The Estate Planning Guide Est. 2026

How Much Does a Living Trust Cost in Missouri?

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 Missouri typically costs about $1,500 to $3,500 (more for couples or complex estates), while reputable online trust services run about $200 to $800. Missouri is one of the few states with a statutory probate fee schedule — both the attorney and the personal representative can each charge a sliding percentage of the personal property administered plus any real estate sold — so probate fees can add up on a larger estate. But because those fees apply only to personal property and real estate that's sold, a beneficiary deed on the home plus POD/TOD designations can keep the biggest assets out of probate without a full trust.

⚠️ 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 Missouri 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 Missouri

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

How it’s prepared Typical cost in Missouri What’s typically included
Attorney-drafted $1,500 to $3,500 Trust, pour-over will, powers of attorney, deed preparation and funding assistance
Online service $200 to $800 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 Missouri 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 Missouri typically runs $1,500 to $3,500. Online trust services advertise $200 to $800, 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 Missouri

  • 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 Missouri by comparison

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

Missouri sits in the middle. It has a statutory minimum fee schedule (Mo. Rev. Stat. §473.153) under which the attorney and the personal representative may each charge 5% of the first $5,000, 4% of the next $20,000, 3% of the next $75,000, and so on — but those percentages apply only to personal property administered and real estate actually sold, not to a home that passes by beneficiary deed. Most estates also use the cheaper independent administration when the will allows or the heirs consent.

A straightforward, uncontested Missouri probate using independent administration commonly runs about $3,000 to $7,000-plus all-in, though the statutory percentage fees on both the attorney and the personal representative can push a larger estate higher. Supervised administration costs more because of added court oversight. The fees climb with the value of personal property administered — which is exactly why keeping the home and major accounts out of probate matters.

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

How Missouri probate cost compares to trust cost

Missouri statutory fees apply only to personal property and to real estate that is sold, so a beneficiary deed (Mo. Rev. Stat. §461.025) on a home plus POD/TOD designations on accounts keep the largest assets out of both probate and the fee base at minimal cost. Missouri has no state estate tax and no inheritance tax, so no tax consideration enters the comparison.

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 Missouri.

Missouri-specific things to know

Missouri is a common-law (not community-property) state, so married couples don't get the community-property double step-up in basis. Trust law is the Missouri Uniform Trust Code, Mo. Rev. Stat. Ch. 456. Missouri has NO state estate tax and NO inheritance tax (only the federal estate tax can apply, with its much higher exemption), so a Missouri trust is about avoiding probate and statutory fees, not state death taxes.

Funding is everything. A trust only avoids probate for assets you actually retitle into it — a new deed for Missouri real estate and ownership changes on bank and brokerage accounts. Missouri also offers cheaper, narrower tools: a beneficiary deed (Mo. Rev. Stat. §461.025) for real estate and payable-on-death / transfer-on-death designations on accounts, which cost little or nothing and keep that value out of the statutory fee base. 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 Missouri

Before paying for a trust in Missouri, ask an attorney honestly whether a will (with independent administration), a beneficiary deed on your home, and POD/TOD designations would accomplish your goal for a fraction of the cost. Because Missouri's statutory fees are charged on personal property and real estate sold, moving the home and major accounts to non-probate transfers can shrink the fee base dramatically.

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 Missouri

In Missouri the operative factors are out-of-state real property, protected-beneficiary distributions, and incapacity planning. In-state homes can pass by beneficiary deed, and the statutory fee base excludes unsold real estate.

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 Missouri
Attorney-drafted living trust $1,500 – $3,500
Online trust services $200 – $800
Governing statutes Mo. Rev. Stat. Ch. 456 (Missouri Uniform Trust Code); Mo. Rev. Stat. §461.025 (beneficiary deed); Mo. Rev. Stat. §473.153 (statutory probate fee schedule)
State authority Missouri Courts self-help resources (courts.mo.gov) and Missouri Legal Services (lsmo.org)

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

This page explains living trust costs and the probate they avoid in Missouri 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 Missouri attorney. Cost figures are drawn from published 2026 attorney and online-service pricing and should be re-verified with live quotes. Sources: Missouri Courts self-help resources (courts.mo.gov) and Missouri Legal Services (lsmo.org); Mo. Rev. Stat. Ch. 456 (Missouri Uniform Trust Code), Mo. Rev. Stat. §461.025 (beneficiary deed), Mo. Rev. Stat. §473.153 (statutory probate fee schedule).

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