How much does a living trust cost?
The short answer
In October 2026, online living trust plans started at $399 to $549 at LegalZoom and $499 at Trust & Will. Two law firms that publish prices charged $3,195 and $4,250 for one person. Moving your house into the trust can add deed and recording costs.
How much does a living trust cost? The honest answer is a range, and the range is wide. A trust from an online service and a trust from a law firm are both real trusts, but you get different help with each.
This page sets out prices we found published in October 2026 and explains what each one buys. It is part of our guide to estate planning documents, which shows how a trust fits with your will and powers of attorney.
The short version: published prices, checked October 2026
These are prices from each company's or firm's own pages. They are examples, not averages. We found no reliable national average for what a living trust costs.
| Route | Published price for one person | Source, checked October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Online service, basic trust package | $399 (LegalZoom Basic Trust) | LegalZoom estate plan comparison |
| Online service, trust package with attorney calls | $549 (LegalZoom Premium Trust) | LegalZoom estate plan comparison |
| Online service, trust plan | From $499 (Trust & Will Trust Plan) | Trust & Will pricing |
| Law firm, trust package (Seattle) | $3,195; $5,195 for a married couple | Law Offices of Kate Jones fee schedule |
| Law firm, trust plan (California) | $4,250; $6,500 for a couple | West Coast Health Law fee schedule |
The two law firms are ones that happen to publish their fees. Many firms quote only after a first meeting. Treat these as a sense of scale, and ask for a written quote.
What does an online living trust include?
Online trust packages usually bundle the trust with the other core documents. That matters, because a trust by itself doesn't cover medical decisions or anything left outside it.
- LegalZoom Basic Trust, $399: a living trust, pour-over will, health care directive, financial power of attorney and HIPAA authorization. It also includes a certificate of trust, a schedule of assets and a bill of transfer, with 30 days of revisions.
- LegalZoom Premium Trust, $549: the same documents, plus attorney review, a year of 30-minute attorney calls and a year of revisions.
- Trust & Will Trust Plan, from $499: a revocable living trust, a will, a living will, a power of attorney and a HIPAA authorization. It adds a trust funding guide, a certification of trust and a schedule of assets.
Trust & Will lists Attorney Support as a $299 add-on and an optional membership at $49 a year (Trust & Will). Our honest comparison of Trust & Will, LegalZoom and Kinly looks at both services side by side.
With any online plan, you answer questions and the service produces the documents. You arrange the signing and do the funding yourself, using their guide.
What does a lawyer's living trust include?
A lawyer's package adds advice about your situation, a reviewed draft and usually a supervised signing. Both firms above bundle the trust with the documents that work while you are alive.
The Seattle firm's $3,195 package includes the living trust, a pour-over will, a durable power of attorney for finances and health care, a health care directive and a disposition of remains form. Its schedule says the price does not include the cost of a quitclaim deed for real estate.
The California firm's $4,250 plan includes the trust, a pour-over will, a certification of trust, powers of attorney and a health care directive. It also includes help preparing and recording one deed, funding instructions, a review of beneficiary forms and a six-month funding follow-up. County recording charges are billed separately.
So the two lawyer prices are not quite like for like. One includes deed work and the other prices it separately. That is the kind of detail to ask about.
The cost people forget: funding the trust
A trust controls only what you actually move into it. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau puts it plainly: a living trust is ineffective unless money or property is moved into it (CFPB).
Funding usually means a new deed for the house and new titles on bank and brokerage accounts. Retirement accounts usually stay in your name, with a beneficiary form instead. Our post on what a living trust is walks through how funding works.
Here is what funding can add, from the published schedules:
| Funding step | Example published cost | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Quitclaim deed to move a Washington house into the trust | $600, plus $350 in filing fees and costs | Kate Jones fee schedule |
| One California deed, prepared and recorded | Included in the $4,250 plan; county recording charges extra | West Coast Health Law fee schedule |
| Retitling bank and brokerage accounts | Usually done by you, with the institution's forms | Ask your bank or brokerage |
Using the Seattle figures, a trust package plus one house deed comes to $4,145 for one person, before witnesses. That firm charges $60 for each witness it supplies.
Online plans give you a funding guide rather than doing the deed for you. Some people pay a lawyer separately just for the deed. Ask before you choose a route, because funding is where the real work, and sometimes the real cost, sits.
Extra costs to ask about
These extras appeared on the published schedules we checked.
- A first consultation. The Seattle firm charges $400 and applies it to the package if you go ahead (Kate Jones fee schedule).
- Witnesses. $60 each at that firm, when it supplies them.
- Signings at home or in hospital. Travel past a set distance and rushed signings carry extra charges there.
- Later changes. The Seattle firm bills other work at $400 an hour. LegalZoom's Premium Trust includes a year of revisions; after that, changes cost extra.
- Printing. LegalZoom lists $29.95 to $35 for extra printed sets of trust documents.
Is a trust worth the extra cost over a will?
A lawyer's trust package costs a good deal more than a will package. The Seattle firm charges $995 for its will-based package and $3,195 for its trust package (Kate Jones fee schedule). Our post on how much a will costs has the full will prices.
What the extra buys is mainly two things. Property in the trust can pass without probate, and your successor trustee can manage it if you can't. Whether that is worth it depends on what you own; our post asking do I need a trust walks through the common cases, and will vs trust compares the two side by side.
| If this sounds like you | A sensible starting point |
|---|---|
| Simple affairs, comfortable doing your own funding | An online trust plan |
| Your home is your main asset and you want the deed done right | A lawyer, or an online plan plus a lawyer for the deed |
| A home in more than one state, or a blended family | A lawyer |
| Most of your savings already have named beneficiaries | Price a will first |
The trust is only as good as the trustee
Whatever you pay for the paper, the trust names a successor trustee. That person may manage your house and savings for months, or longer. A trustee is a fiduciary, meaning legally required to act in your interest and follow what you wrote.
Our guide to the four roles covers how to choose each person, and what an estate planning attorney costs covers lawyer fees more broadly. If you would rather a professional served, choosing professional help compares the options.
A Kinly membership is priced differently: $999 a year for one person or $1,499 for a couple (pricing). It includes a revocable trust, a will and both powers of attorney written for your state, and Trella Trust Company can be named successor trustee, first or behind someone you choose.
Common questions
How much does a living trust cost from a lawyer?
Two firms that publish prices charged $3,195 (Seattle) and $4,250 (California) for one person in October 2026. Their couple prices were $5,195 and $6,500. Deeds and recording fees may be extra, so ask for a written flat-fee quote that says what is included.
How much does an online living trust cost?
In October 2026, LegalZoom listed trust packages at $399 and $549, and Trust & Will's Trust Plan started at $499. Both include a will and other core documents. You arrange the signing and fund the trust yourself, using their guide.
Does the price include putting my house in the trust?
Often not. The Seattle firm lists a quitclaim deed at $600 plus $350 in filing fees and costs, outside its trust package. The California firm includes one deed but bills recording charges separately. Online services give a funding guide instead.
Is there a yearly cost to keep a living trust?
A trust itself has no yearly fee. Some services sell optional memberships or attorney plans, such as Trust & Will's $49 a year membership. Changes later may cost extra, depending on who drafted the trust.
Sources
- LegalZoom: Estate plan packages compared (checked October 2026)
- Trust & Will: Pricing (checked October 2026)
- Law Offices of Kate Jones, PLLC: Estate planning fee schedule, Seattle (checked October 2026)
- West Coast Health Law: Estate planning fee schedule, California (checked October 2026)
- Managing someone else's money: Help for trustees under a revocable living trust (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau)
This page is general information, not legal or financial advice. Laws vary by state.