The day-counts are the statutes' own; where a statute names no day-count, the row says so. Rows marked “related estate” are the personal representative's clocks when a probate estate is administered, recorded beside the trust's — never the trustee's own.
Texas trustee deadlines: what the statutes provide
Reviewed against the Texas Statutes on 2026-10-04. General information, not legal advice; the official text controls.
| When | Timing | What the statute provides | To whom | Statute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| You are named successor trustee | No fixed clock. Signing the trust instrument or a separate written acceptance is conclusive; exercising powers or performing duties is presumptive evidence of acceptance, with the exceptions the section states. | Decide whether to accept the trusteeship — in writing, or by taking up the trustee's work. | — | Prop. Code §112.009 ↗ |
| You accept, or trust assets come to you | Within a reasonable time; the statute gives no day-count. | Review the trust's assets and decide which to keep and which to dispose of, under the prudent investor rule. | — | Prop. Code §117.006 ↗ |
| You accept | At once and throughout; no day-count. | Administer the trust in good faith according to its terms and the Texas Trust Code — and, where the terms are silent, the duties the common law imposes. | — | Prop. Code §113.051 ↗ |
| A beneficiary asks about the trust | No fixed clock. For a beneficiary of an irrevocable trust who is 25 or older, the trust's terms cannot limit the duty. | Keep the beneficiaries reasonably informed about the administration — a common-law duty the statute protects. | The beneficiaries | Prop. Code §111.0035(c) ↗ |
| A beneficiary's written demand for an accounting is received | On or before the 90th day after the trustee receives the demand, or a longer period a court orders; after that a beneficiary may sue to compel it. Not more than once every 12 months unless a court orders otherwise. | Deliver a written statement of accounts covering the period since the last accounting or, for the first, since the trust was created. | The beneficiary who demanded it | Prop. Code §113.151 ↗ |
| The trust becomes irrevocable | Before the trust receives income or files under its own number. | Obtain the trust's employer identification number; a revocable trust used the settlor's Social Security number, and that stops at death. | — | IRS Form SS-4 ↗Federal |
| You propose to distribute to a second trust (decanting) | Written notice at least 30 days before the distribution. | Give the notice the section requires before exercising a decanting power, to the current beneficiaries and the presumptive remainder beneficiaries it names. | The beneficiaries the section names | Prop. Code §112.074 ↗ |
| You propose to divide a trust, or combine trusts | Notice at least 30 days before, as the section provides. | Give notice of a proposed division or combination of trusts to the beneficiaries the section names. | The beneficiaries the section names | Prop. Code §112.057 ↗ |
| The trust's total value falls under $50,000 | After notice to the distributees and permissible distributees; no day-count. | A trustee may terminate a trust the section calls uneconomic, after notice, when its value does not justify the cost of administration. | The distributees and permissible distributees | Prop. Code §112.059 ↗ |
| A terminating event occurs | A reasonable time to wind up; no day-count. | Keep exercising the trustee's powers for the reasonable period needed to wind up the trust and distribute its property. | — | Prop. Code §112.052 ↗ |
| You propose to resign | As the trust's terms provide, or with a court's permission; no day-count. | Resign by the method the trust names, or petition the court for permission to resign. | — | Prop. Code §113.081 ↗ |
| A breach of fiduciary duty occurs | Four years for a suit alleging breach of fiduciary duty, as the limitations statute provides. | The period for a beneficiary's claim. Texas has no limitation notice a trustee can send to shorten it. | — | Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §16.004(a)(5) ↗ |
| A will is admitted to probate (the related estate) | Notice to the beneficiaries the section names within 60 days after the order; the affidavit or certificate of that notice within 90 days. | The personal representative — not the trustee — gives the beneficiary notice and files proof of it. | The beneficiaries the section names | Est. Code §308.002, §308.004 ↗Related estate |
| Letters are issued to the estate's personal representative | Notice by publication within one month after letters; notice to secured creditors within two months. | When a probate estate is administered, the personal representative gives the creditor notices and claims are presented to the representative; the trust's file records the estate's events and concludes nothing about them. | Creditors | Est. Code §308.051, §308.053 ↗Related estate |
| The personal representative qualifies | Before the 91st day after qualification, unless the court extends it. | The personal representative files the estate's inventory, appraisement and list of claims — the estate's record, kept beside the trust's. | — | Est. Code §309.051 ↗Related estate |
| Fifteen months pass after an independent executor's letters | An interested person may then demand an accounting; the executor has 60 days after the demand to answer. | In an independent administration, the executor's accounting comes on demand, not on a schedule. | The interested person who demands it | Est. Code §404.001 ↗Related estate |
| The decedent dies | A will generally must be offered for probate within four years after death, with the exceptions the section states. | The window for probating a will — a fact the trustee of a related trust records, not a trustee's clock. | — | Est. Code §256.003 ↗Related estate |
| The decedent dies | Nine months after death; a six-month extension is available. | File the federal estate tax return when the gross estate exceeds the filing threshold, or to elect portability for a surviving spouse. Texas has no estate or inheritance tax (Tex. Const. art. VIII, §26). | — | IRS Form 706 ↗Federal |
| The trust's tax year ends | The 15th day of the fourth month after year-end (April 15 for a calendar-year trust). | File the trust's income tax return and issue a Schedule K-1 to each beneficiary who received distributable income. | — | IRS Form 1041 ↗Federal |
General information about Texas law, not legal advice.