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Updated September 24, 2026. Quick answer: Expect a median $2,400 for an attorney-drafted living trust in North Dakota, per LegalTemplates’ 2026 survey of 909 law firms; the middle half of firms quoted $2,050 to $2,850. That puts North Dakota at the 6th-cheapest of the 20 states compared here, coming in under the $2,475 national median for a standalone trust. A DIY platform runs $149 to $649. What that spend buys locally: North Dakota charges a flat $160.00 statewide to file a probate, guardianship, or other testamentary case.
Whether the state taxes the trust’s income is a separate question: does North Dakota tax trust income.
Fast routes: National living trust cost guide | North Dakota probate filing fee | North Dakota probate cost | Is a living trust worth it in North Dakota?
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How our partner relationships workLiving trust cost in North Dakota: attorney vs DIY
Here is the same figure next to the national benchmark and the DIY floor:
| Figure | Amount |
|---|---|
| What North Dakota attorneys typically charge | $2,400 |
| Middle-50% spread in North Dakota | $2,050–$2,850 |
| 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 North Dakota
The payoff for the $2,400 spent on a trust shows up here: North Dakota probate, and what it would otherwise cost the estate. North Dakota charges a flat $160.00 statewide to file a probate, guardianship, or other testamentary case. Full filing-fee breakdown.
North Dakota publishes no percentage schedule for probate compensation; the personal representative and the attorney are each paid what the court finds reasonable (N.D.C.C. §30.1-18-19), 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: $100,000 of personal property, by affidavit. Whether any of that reaches a solely owned house is answered below; it is where most published guidance goes wrong. Full North Dakota probate cost guide, including when a smaller estate qualifies for a shortcut and skips probate anyway.
North Dakota 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. N.D.C.C. § 59-12-02: “…the settlor indicates an intention to create the trust…”
- Deed and notary. N.D.C.C. § 47-19-03: “If executed by an individual, by acknowledgment by the person executing…”
- Certification of trust. N.D.C.C. § 59-18-13: “…the trustee may furnish to the person a certification of trust…”
For what the court side costs if a trust is not used, see North Dakota probate cost.
Funding the trust in North Dakota
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. Funding the trust in North Dakota is free on the tax side: the state constitution bars the tax before it can start, since moving your home into your own revocable trust triggers no transfer levy at all (N.D. Const. art. X, §27 bars the state and every political subdivision from imposing any sales or transfer tax on the transfer of real property). North Dakota also has no Proposition-13-style change-in-ownership reassessment system: real property is valued annually under N.D. Cent. Code ch. 57-02, with no provision tying a reassessment to a change in title. The new deed still has to be recorded with the county recorder for a modest per-page fee.
Is a living trust worth it in North Dakota?
Set the $2,400 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 North Dakota 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).
- North Dakota probate filing fee, North Dakota probate cost, national living trust cost guide (Clear Money Guide).
- Statute/agency source, transfer-tax/recording source