Guides › Estate, Probate & Inheritance › Living Trust Cost
Updated September 24, 2026. Quick answer: Alaska attorneys charge a median $4,000 for a revocable living trust, LegalTemplates’ 2026 study of 909 firms found, with the middle half of quotes falling between $3,250 and $4,650. That is the highest median of the 21 states compared here, and it comes in over the $2,475 national median. A DIY platform runs $149 to $649. What that spend buys locally: Alaska charges a flat $250 statewide to open a probate case, no matter the estate’s size.
Whether the state taxes the trust’s income is a separate question: does Alaska tax trust income.
Fast routes: National living trust cost guide | Alaska probate filing fee | Alaska probate cost | Is a living trust worth it in Alaska?
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How our partner relationships workLiving trust cost in Alaska: attorney vs DIY
Laid out side by side:
| Figure | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median attorney price in Alaska | $4,000 |
| Typical range of quotes in Alaska | $3,250–$4,650 |
| National median, all 50 states and DC | $2,475 |
| DIY document platform range | $149–$649 |
Attorneys who bundle the trust into a fuller package (pour-over will, financial power of attorney, healthcare documents) charge a national median of $2,700 for that package. DIY document platforms run $149 to $649 and do not vary by state; the national living trust cost guide has the full platform comparison table (LegalZoom, Trust & Will, Quicken WillMaker, FreeWill) with what each one includes.
Attorney figures: LegalTemplates, September 24, 2026.
What a living trust avoids: probate in Alaska
Skip the trust and Alaska probate is the fallback route, with its own court bill attached, described below. Alaska charges a flat $250 statewide to open a probate case, no matter the estate’s size. Full filing-fee breakdown.
Alaska publishes no percentage schedule for probate compensation; the personal representative and the attorney are each paid what the court finds reasonable (AS 13.16.430), so the bill tracks hours worked rather than the size of the estate. The second number is the small-estate threshold, at or under which an estate skips most of probate: vehicles up to $100,000 plus other personal property up to $50,000, net of liens, by affidavit. Whether any of that reaches a solely owned house is answered below; it is where most published guidance goes wrong. Full Alaska probate cost guide, and the small-estate shortcut that can bypass probate even with no trust.
Funding the trust in Alaska
The paperwork does not end at signing. Real estate specifically has to be re-deeded into the trust’s name to actually be covered by it. Alaska goes further than most no-transfer-tax states: in 2024 the legislature made the ban explicit, enacting AS §43.98.035, which bars the state from levying any sales or use tax on the transfer of real property, with companion amendments barring boroughs and cities from doing the same. Property tax is unaffected too: Alaska has no statewide property tax, only about two dozen municipalities levy one at all, and AS §29.45.110(a) requires assessors to value real property at full and true value every January 1 regardless of who holds title. Deeds record with the state Recorder’s Office rather than a county clerk, currently $20 for the first page and $5 per additional page.
Is a living trust worth it in Alaska?
The math is the $4,000 setup cost versus the probate bill above; the part no dollar figure captures is privacy and a quicker transfer for heirs. The full worth-it analysis for Alaska goes through the numbers for your own real estate and situation.
Sources
- LegalTemplates, 2026 Estate Planning Costs in the US (909 firms, read September 24, 2026).
- Alaska probate filing fee, Alaska probate cost, national living trust cost guide (Clear Money Guide).
- Statute/agency source, transfer-tax/recording source