Guides › Estate, Probate & Inheritance › Living Trust Cost
Updated September 23, 2026. Quick answer: LegalTemplates surveyed 909 law firms in 2026 and found Pennsylvania attorneys charging a median $2,400 for a revocable living trust, $1,900 to $2,900 for the middle half. That sits close to the national median, though Pennsylvania is also one of three states here (with Illinois and Michigan) where the law sets no fixed percentage for probate compensation at all, which shows up again below. A DIY platform runs $149 to $649. What that spend buys locally: Philadelphia’s Register of Wills, Pennsylvania’s most populous county, charges a tiered probate fee starting at $189.25 and rising with estate value.
Whether the state taxes the trust’s income is a separate question: does Pennsylvania tax trust income.
Fast routes: National living trust cost guide | Pennsylvania probate filing fee | Pennsylvania probate cost | Is a living trust worth it in Pennsylvania?
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How our partner relationships workLiving trust cost in Pennsylvania: attorney vs DIY
For reference against the national figures and the DIY floor:
| Figure | Amount |
|---|---|
| Pennsylvania trust-drafting median | $2,400 |
| Pennsylvania trust-drafting middle 50% | $1,900–$2,900 |
| 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 Pennsylvania
Here is the cost side of the ledger a trust is meant to avoid in Pennsylvania. Philadelphia’s Register of Wills, Pennsylvania’s most populous county, charges a tiered probate fee starting at $189.25 and rising with estate value. Full filing-fee breakdown.
Pennsylvania publishes no percentage schedule for probate compensation: the personal representative and the attorney are each paid what the court finds reasonable (20 Pa.C.S. §3537), so the bill tracks hours worked rather than the size of the estate. Full Pennsylvania probate cost guide, and the threshold below which probate is skipped by affidavit, trust or not.
Pennsylvania 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. 20 Pa.C.S. § 7732: “…the settlor has capacity to create a trust…”
- Writing rule. 20 Pa.C.S. § 7732: among the conditions for a trust to be created, “the settlor signs a writing that indicates an intention to create the trust and contains provisions of the trust.”
- Certification of trust. 20 Pa.C.S. § 7790.3: “…the trustee may furnish to the person a certification of trust…”
For what the court side costs if a trust is not used, see Pennsylvania probate cost.
Funding the trust in Pennsylvania
Owning a trust and funding it are two different jobs. For a house, funding means recording a new deed. Pennsylvania’s realty transfer tax specifically exempts a transfer to the trustee of a living trust from its settlor (61 Pa. Code §91.193(b)(32)), though the trust agreement has to be shown to the county Recorder of Deeds to claim it. Recording itself is pricier here than in most states: a flat $278.75 in Philadelphia or $181.75 in Allegheny County, regardless of the exemption.
Is a living trust worth it in Pennsylvania?
The trade comes down to the $2,400 spent now against the court costs avoided later, plus a private, faster transfer that a will alone does not provide. The full worth-it analysis for Pennsylvania walks through the same trade using your own property and numbers.
Sources
- LegalTemplates, 2026 Estate Planning Costs in the US (909 firms, read September 23, 2026).
- Pennsylvania probate filing fee, Pennsylvania probate cost, national living trust cost guide (Clear Money Guide).
- Statute/agency source, transfer-tax/recording source.