Clear Money Guide
What this guide covers
A quick view of the questions and evidence developed below.
Updated August 3, 2026. Quick answer: bought together, the power of attorney is usually close to free — DIY platforms bundle it into a will plan, and attorneys who quote a flat “package” rarely price it as a separate line. Bought on its own later, a standalone attorney power of attorney runs a national median of $300 (middle 50% $250–$400). That gap is the entire argument for doing them in one sitting.
What each document actually does
They are not variations on a theme. A will directs your property after you die and does nothing at all while you are alive. A financial power of attorney does the reverse: it lets someone act for you while you are alive but unable to act for yourself, and it dies with you. Neither covers the other, and the one people skip — the power of attorney — is the one whose absence forces a court guardianship.
If you are doing both at once
The will and the power of attorney solve opposite problems — one after death, one while you are alive and cannot act — and most people need both. LawDepot builds a state-specific last will and testament, and its power of attorney and living will forms cover the rest of the standard set.
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The bundle arithmetic
Nationally, an attorney simple will has a median of $625 (middle 50% $450–$1,000); a standalone attorney power of attorney has a median of $300 ($250–$400). DIY platform packages run $129–$599 and typically include the will, a power of attorney and a healthcare directive together. Attorney figures are the national medians from the LegalTemplates 2026 survey of 909 firms, verified July 23, 2026. They are national, not state-specific — see the note on state pricing below.
The execution trap that catches the pair
The two documents are often executed under different rules in the same state: a will normally needs witnesses and not a notary, while a durable power of attorney is frequently the one that does need notarisation to be accepted by a bank. Signing both at one sitting and getting each one’s formalities right is what makes the pair work. The state execution table covers the will half; what to do when a bank refuses a power of attorney covers the half that goes wrong in practice.
Pricing each document on its own: the will, the power of attorney, the advance directive, and the full package.
Pricing figures are national and dated above. General information, not legal advice.