Estate Planning Costs
How Much Does an Estate Planning Lawyer Cost?
A simple will costs $300–$800. A full revocable-living-trust estate plan costs $1,500–$3,500 for a typical individual or couple. Complex plans (business interests, blended families, tax planning) run $3,500–$15,000+. The honest math: a $1,500 trust avoids $5,000–$25,000 in probate costs the first time it pays out. Estate planning fees compound positively over time; skipping them compounds negatively.
The Short Answer
Simple will package (will + POAs + healthcare directive): $300–$800. Full estate plan (revocable living trust + supporting docs): $1,500–$3,500. Complex plan (business, blended family, tax planning): $3,500–$15,000+. Probate of a simple home + bank accounts (without a trust): $5,000–$25,000 + 6–18 months of delay. The trust pays for itself the first time around.
How we wrote this: Our editorial team reviewed published rates, court rules, statutes, peer publications, and our own data from working with vetted firms. We do not accept payment for placement, and we do not write sponsored content. More on our methodology →
How estate planning lawyers bill
Flat fee package (most common). One price for a defined deliverable: a simple will package, a basic trust package, a complex plan. Includes draft, revisions, signing ceremony, and 30–60 days of follow-up questions.
Hourly. Used for unusual matters — contested estates, complex tax planning, business succession with multiple stakeholders. Rates: $250–$750+/hour.
Subscription / membership. Some firms offer ongoing estate-planning subscriptions ($500–$1,500/year) that include annual review and minor updates. Useful for active families.
Pro bono. Bar associations, senior citizen legal services, and law-school clinics often handle simple wills for low-income clients at no cost.
Cost by package
Will-only (no other documents): $250–$500. Genuinely useful only if you have no real estate, no minor children, and modest assets. Most lawyers will include POAs and healthcare directives at this price.
Simple will package — will + durable POA + healthcare power of attorney + advance directive + HIPAA release: $400–$1,000.
Basic trust package — pour-over will + revocable living trust + POAs + healthcare directives + HIPAA release + funding instructions: $1,500–$3,500.
Trust + minor-children planning — adds testamentary trusts for minor beneficiaries, guardianship language, custodial provisions: $2,000–$4,500.
Trust + tax planning — adds bypass/credit-shelter trust language, marital trust planning for couples above state estate-tax threshold: $3,500–$7,500.
Trust + business succession — adds buy-sell agreement review, business-interest titling instructions, S-corp election preservation: $4,500–$15,000.
Special-needs planning — third-party special-needs trust for a beneficiary on Medicaid/SSI: $3,500–$7,500.
Irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT): $2,500–$5,000.
Asset protection trust (offshore or domestic): $5,000–$25,000+.
Contested probate / will contest litigation: $25,000–$250,000+. Hourly. Avoid this at all costs by doing the planning right.
Probate of a simple estate (one home, bank accounts, no contest): $5,000–$25,000 in legal fees + 6–18 months.
Why probate is expensive (and how trusts avoid it)
Probate is the court-supervised process of validating a will, paying debts, and distributing assets. It's public, slow, and lawyer-driven.
Filing fees: $200–$1,500 depending on state and estate size.
Personal-representative fees: typically 2–5% of the gross estate (or hourly, depending on state). California's statutory schedule on a $1M estate is roughly $23,000.
Attorney fees: same statutory schedule in California; reasonable hourly elsewhere. On a $1M estate, $20,000–$50,000 is typical.
Probate referee fees (in California): roughly 0.1% of inventory.
Bond premiums (if required): 0.5–1% per year of estate value.
Total California probate of a $1M estate: roughly $46,000–$60,000. National average for a similar estate: $30,000–$60,000.
A revocable living trust avoids all of this. Assets titled in the trust pass directly to beneficiaries per the trust's terms — no court involvement. The trust costs $1,500–$3,500 to set up and saves $20,000–$60,000+ at death.
What a full estate plan should include
Pour-over will. Catches anything not in the trust and pours it into the trust at death.
Revocable living trust. The core document. Holds assets during life; distributes at death without probate.
Funding instructions or guidance. The trust only avoids probate if assets are titled in the trust's name. Many DIY trusts are unfunded — the trust exists on paper but holds nothing.
