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How Much Does a Living Trust Cost? (2026): Attorney vs DIY, In Dollars

Updated July 23, 2026. Quick answer: An attorney-drafted revocable living trust package has a median cost of $2,475, with the middle half of firms charging $1,600–$3,000 (2026 nationwide study of 909 firms) — and the package matters, because it typically bundles the trust, a pour-over will, powers of attorney, and healthcare documents for roughly $1,000 less than buying them separately. DIY platforms run $149 (Quicken WillMaker Plus) to $649 (LegalZoom Premium for couples). The two costs people miss: funding the trust (retitling deeds and accounts, sometimes billed separately) and the fact that specialty trusts — irrevocable, special-needs, charitable — are usually hourly work priced well above these figures.

Fast routes: Estate planning cost guide | Will vs trust breakeven calculator | Probate cost by state | How much a will costs | Ancillary probate calculator

Cost to set up a living trust: attorney vs DIY (2026)

Route Individual Couple What’s included
Attorney-drafted trust package Median $2,475; middle 50% of firms $1,600–$3,000 Typically trust + pour-over will + financial POA + healthcare documents; funding help varies — ask
LegalZoom (Basic / Premium Trust) $399 / $549 $499 / $649 Living trust, pour-over will(s), POAs, healthcare directive(s); Premium adds attorney consults that renew as a subscription
Trust & Will (Trust Plan) $499 $599 Trust, schedule of assets, certification of trust, funding guide, plus all Will Plan documents
Quicken WillMaker Plus (Nolo) $149 list (software) Living trust included alongside wills, POAs, and healthcare directives
FreeWill $0 — California only for trusts Free revocable living trust for CA residents; wills and POAs free in all states

Platform prices were read from each company’s own pricing page on July 23, 2026 (list prices; promotions and renewal-based add-ons noted). The attorney figures are from the LegalTemplates 2026 study of 909 firms — published by a DIY-documents company, so we corroborate it against NCOA’s $2,000–$5,000+ full-plan range and marketplace data; they broadly agree.

The cost nobody quotes: funding the trust

An unfunded trust avoids nothing — the trust only controls assets actually titled into it. Funding means retitling real estate (a new deed, plus county recording fees), updating account ownership, and aligning beneficiary designations. Some attorney packages include full funding, some record one deed and hand you instructions, and DIY platforms give you a guide and leave execution to you. This is the single most important scope question when comparing a $2,500 attorney quote against a $499 platform price: the attorney fee often includes the part people fail to finish on their own.

Specialty trusts cost more — and differently

The figures above are for revocable living trusts. Irrevocable trusts (asset-protection, Medicaid planning), special-needs trusts, and charitable trusts are typically bespoke hourly work — commonly $250–$400/hour per the survey data in our estate planning cost guide — and total costs vary too much by situation for an honest flat benchmark. If a quote for one of these arrives as a suspiciously low flat fee, ask exactly which drafting, tax analysis, and funding steps it includes.

When the trust premium pays for itself

Against a will package, a trust package costs roughly $1,850 more at the medians. Whether that buys you anything financially depends on what probate would cost your estate in your state: in statutory-fee states like California, a $1,000,000 gross estate can generate up to $46,000 in combined statutory attorney and executor compensation that a funded trust avoids; in “reasonable fee” states the avoided cost is smaller and complexity-driven. Run your own numbers in the will vs trust breakeven calculator, check your state’s schedule in the probate cost table, and remember that estates under your state’s small-estate limit may skip formal probate anyway.

Five copy/paste questions for any trust quote

  1. Exactly which documents does this fee include — trust, pour-over will, both POAs, healthcare directive, HIPAA authorization?
  2. Does the fee include funding: preparing and recording the deed(s), and help retitling accounts? If not, what does that cost?
  3. What would you charge me for the same plan as a will-based package, and what does probate actually cost in this state?
  4. What do amendments or a full restatement cost later?
  5. Are there recording fees, transfer taxes, or notary costs outside your fee I should budget for?

What the trust is buying you, by state

A living trust is mostly a purchase of avoided probate, so its value is whatever probate would have cost — which varies more by state than by estate. Seven jurisdictions set fees by statutory percentage, where the avoided cost is large and exactly calculable: California, Florida, Nevada, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Wyoming. In the other 44 the fee is “reasonable” and depends on the administration. Note also that most states’ small-estate shortcut does not clear a solely owned house, which is often the real reason a trust earns its keep. Check your state at probate cost by state.

The trust decision touches everything else

Retirement accounts, tax planning, and beneficiary coordination determine whether a trust helps or just adds paperwork — that judgment is what planners are for. See how the advisor matching services compare if you want help with the full picture.

Is a living trust worth it in your state?

Whether a trust pays for itself depends on what probate actually costs where you live, and on whether your state’s small-estate shortcut can clear a house — it cannot in most of them. Each page below works the arithmetic for one state from its own statutes.

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Methodology

This page was materially reviewed on July 23, 2026. Platform prices are from each company’s public pricing page as of that date; survey figures are attributed inline with publisher interests disclosed. Figures are educational benchmarks, not quotes. Nothing here is legal, tax, or personalized financial advice. See our Editorial Policy, Corrections, Affiliate Disclosure, and Disclaimer.

Once the trust exists, who pays the tax on it?

The cost of setting one up is a one-off. How it is taxed every year afterwards is the part that compounds: