orderly books under Property Code § 113.062. Texas has no state income tax, which simplifies filings but raises the stakes on community-property characterization — trust funding of jointly owned marital assets should be documented at funding and revisited in reviews.

How to run this review in Texas

  1. 1

    Structure each review around § 113.062’s required accounting contents — cash balance, asset list, receipts and disbursements — so the minutes map one-to-one to what the statute expects.

  2. 2

    Record the community or separate character of newly funded assets at funding and confirm it at each review; Texas’s community-property regime makes characterization a recurring question, not a one-time one.

  3. 3

    Note the settlor’s instructions verbatim where they changed. Independent administration means no judge reviews the file unless litigation starts — the minutes are the file.

  4. 4

    Confirm who holds the original signed instrument and where the trust’s tax returns are filed; Texas trustees change banks and CPAs often, and the record should survive the switch.

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Copy-pasteable minutes sample

TRUSTEE MEETING MINUTES
Texas Revocable Trust — Periodic Review

Date: [MEETING DATE]
Trust: [TRUST NAME]
Trustee: [TRUSTEE NAME]
Attendees: [ATTENDEES]

The trustee confirmed that administration follows the Texas Property Code, Subtitle B, that independent administration continues without court supervision, and that the accounting elements of section 113.062 were addressed for the period since [PRIOR REVIEW DATE].

Standing review agenda for this revocable trust:
1. Confirm no amendment or revocation has occurred since the last review.
2. Check whether settlor capacity or successor-trustee readiness changed.
3. Log distributions against the settlor’s current instructions.

Action 1: The trustee reviewed the community-property character of the jointly funded brokerage account and confirmed the 50/50 proportional allocation recorded at funding remains accurate.

Action 2: The trustee prepared the § 113.062 accounting elements for the period, itemizing receipts of [RECEIPTS AMOUNT] and disbursements of [DISBURSEMENTS AMOUNT] with supporting statements attached.

Action 3: The trustee recorded the settlor’s updated instruction dated [INSTRUCTION DATE] regarding the timing of discretionary distributions to [BENEFICIARY NAME], and confirmed the instruction is consistent with the instrument.

The trustee assigned [FOLLOW-UP PERSON] to obtain [FOLLOW-UP ITEM] by [DUE DATE]. The next review will occur on or about [NEXT MEETING DATE], or sooner if a material event requires trustee action.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned.

Trustee signature: ____________________  Date: __________
[TRUSTEE NAME]

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Questions about Texas revocable trust minutes

Are Texas revocable trust minutes filed anywhere?

No. Texas trusts are administered outside court supervision, so minutes live in the trustee’s files and surface only in district-court fiduciary litigation or a beneficiary demand under Property Code § 114.008.

What does § 113.062 require the accounting to contain?

A statement of receipts and disbursements, the trust’s assets and liabilities, and the trustee’s compensation. A review that touches each element keeps the trustee aligned with the statute between accountings.

How should community property be handled in the minutes?

One line per affected asset, stating its character at funding and any change since. Texas’s community-property presumptions decide spousal rights, and contemporaneous notes are the strongest evidence of what the spouses intended.

Who may demand the records?

Beneficiaries with a § 114.008 right to information, and on litigation, the district court. Keeping the minutes complete avoids the compelled-production scenario entirely.

Common mistakes with Texas revocable trusts

  • Assuming no state income tax means no documentation duty. Texas fiduciary litigation is active, and Property Code § 113.062 books are the centerpiece of every case.
  • Ignoring community-property characterization on funding. Assets titled without the spouse’s consent become the dispute the minutes could have prevented.
  • Leaving independent administration undocumented. The freedom Texas grants depends on the trustee proving orderly administration after the fact.

Texas statutes worth knowing

  • Tex. Prop. Code § 113.062 — fiduciary accounting requirements
  • Tex. Prop. Code § 113.052 — trustee standard of care
  • Tex. Prop. Code § 114.008 — duty to keep beneficiaries reasonably informed
  • Tex. Prop. Code § 112.033 — duty of impartiality among beneficiaries

General legal information for record-keeping purposes — not legal advice. Consult a Texas attorney for advice on your specific trust.