Written by Scott Nixon
How Much Does a Trust Cost? What Long Angle Members Paid for Living and Irrevocable Trusts
How Much Does a Trust Cost? What Long Angle Members Paid for Living and Irrevocable Trusts
In a Long Angle poll, 97 of 130 respondents with a basic plan paid under $5,000 to set it up. 25 of 33 with irrevocable trusts paid $10,000 or more.
Scott Nixon
In a Long Angle poll of members who have an estate plan, 97 of 130 with a basic plan (a will and revocable living trust) paid under $5,000 to set it up, while 25 of 33 whose plan includes irrevocable trusts paid $10,000 or more. No one with an irrevocable plan reported paying under $5,000. The polls ran in October 2026 among voluntary members of one community, not a representative sample, and fees vary by state and by what the trust holds.
Key Takeaways
- About three in four Long Angle members with a basic estate plan paid under $5,000 to set it up (97 of 130).
- About three in four with irrevocable trusts paid $10,000 or more (25 of 33), and none paid under $5,000.
- A living trust is usually priced inside the basic plan, but funding it, by retitling accounts and recording deeds, is often extra.
- An irrevocable trust keeps costing after it's signed: trustee time, administration, and often its own tax return.
- Respondents to Long Angle's 2025 Professional Services Report spent a median $5,000 a year on trust and estate attorneys.
2025 High-Net-Worth Professional Services Study
See what HNW households with an average net worth of $5M+ spend on advisors, estate planning, tax, and professional services — benchmarked across 200+ respondents.
What Long Angle Members Paid for a Trust, by Plan Type
The cost of a trust depends mostly on which kind of plan it sits in. In two October 2026 polls, Long Angle members said which best describes their estate plan and what they paid to set it up. Crossing the answers of the 192 who answered both gives a clear split.
What Long Angle members paid to set up an estate plan, by plan type
| Paid to set up the plan | Basic plan (will and/or revocable living trust) | Advanced plan (includes irrevocable trusts) |
|---|---|---|
| Under $2,500 | 53 | 0 |
| $2,500 to $5,000 | 44 | 0 |
| $5,000 to $10,000 | 27 | 8 |
| $10,000 to $25,000 | 5 | 18 |
| $25,000 or more | 1 | 7 |
| Respondents | 130 | 33 |
Source: Long Angle member polls 1506 ("Which best describes your estate plan?", 206 respondents) and 1507 ("What did you pay to set up your estate plan?", 196 respondents), October 2026, read November 3, 2026. Counts are members who answered both. Advanced plans include SLATs, GRATs, IDGTs, and dynasty trusts. Voluntary participants in one community, not a representative sample.
Two-thirds of members who answered the plan question have a basic plan, and about one in six has an advanced plan with irrevocable structures. That mix is close to the one in Long Angle's 2026 Asset Allocation Report, where 58% of respondents had a basic plan and 24% an advanced one.
How Much a Living Trust Costs
A revocable living trust is usually drafted as part of the basic plan and priced with it, alongside the will, powers of attorney, and a health care directive. That's why most basic plans in the poll came in under $5,000: the trust is one document in a package.
What the flat fee covers varies, so ask what is in it. The common gap is funding. A trust only avoids probate for assets it owns, so brokerage and bank accounts need to be retitled and real estate needs a new deed recorded in each county where it sits. Some attorneys include that work, others bill it hourly, and some hand you instructions and leave it to you. Online document services cost less than an attorney, and they leave funding and state-specific review to you.
Fees and probate rules vary by state, so a quote from one state is a weak guide to another.
How Much an Irrevocable Trust Costs
An irrevocable trust is a separate piece of work, and the poll shows it priced that way. Every advanced plan reported cost at least $5,000, and three in four cost $10,000 or more. The setup usually includes drafting the trust, funding it, and a gift tax return reporting the transfer.
The bigger difference is what happens after it's signed:
- Trustee time or fees. An independent or professional trustee charges for managing the trust; a family trustee doesn't, but carries the work.
- Administration. Records, distributions, and any required notices to beneficiaries.
- A trust tax return. A non-grantor trust files its own income tax return each year, which means another engagement with your CPA.
- Valuations. A trust holding private company shares or fund interests may need an appraisal to support the value reported on the gift tax return.
Whether that cost pays for itself is a separate question. The IRS sets the 2026 federal estate tax exemption at $15 million per person (IRS), so many households below it use irrevocable trusts for reasons other than estate tax, such as creditor protection or control over what heirs receive. At what net worth do you need a trust covers where members at each wealth level draw that line.
What a Trust Costs After Setup
Setup is the visible number, but a plan keeps costing as long as it's kept current. Respondents to Long Angle's 2025 Professional Services Report spent a median $5,000 a year on trust and estate attorneys, and 57% were billed by the project. The full distribution, including how attorney use rises with net worth, is in Long Angle's research on what high-net-worth households spend on professional services.
What respondents spend on trust and estate attorneys each year
| Measure | Respondents to the 2025 Professional Services Report |
|---|---|
| Median annual spend on trust and estate attorneys | $5,000 |
| Billed by the project | 57% |
| Billed hourly | Nearly a third |
Source: Long Angle 2025 High-Net-Worth Professional Services Report, 114 respondents, fielded August to September 2025.
Most plans aren't being kept current. In the 2026 Asset Allocation Report, 73% of respondents with an estate plan weren't updating it, including 31% who said they knew they needed to. A plan drafted before a liquidity event, a move to another state, or a new child can be out of date the day after. How often high-net-worth investors update their estate plans has the full finding.
How to Keep a Trust Quote Honest
Three questions, answered in writing before you sign, make two quotes comparable:
- Is funding included? Ask which accounts and properties the fee covers retitling, and who records the deeds.
- What happens after signing? Ask whether reviews, amendments, and questions in the first year are included or billed, and at what rate.
- For an irrevocable trust, what will it cost to run each year? Ask for the trustee, administration, and tax-return costs as an annual figure alongside the drafting fee.
What to ask an estate planning attorney has the full list for a first meeting, including what to bring.
Final Thoughts
In Long Angle's polls, a basic plan with a living trust usually cost under $5,000 to set up, and a plan with irrevocable trusts usually cost $10,000 or more. Ask whether funding is included, and price the years after signing as well as the setup fee.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a living trust cost?
A revocable living trust is usually priced inside a basic estate plan. In a Long Angle poll, 97 of 130 respondents with a basic plan (a will and revocable living trust) paid under $5,000 for the whole plan. Retitling accounts and recording deeds may cost extra.
Does a revocable or irrevocable trust cost more?
An irrevocable trust costs more to set up and to run. In Long Angle's polls, 25 of 33 members with irrevocable trusts paid $10,000 or more to set up their plan, and none paid under $5,000. A non-grantor irrevocable trust also files its own tax return each year.
Is a trust worth it?
It depends on what it saves or protects against what it costs. At what net worth do you need a trust shows what members at each wealth level have in place.
Does a trust replace a will?
No. Most plans pair a revocable trust with a "pour-over" will that moves any assets left outside the trust into it at death. Both are normally drafted together in a basic plan.
Who pays trustee fees?
The trust usually pays them from its own assets. A family member serving as trustee may take no fee, while a professional or corporate trustee charges for the work.
Pricing a trust and wondering what other members paid?
Long Angle is a free, vetted community of founders, executives, and investors with more than $3 million in investable assets, excluding a primary residence, comparing notes on which estate attorneys they'd use again and what their plans cost.
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