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Updated September 23, 2026. Quick answer: Florida attorneys charge a median $1,950 for a revocable living trust, LegalTemplates’ 2026 study of 909 firms found, with the middle half of quotes falling between $1,250 and $3,125. That makes Florida the cheapest median of the ten states compared here, though its own middle-50% range, $1,250 to $3,125, is also the widest of the ten, so the median hides more variation than most. A DIY platform runs $149 to $649. What that spend buys locally: Florida charges $395 statewide for formal administration, the proceeding that actually issues letters testamentary or letters of administration.
Whether the state taxes the trust’s income is a separate question: does Florida tax trust income.
Fast routes: National living trust cost guide | Florida probate filing fee | Florida probate cost | Is a living trust worth it in Florida?
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How our partner relationships workLiving trust cost in Florida: attorney vs DIY
Laid out side by side:
| Figure | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median attorney price in Florida | $1,950 |
| Typical range of quotes in Florida | $1,250–$3,125 |
| 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 23, 2026.
What a living trust avoids: probate in Florida
Skip the trust and Florida probate is the fallback route, with its own court bill attached, described below. Florida charges $395 statewide for formal administration, the proceeding that actually issues letters testamentary or letters of administration. Full filing-fee breakdown.
Florida’s probate fee schedule is presumptive, not mandatory, and must be disclosed as negotiable: the attorney’s fee is presumed reasonable at $1,500 for estates up to $40,000, rising to 3% of the next $900,000 (Fla. Stat. §733.6171), and the personal representative separately takes 3% of the first $1,000,000 (Fla. Stat. §733.617). Full Florida probate cost guide, and the small-estate shortcut that can bypass probate even with no trust.
Florida 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. Fla. Stat. § 736.0402: “The settlor has capacity to create a trust.”
- Writing rule. Fla. Stat. § 689.05 (summarized, not quoted): declarations and creations of trust in land must be manifested and proved by a writing signed by the party authorized to create the trust, or by that party’s will, or the trust is void, subject to the statute’s stated exceptions.
- Deed and notary. Fla. Stat. § 695.03: “…the execution must be acknowledged by the party executing it…”
- Certification of trust. Fla. Stat. § 736.1017: “…the trustee may furnish to the person a certification of trust…”
For what the court side costs if a trust is not used, see Florida probate cost.
Funding the trust in Florida
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. Funding a Florida homestead into a revocable trust does not disturb either tax break that matters most: the state’s documentary stamp tax on deeds (Fla. Stat. Ch. 201) does not apply to a deed from a grantor to the trustee of their own revocable trust (Fla. Admin. Code R. 12B-4.014), and the transfer does not reset the Save Our Homes assessment cap, since it is not a change of ownership under Fla. Stat. §193.155(3)(a)1.b. The deed still has to be recorded with the county, for a modest statutory base fee under Fla. Stat. §28.24.
Is a living trust worth it in Florida?
The math is the $1,950 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 Florida goes through the numbers for your own real estate and situation.
Sources
- LegalTemplates, 2026 Estate Planning Costs in the US (909 firms, read September 23, 2026).
- Florida probate filing fee, Florida probate cost, national living trust cost guide (Clear Money Guide).
- Statute/agency source, transfer-tax/recording source.