The Estate Planning Guide Est. 2026

How Much Does a Living Trust Cost in Delaware?

By The Estate Planning Guide Editorial Team Researched against primary sources

Published June 11, 2026 8 min read

Quick answer

An attorney-drafted living trust in Delaware typically costs $1,500 to $4,000, while reputable online trust services run about $200 to $700. Because Delaware probate is a reasonable-fee process with no statutory percentage and no state estate tax, a trust here is more about privacy and convenience than dodging a big probate bill — a routine estate might spend only a few thousand dollars in probate.

⚠️ Educational information only — not legal, tax, or financial advice.

The figures on this page are general estimates. Laws, fees, thresholds, and prices differ by state and change often, and your own situation may change the result. Before you act, confirm the current numbers and rules for Delaware with a licensed professional — an attorney, tax advisor, or licensed agent as appropriate. Reading this page does not create a professional relationship.

What a living trust actually costs in Delaware

There are three ways to set up a revocable living trust in Delaware, and they cost very different amounts:

How it’s prepared Typical cost in Delaware What’s typically included
Attorney-drafted $1,500 to $4,000 Trust, pour-over will, powers of attorney, deed preparation and funding assistance
Online service $200 to $700 Trust document and standard supporting forms; deed preparation usually excluded
DIY template $0 to ~$100 Document only; drafting and funding are the purchaser’s responsibility

Illustrative Delaware pricing as of 2026 — re-verify with current quotes. Most attorney quotes are for a full package (the trust, a pour-over will, financial and healthcare powers of attorney, and help retitling assets), not the trust document alone.

An attorney-drafted living trust in Delaware typically runs $1,500 to $4,000. Online trust services advertise $200 to $700, and do-it-yourself templates are nearly free. A trust holds assets outside probate only to the extent those assets are retitled into it, and deed preparation — the step that retitles real estate — is excluded from most online and DIY pricing.

What drives the price within Delaware

  • Single person vs. married couple. A joint trust for a couple costs more than a single-person trust, but usually less than two separate trusts.
  • Real estate and funding. Every property that goes into the trust needs a new deed drafted and recorded. More properties — or property in more than one state — means more work and a higher fee.
  • Complexity. A blended family, a special-needs beneficiary, a business interest, or potential estate-tax exposure all push you toward the upper end (or above it).
  • Package vs. document. The headline price usually includes the supporting documents and funding help. A bare trust document is cheaper but leaves the hardest part — funding — to you.

What probate costs in Delaware by comparison

A funded living trust holds assets outside probate. The figure it is measured against is therefore the cost of Delaware probate itself.

Delaware probate is comparatively mild. Attorney and executor fees are 'reasonable' (Court of Chancery Rule 192), not a percentage of gross value, and there is no Delaware estate or inheritance tax — so probate cost tracks complexity, not asset size.

A straightforward Delaware estate commonly runs $3,000 to $6,000 in attorney fees plus a few hundred dollars in Register of Wills fees — a modest total compared with percentage-fee states.

For the full breakdown, see How Much Does Probate Cost in Delaware?.

How Delaware probate cost compares to trust cost

Delaware probate carries an 8-month creditor claim period that sets the floor on how quickly an estate can close. Delaware now provides a TOD deed for real estate, so a home can pass outside probate without a trust.

A living trust operates on two things: assets retitled into it pass outside probate, and the trust document governs management if the grantor becomes incapacitated. Those are the documented functions; the figures above are what each costs in Delaware.

Delaware-specific things to know

Delaware is a national leader in trust law (the reason so many dynasty and asset-protection trusts are sited here) and has adopted much of the Uniform Trust Code framework in 12 Del. C. Ch. 33. For a simple revocable living trust, though, that sophistication is overkill.

Funding is everything. A trust only avoids probate for assets you retitle into it — record a new deed for Delaware real estate (Delaware charges a realty transfer tax on many transfers, though transfers to your own revocable grantor trust are generally exempt) and change the owner on bank and brokerage accounts. An unfunded trust — one you signed but never moved your assets into — does nothing; those assets still go through probate. This is the most common and most expensive living-trust mistake in every state.

What affects the price in Delaware

For a simple home-plus-accounts estate, a Delaware flat-fee attorney ($1,500–$3,000) or a reputable online service ($200–$700) is fine. Pay full rates for blended families, business interests, out-of-state property, or asset-protection planning.

The documented price drivers:

  • Preparation route. Online and flat-fee services occupy the lower end of the range; attorney drafting the upper end. Estate complexity is the factor attorneys cite for the difference.
  • Fee structure. Estate-planning attorneys commonly quote a flat package price rather than hourly. What the package includes varies — deed preparation and funding are the items most often excluded.
  • Bundling. The trust, pour-over will, and powers of attorney are commonly quoted together at less than the sum of their separate prices.
  • Deed work. Retitling real estate into the trust requires a recorded deed. An incorrectly prepared deed can affect a homestead exemption or trigger a property-tax reassessment, depending on state law.

What determines whether a trust applies in Delaware

In Delaware the operative factors are out-of-state real property, privacy, the 8-month creditor period, and protected-beneficiary distributions. In-state homes can pass by TOD deed.

The circumstances in which a living trust has a documented effect:

  • Real estate, particularly in more than one state — property in another state otherwise requires a separate ancillary probate there.
  • Privacy — a probated will becomes a public court record; a trust does not.
  • Incapacity — a trust governs management during life; a will takes effect only at death.
  • Staged distributions — a trust can direct payment over time; a will distributes at closing.

Where an estate consists of assets that already pass by beneficiary designation or joint ownership, those assets bypass probate without a trust. For the documented differences between the two instruments, see Will vs. Trust: How They Differ.

What the record shows

Item Delaware
Attorney-drafted living trust $1,500 – $4,000
Online trust services $200 – $700
Governing statutes Del. Ct. Ch. R. 192 (fiduciary commissions and fees); 12 Del. C. Ch. 33 (Delaware trust law); 12 Del. C. § 2306 (small estate affidavit limit); 25 Del. C. Ch. 2 (transfer-on-death deed)
State authority Delaware Register of Wills (New Castle, Kent & Sussex Counties) / Delaware Courts (courts.delaware.gov)

A trust holds outside probate only the assets actually retitled into it; an unfunded trust leaves those assets in probate. The Delaware probate figures this is measured against are set out above with their citations. Figures reflect published 2026 pricing and should be re-verified against live quotes.

Living trust costs in other states

Compare Delaware with living trust pricing in other states:

This page explains living trust costs and the probate they avoid in Delaware in general terms as of 2026. It is not legal or financial advice; prices, statutes, and thresholds change and depend on your situation. Confirm current figures and rules with a licensed Delaware attorney. Cost figures are drawn from published 2026 attorney and online-service pricing and should be re-verified with live quotes. Sources: Delaware Register of Wills (New Castle, Kent & Sussex Counties) / Delaware Courts (courts.delaware.gov); Del. Ct. Ch. R. 192 (fiduciary commissions and fees), 12 Del. C. Ch. 33 (Delaware trust law), 12 Del. C. § 2306 (small estate affidavit limit), 25 Del. C. Ch. 2 (transfer-on-death deed).

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