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Updated September 24, 2026. Quick answer: A revocable living trust drawn up by a Delaware attorney runs a median $2,600, $2,000–$3,175 for the middle half of the 909 firms LegalTemplates surveyed in 2026. That puts Delaware at the 10th-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: New Castle County, Delaware’s Register of Wills grants letters on a schedule tied to personal-property value, starting at $25.00 for estates under $50,000.
Whether the state taxes the trust’s income is a separate question: does Delaware tax trust income.
Fast routes: National living trust cost guide | Delaware probate filing fee | Delaware probate cost | Is a living trust worth it in Delaware?
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How our partner relationships workLiving trust cost in Delaware: attorney vs DIY
Set against the national median and the DIY platforms:
| Figure | Amount |
|---|---|
| Attorney median, Delaware | $2,600 |
| Attorney middle-50% range, Delaware | $2,000–$3,175 |
| 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 Delaware
Delaware’s probate system is what a funded trust bypasses entirely; here is what that system actually charges. New Castle County, Delaware’s Register of Wills grants letters on a schedule tied to personal-property value, starting at $25.00 for estates under $50,000. Full filing-fee breakdown.
Delaware publishes no percentage schedule for probate compensation; the personal representative and the attorney are each paid what the court finds reasonable (12 Del. C. §2305), 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: $50,000 of personal property, without a grant of letters. Whether any of that reaches a solely owned house is answered below; it is where most published guidance goes wrong. Full Delaware probate cost guide, including how small an estate has to be to sidestep probate on its own.
Funding the trust in Delaware
The trust protects only what is actually inside it, which for real estate means a recorded deed change, not just the trust paperwork. Delaware’s realty transfer tax has a specific carve-out for this: 30 Del. C. §5401(1)(j)(1) exempts any conveyance to a trustee, nominee, or straw party where the grantor remains the beneficial owner, so a deed into your own revocable trust owes no transfer tax. Property tax reassessment is unaffected by the deed itself: under 9 Del. C. §8306, each county reassesses all real property on its own cycle of at least once every five years, not on individual ownership changes. Recording the deed costs a mix of flat and per-page fees; Sussex County currently charges a $30 document surcharge plus $1 maintenance fee plus $9 per page.
Is a living trust worth it in Delaware?
$2,600 up front buys out of the probate costs above, and buys privacy and speed a will cannot: no public court file, no waiting on a judge’s calendar. The full worth-it analysis for Delaware runs the trade against your own real estate and estate size.
Sources
- LegalTemplates, 2026 Estate Planning Costs in the US (909 firms, read September 24, 2026).
- Delaware probate filing fee, Delaware probate cost, national living trust cost guide (Clear Money Guide).
- Statute/agency source, transfer-tax/recording source