Updated August 10, 2026. Quick answer. A complete basic estate plan is three documents — a will, a financial power of attorney, and an advance healthcare directive (sometimes called a living will) — not one. Attorney-drafted, the three together have a median of $1,000, with the middle half of firms charging $750–$1,500, against $625 (median) for a will alone and $300 (median) for a standalone power of attorney — the package is cheaper than buying the pieces separately because the drafting and execution overhead is shared, and on the study’s own arithmetic the three documents bought one at a time come to $1,225, or $225 above its package median. DIY platforms that genuinely bundle all three run $149–$299. None of this includes a trust, which is a separate decision layered on top, not a substitute for these three.
The three-document checklist
| Document | What it actually does |
|---|---|
| Will | Says who gets your property and, for parents of minor children, who raises them. Does nothing while you’re alive. |
| Financial power of attorney | Names someone to manage your money and property if you can’t — the document that avoids a court-supervised guardianship if you become incapacitated. |
| Advance healthcare directive | Names someone to make medical decisions for you and states your own wishes, so your family isn’t guessing or in conflict when it matters. |
The will only starts working after you die. The other two only work while you’re alive but unable to act. Between them, there’s no gap — which is the whole argument for having all three rather than just the will most people start with.
Start with the will — it anchors the other two
This is free to you and there is no obligation to buy anything beyond what you choose — LawDepot builds a state-specific will, and its own site links you to the matching power of attorney and healthcare directive from there.
LawDepot pays us a commission if you buy through this link — it costs you nothing extra. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice. Affiliate Disclosure.
What the bundle actually costs
| Route | Price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Attorney, all three documents | Median $1,000 (middle 50%: $750–$1,500) | LegalTemplates 2026 study of 909 firms, read at the source August 12, 2026 (319 of them priced a package); the same figures are on our POA cost page |
| Attorney, will only | Median $625 (middle 50%: $450–$1,000) | our will cost page |
| Attorney, POA only | Median $300 (middle 50%: $250–$400) | our POA cost page |
| Trust & Will — Will Plan (DIY, all three) | $199 individual / $299 couple | Published price, re-verified August 1, 2026 |
| LegalZoom — Pro Will (DIY, all three) | $149 individual / $249 couple | Published price |
Buying the three documents as a package — whether from an attorney or a DIY platform — costs less than adding them one at a time, because you’re paying the drafting and execution overhead once instead of three times.
What’s not included
A trust is a separate, optional layer on top of these three — typically justified by avoiding probate on real property or complexity a simple will doesn’t handle, and it costs more (a revocable living trust package runs a median of $2,700; see what a living trust costs). It is not part of a “basic” plan and most people don’t need one to have a complete plan.