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Updated September 24, 2026. Quick answer: An attorney-drafted revocable living trust in Minnesota has a median price of $2,650, with the middle half of firms charging $2,200–$3,100 (LegalTemplates’ 2026 study of 909 law firms). That puts Minnesota at the 14th-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: Minnesota charges a flat $310.00 statewide for the first paper filed to open a probate.
Whether the state taxes the trust’s income is a separate question: does Minnesota tax trust income.
Fast routes: National living trust cost guide | Minnesota probate filing fee | Minnesota probate cost | Is a living trust worth it in Minnesota?
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How our partner relationships workLiving trust cost in Minnesota: attorney vs DIY
The numbers at a glance:
| Figure | Amount |
|---|---|
| Minnesota attorney-drafted trust, median | $2,650 |
| Minnesota attorney-drafted trust, middle 50% | $2,200–$3,100 |
| 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 Minnesota
A living trust’s whole point is dodging what comes next: probate. Minnesota would run the estate through the court process below, at the court’s own price, unless the assets are already titled in the trust’s name. Minnesota charges a flat $310.00 statewide for the first paper filed to open a probate. Full filing-fee breakdown.
Minnesota publishes no percentage schedule for probate compensation; the personal representative and the attorney are each paid what the court finds reasonable (Minn. Stat. §524.3-719), 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: $75,000, 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 Minnesota probate cost guide, including the small-estate threshold that can skip probate without a trust at all.
Minnesota 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. Minn. Stat. § 501C.0402: “…the settlor indicates an intention to create the trust…”
- Writing rule. Minn. Stat. § 513.04 (summarized, not quoted): a trust or power concerning land can be created only by operation of law or by a deed or other written conveyance signed by the parties creating it, or by their agent authorized in writing.
- Deed and notary. Minn. Stat. § 507.24: “…it shall be executed, acknowledged by the parties executing the same…”
- Certification of trust. Minn. Stat. § 501C.1013: “…may execute a certificate of trust…”
For what the court side costs if a trust is not used, see Minnesota probate cost.
Funding the trust in Minnesota
A signed trust document is not the finish line: assets still have to be retitled into the trust’s name, and for a house that means a new deed. Funding the trust in Minnesota is inexpensive on the tax side: moving your home into your own revocable living trust counts as a “designated transfer” under Minn. Stat. §287.20, subd. 3a, so the deed owes only the state minimum deed tax of $1.65 (or $1.70 in Hennepin and Ramsey Counties), not the standard 0.33% rate. Minnesota also has no change-in-ownership reassessment regime like California’s Proposition 13; the Department of Revenue values every parcel annually regardless of who holds title. The new deed still must be recorded with the county recorder, which in Hennepin County charges a $46 fee plus a $5 conservation fee.
Is a living trust worth it in Minnesota?
Weigh the $2,650 against the probate cost above, plus what a dollar figure leaves out: privacy (a trust stays off the public court record) and a faster handoff to whoever inherits. The full worth-it analysis for Minnesota works through the trade in detail for what real estate you own.
Sources
- LegalTemplates, 2026 Estate Planning Costs in the US (909 firms, read September 24, 2026).
- Minnesota probate filing fee, Minnesota probate cost, national living trust cost guide (Clear Money Guide).
- Statute/agency source, transfer-tax/recording source