Durable financial power of attorney. Authorizes someone to handle finances if you're incapacitated. Critical for everyone over 18.
Healthcare power of attorney + advance directive (living will). Authorizes medical decision-making and states end-of-life preferences.
HIPAA release. Authorizes named people to access medical records and communicate with healthcare providers.
Beneficiary designations review. Retirement, life insurance, payable-on-death (POD), transfer-on-death (TOD) — these pass outside the will and need to align.
Asset inventory. Where everything is and how it's titled. Most useful when your executor needs it.
Letter of intent. Non-binding but useful — funeral preferences, special items for specific people, the location of important documents.
Digital asset instructions. Passwords, account locations, photo libraries, social media. Many states have specific digital-assets statutes.
What drives estate planning costs up
Business interests. Buy-sell agreements, S-corp election preservation, family-limited-partnership planning all require additional drafting.
Blended families. Children from prior marriages + a current spouse = the single most common source of estate litigation. QTIP trusts and similar structures are technical.
Special-needs beneficiaries. Direct inheritances disqualify them from Medicaid and SSI. A special-needs trust preserves benefits.
Estate-tax exposure. Federal exemption is $13.61M individual / $27.22M married for 2026 (scheduled to drop in 2026 absent legislation). State estate taxes apply at much lower thresholds — Massachusetts $2M, Oregon $1M, Washington roughly $2.2M, others.
Multiple state residences. Snowbirds with homes in two states need ancillary probate avoidance — typically requires properly titled trusts in both states.
Foreign assets or beneficiaries. International tax treaty considerations and foreign-asset reporting add complexity.
Asset protection goals. Creditor-protection trusts, FLP/FLLC structures, and offshore planning all add cost.
Charitable planning. CRTs, CRUTs, charitable lead trusts, foundations — each is its own technical area.
How often should you update?
Every 3–5 years as routine maintenance.
After every major life event: marriage, divorce, birth or adoption, death of a beneficiary, sale of a major asset, move to a new state, change in tax law.
When tax laws change. The 2026 sunset of the doubled federal estate-tax exemption is a planned event that will affect millions of estates.
Annual review service through a subscription or membership often costs $500–$1,500/year and covers ongoing updates. Useful for active families, business owners, and those above estate-tax thresholds.
The most common time to discover an outdated estate plan is the worst time. A 15-year-old will that names an ex-spouse, a deceased beneficiary, or an outdated guardian is unfortunately very common.
Need a vetted estate planning lawyer?
Tell us about your situation and we'll match you with two or three vetted attorneys within 24 hours. Free, confidential, no obligation.
Request Free Consultation →Quick lead form — free attorney match
Fill this out and we will match you with two or three vetted firms within 24 hours. No fee. No obligation. Privacy policy.
Frequently asked questions
Is a $300 LegalZoom will good enough?
For some people, yes. If you're single, no minor children, no real estate, modest assets, single beneficiary — the LegalZoom-class will is fine. For anyone with a house, kids, or non-trivial savings, the savings vs. attorney-drafted is small compared to the probate-and-litigation risk.
Why is a trust so much more expensive than a will?
Because it's a real legal entity with funding mechanics. The trust document itself is more complex, but most of the value is the funding step — actually moving assets into the trust by retitling deeds, brokerage accounts, and other holdings.
Can I update my estate plan myself?
Minor changes (named executor, named beneficiary updates) often via a one-page amendment or codicil — yes. Major changes — better to engage your lawyer for a few hours of work to do it cleanly.
Do I need separate plans for each spouse?
Joint planning is most common — joint trust or mirror-image individual trusts. The lawyer drafts both together. Cost is for the package, not per spouse.
Are estate planning fees tax-deductible?
Mostly no for individuals since 2017. Some specialty work (business succession, ILIT for life insurance held for business purposes) may be deductible. Talk to your CPA.
Can I get a free will?
Yes — bar associations, senior centers, AARP, and many law schools run free or low-cost will clinics for low-income clients. Some employers offer free or subsidized estate planning as a benefit. Some attorneys donate time annually around "Make-A-Will Month."
Related reading
One last thing. This article is general information, not legal advice. Every situation is different. The free consultation is the right next step. — The LawFirmSquare team