The Estate Planning Guide Est. 2026

How Much Does a Living Trust Cost in Maryland?

By The Estate Planning Guide Editorial Team Researched against primary sources

Published June 11, 2026 9 min read

Quick answer

An attorney-drafted living trust in Maryland typically costs $2,000 to $6,000 (D.C.-suburb and couple/tax-planning packages run toward the high end), while online trust services run about $200 to $700. Maryland is one of the better states to own a trust: probate is comparatively costly (a statutory personal-representative commission plus a Register of Wills fee that scales with estate value), there's no transfer-on-death deed for real estate, and Maryland is one of only a couple of states with BOTH an estate tax and an inheritance tax.

⚠️ 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 Maryland 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 Maryland

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

How it’s prepared Typical cost in Maryland What’s typically included
Attorney-drafted $2,000 to $6,000 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 Maryland 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 Maryland typically runs $2,000 to $6,000. 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 Maryland

  • 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 Maryland by comparison

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

Maryland probate runs through the Register of Wills and the Orphans' Court and is comparatively expensive. The personal representative's commission is capped by statute (Est. & Trusts §7-601) at 9% of the first $20,000 plus 3.6% of the excess, the Register of Wills charges a probate fee that scales with the value of the probate estate under §2-206(b)(2), from $0 under $50,000 to $10,000 plus 0.02% of the excess over $10 million, attorney fees are separate, and the process is public. The 10% inheritance tax on non-close beneficiaries is a separate cost a revocable trust does not avoid.

On a $500,000 Maryland estate, the statutory personal-representative commission alone can reach about $19,000 under §7-601, plus a $1,000 Register of Wills probate fee (Est. & Trusts §2-206(b)(2), which puts a $500,000 estate in the $500,000-to-under-$1,000,000 bracket) and separate attorney fees — so total probate cost commonly lands well into five figures. A funded living trust keeps assets out of that process and out of the public record.

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

How Maryland probate cost compares to trust cost

Maryland probate carries a statutory commission plus a value-scaled Register of Wills fee, and the state has no TOD deed for real estate. Maryland is also one of the few states with both an estate tax ($5 million exemption) and a 10% inheritance tax. A revocable trust avoids probate but does not avoid the inheritance tax, which applies to bequests to non-close relatives whether or not the asset passes through probate.

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 Maryland.

Maryland-specific things to know

Maryland is not a community-property state. It has adopted the Maryland Trust Act (Md. Code, Est. & Trusts, Title 14.5, a version of the Uniform Trust Code). Maryland is unusual in levying both a state estate tax (2026 exemption $5,000,000, top rate 16%) and a 10% inheritance tax — spouses, children, grandchildren, parents, and siblings are exempt, but nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, and other non-close beneficiaries pay 10%.

Funding is everything. A Maryland trust avoids probate only for assets you actually retitle into it — a new deed for real estate and ownership changes on accounts. This matters because Maryland does NOT allow transfer-on-death deeds for real estate, so a trust (or joint ownership) is the main way to keep a home out of probate. Assets funded into the trust can still owe Maryland inheritance tax if they pass to a non-exempt beneficiary — a revocable trust avoids probate, not that tax. 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 Maryland

Maryland charges both an estate tax (exemption $5 million) and an inheritance tax, from which close relatives are exempt. Reported charges are $2,000–$4,000 for a flat-fee Maryland trust package and $200–$700 through an online service; full attorney rates are reported where the estate approaches the estate-tax exemption, where beneficiaries fall outside the inheritance-tax exemption, or where out-of-state property is held. A revocable trust does not reduce the Maryland inheritance tax: the tax applies by class of beneficiary whether the asset passes through probate or through a trust.

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 Maryland

In Maryland the operative factors are real estate (no TOD deed exists), the $5 million estate-tax threshold, and bequests to non-close relatives subject to the 10% inheritance tax — which applies to trust assets on the same terms. Small estates may use small-estate or modified administration.

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 Maryland
Attorney-drafted living trust $2,000 – $6,000
Online trust services $200 – $700
Governing statutes Md. Code, Est. & Trusts, Title 14.5 (Maryland Trust Act); Md. Code, Est. & Trusts §7-601 (PR commission); Md. Code, Tax-Gen. §7-204 (inheritance tax); Md. Code, Tax-Gen. §7-309 (estate tax)
State authority The Maryland People's Law Library (peoples-law.org, Maryland Courts) and the Maryland Register of Wills (registers.maryland.gov)

A trust holds outside probate only the assets actually retitled into it; an unfunded trust leaves those assets in probate. The Maryland 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 Maryland with living trust pricing in other states:

This page explains living trust costs and the probate they avoid in Maryland 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 Maryland attorney. Cost figures are drawn from published 2026 attorney and online-service pricing and should be re-verified with live quotes. Sources: The Maryland People's Law Library (peoples-law.org, Maryland Courts) and the Maryland Register of Wills (registers.maryland.gov); Md. Code, Est. & Trusts, Title 14.5 (Maryland Trust Act), Md. Code, Est. & Trusts §7-601 (PR commission), Md. Code, Tax-Gen. §7-204 (inheritance tax), Md. Code, Tax-Gen. §7-309 (estate tax).

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