Guides › Estate, Probate & Inheritance › Living Trust Cost
Updated September 24, 2026. Quick answer: Expect a median $3,500 for an attorney-drafted living trust in Arizona, per LegalTemplates’ 2026 survey of 909 law firms; the middle half of firms quoted $2,500 to $3,625. That puts Arizona at the 20th-cheapest of the 21 states compared here, coming in over the $2,475 national median for a standalone trust. A DIY platform runs $149 to $649. What that spend buys locally: Arizona’s superior courts set probate fees by county under A.R.S. § 12-284(C). Mohave County charges $371.00 for either a formal or an informal probate petition.
Whether the state taxes the trust’s income is a separate question: does Arizona tax trust income.
Related guides on this topic: Intestate Succession in New Hampshire, Intestate Succession in New Mexico and Intestate Succession in North Dakota.
Fast routes: National living trust cost guide | Arizona probate filing fee | Arizona probate cost | Is a living trust worth it in Arizona?
If you choose a document service
Review the living-trust option
LawDepot builds a state-specific revocable living trust from guided questions. Check the price and retitling instructions before you buy.
If you need advice about your situation, compare the attorney route above before choosing a document service.
The link goes to LawDepot, a paid legal-document service, not Clear Money Guide and not a law firm. LawDepot pays Clear Money Guide a commission if you buy a document there, at no extra cost to you. You are under no obligation to buy anything. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice.
Review LawDepot’s living trustOpens on LawDepot. Follow the signing and retitling instructions for your state.
How our partner relationships workLiving trust cost in Arizona: attorney vs DIY
Here is the same figure next to the national benchmark and the DIY floor:
| Figure | Amount |
|---|---|
| What Arizona attorneys typically charge | $3,500 |
| Middle-50% spread in Arizona | $2,500–$3,625 |
| 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 Arizona
The payoff for the $3,500 spent on a trust shows up here: Arizona probate, and what it would otherwise cost the estate. Arizona’s superior courts set probate fees by county under A.R.S. § 12-284(C). Mohave County charges $371.00 for either a formal or an informal probate petition. Full filing-fee breakdown.
Arizona publishes no percentage schedule for probate compensation; the personal representative and the attorney are each paid what the court finds reasonable (A.R.S. §14-3719), 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: $200,000 of personal property and $300,000 of real property, both net of liens. Whether any of that reaches a solely owned house is answered below; it is where most published guidance goes wrong. Full Arizona probate cost guide, including when a smaller estate qualifies for a shortcut and skips probate anyway.
Arizona living trust: signing, notary and the deed
Each line is a short extract quoted from, or a plain summary of, the statute cited; the section has the exceptions.
- Creating the trust. A.R.S. § 14-10402: “The settlor indicates an intention to create the trust…”
- Writing rule. A.R.S. § 14-10407 (summarized, not quoted): a trust need not be evidenced by a trust instrument unless another statute requires one, but an oral trust can be established only by clear and convincing evidence, and its terms by a preponderance of the evidence.
- Deed and notary. A.R.S. § 33-401: “…must be duly acknowledged before some officer authorized to take acknowledgments…”
- Certification of trust. A.R.S. § 14-11013: “…the trustee may furnish to the person a certification of trust…”
For what the court side costs if a trust is not used, see Arizona probate cost.
Funding the trust in Arizona
One step trips people up after the trust is drafted: retitling a house into it requires an actual new deed, not just the trust document. Arizona goes further than most states: Ariz. Const. art. IX, §24 bars the state or county from ever imposing a new tax, fee or stamp on conveying real property, so a deed into your own trust cannot be taxed. It is exempt from the paperwork too: A.R.S. §11-1134(B)(8) excuses a transfer to a trustee for nominal consideration from the Affidavit of Property Value most deeds require. On property tax, the assessment cap resets only for new construction, a change in use, or an omitted parcel, not a change of title, so funding the trust should not disturb the limited property value. Recording costs the standard $30 flat fee.
Is a living trust worth it in Arizona?
Set the $3,500 against what probate would have cost above, then add the non-dollar side: no public court file, and a faster transfer once you are gone. The full worth-it analysis for Arizona breaks down the trade for your specific assets and estate size.
Sources
- LegalTemplates, 2026 Estate Planning Costs in the US (909 firms, read September 24, 2026).
- Arizona probate filing fee, Arizona probate cost, national living trust cost guide (Clear Money Guide).
- Statute/agency source, transfer-tax/recording source