Guides › Estate, Probate & Inheritance › Living Trust Cost
Updated September 24, 2026. Quick answer: A revocable living trust drawn up by a Washington attorney runs a median $2,700, $2,250–$3,200 for the middle half of the 909 firms LegalTemplates surveyed in 2026. That puts Washington at the 16th-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: Washington charges a flat $200.00 statewide to file the first document in a probate proceeding.
Whether the state taxes the trust’s income is a separate question: does Washington tax trust income.
Fast routes: National living trust cost guide | Washington probate filing fee | Washington probate cost | Is a living trust worth it in Washington?
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How our partner relationships workLiving trust cost in Washington: attorney vs DIY
Set against the national median and the DIY platforms:
| Figure | Amount |
|---|---|
| Attorney median, Washington | $2,700 |
| Attorney middle-50% range, Washington | $2,250–$3,200 |
| 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 Washington
Washington’s probate system is what a funded trust bypasses entirely; here is what that system actually charges. Washington charges a flat $200.00 statewide to file the first document in a probate proceeding. Full filing-fee breakdown.
Washington publishes no percentage schedule for probate compensation; the personal representative and the attorney are each paid what the court finds reasonable (RCW 11.48.210), 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, by disposition 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 Washington probate cost guide, including how small an estate has to be to sidestep probate on its own.
Washington 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. RCW 11.98.008: “…the owner holds identifiable property as trustee…”
- Deed and notary. RCW 64.04.020: “…acknowledged by the party before some person authorized…”
- Certification of trust. RCW 11.98.075: “…the trustee may furnish to the person a certification of trust…”
For what the court side costs if a trust is not used, see Washington probate cost.
Funding the trust in Washington
The trust protects only what is actually inside it, which for real estate means a recorded deed change, not just the trust paperwork. Moving your home into your own revocable living trust is exempt from Washington’s real estate excise tax outright: WAC 458-61A-211(2)(g) lists “a transfer into any revocable trust” as an exempt transaction, regardless of who the trust’s beneficiaries are, and a later transfer back out to the original grantor with no consideration is exempt too. The county still won’t record the new deed without a real estate excise tax affidavit noting the exemption, per RCW 82.45.090. Washington revalues all property annually rather than reassessing on a change of ownership, so funding the trust triggers no separate reassessment. King County charges $303.50 to record the deed’s first page, plus $1 per additional page.
Is a living trust worth it in Washington?
$2,700 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 Washington 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).
- Washington probate filing fee, Washington probate cost, national living trust cost guide (Clear Money Guide).
- Statute/agency source, transfer-tax/recording source