Harris County Deed Without Warranty (Grantor to Own Revocable Trust) Form

Funding a revocable living trust means moving title to the real estate out of the owner's own name and into the name of the trustee. When the grantor and the trustee are the same person, there is little reason to warrant title to oneself, so Texas practice often uses a deed without warranty for the transfer. This form prepares that deed under Chapter 5 of the Texas Property Code, conveying the property from an individual owner to that owner as trustee of the owner's own revocable living trust.

A conveyance that promises nothing about title

A deed without warranty does something a quitclaim cannot, and something a warranty deed does not. It conveys the property itself, so it stays out of quitclaim territory, but it makes no promise about the state of the title. Property Code Section 5.022 provides that a covenant of warranty is not required in a conveyance. The grantor passes whatever title the grantor holds, and the trust takes the property subject to every lien, easement, and restriction of record.

Why the words of grant get an express exclusion

Texas hides a trap in the ordinary words of conveyance. Under Property Code Section 5.023, using grant or convey implies two covenants unless the deed expressly provides otherwise: that the grantor has not already conveyed the estate to someone else, and that the property is free from encumbrances. A deed labeled without warranty can still carry these implied covenants if it stays silent about them. This form closes that gap in its conveyance section, expressly excluding the common-law warranties and the Section 5.023 covenants, so the words of grant import no promise the parties did not intend.

Naming a trustee, not a trust

Record title to trust property is held in the name of the person acting as trustee, on behalf of the trust. Property Code Section 114.087 treats the trustee as the party to an instrument that names the trust. The deed names the trustee, the exact name of the trust, and the date of the trust instrument, because a shorthand name can leave a gap in the chain of title that surfaces at the next sale or refinance.

When a spouse signs too

If the property is the family homestead, the transfer brings in Texas Family Code Section 5.001, under which neither spouse may convey the homestead without the other spouse joining. That rule reaches a homestead conveyed into a revocable trust, and it applies even where the homestead is one spouse's separate property. The form carries a joining-spouse signature block; where the property is not homestead or the grantor has no spouse, the block is left blank, and a joining spouse conveys no separate ownership by signing.

What is included and what it is not

The package includes the blank deed as a fillable PDF, a completed example filled in for a realistic Travis County fact pattern, and a plain-language guide that walks through every numbered section, explains the governing statutes, and describes signing, notarization, and recording. The materials are informational and are not legal advice. The Texas General Warranty Deed to a Revocable Trust warrants and defends title generally; the Texas Special Warranty Deed to a Revocable Trust warrants only against defects arising during the grantor's own ownership; and the Texas Transfer on Death Deed names a beneficiary and takes effect only at death.