The Estate Planning Guide Est. 2026

How Much Does a Living Trust Cost in Pennsylvania?

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 Pennsylvania typically costs $1,500 to $3,500, and online trust services run about $200 to $600. A revocable living trust removes the assets retitled into it from probate, but it does **not** remove them from Pennsylvania inheritance tax: Pennsylvania taxes inheritances from the first dollar — 0% to a spouse, 4.5% to lineal descendants, 12% to siblings, 15% to others — whether the asset passes through probate or through a trust (72 P.S. §9116).

⚠️ 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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania

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

How it’s prepared Typical cost in Pennsylvania 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 $600 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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania typically runs $1,500 to $3,500. Online trust services advertise $200 to $600, 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 Pennsylvania

  • 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 Pennsylvania by comparison

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

Pennsylvania probate runs through the county Register of Wills and is more moderate than statutory-fee states — there's no fixed percentage attorney fee — but it still means court fees, attorney fees, a public record, and months of administration. The bigger Pennsylvania cost is usually the inheritance tax, which a revocable trust does not avoid.

On a typical Pennsylvania estate, probate and attorney fees commonly run a few thousand dollars to low five figures depending on complexity. The Pennsylvania inheritance tax is often the larger number — for example, 4.5% to children on a $400,000 estate is about $18,000 — and a revocable living trust does not reduce it (paying within three months earns a 5% discount).

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

How Pennsylvania probate cost compares to trust cost

In Pennsylvania a revocable living trust operates on probate avoidance, privacy, ancillary-probate avoidance for out-of-state property, and incapacity management. It does not reduce Pennsylvania inheritance tax: the tax applies to transfers at the applicable class rate whether or not the asset passes through probate. Only lifetime transfers or certain irrevocable structures affect that liability.

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 Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania-specific things to know

Pennsylvania is not a community-property state. Its defining estate-planning feature is the inheritance tax (0% spouse / 4.5% lineal descendants / 12% siblings / 15% others, with no exemption threshold), which applies whether assets pass through probate or a revocable trust. Pennsylvania has adopted a version of the Uniform Trust Act (20 Pa.C.S. Ch. 77).

Funding is everything. A Pennsylvania trust avoids probate only for assets retitled into it — a new deed for real estate and ownership changes on accounts. Just remember those same assets still owe Pennsylvania inheritance 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 Pennsylvania

If your main goal is keeping things simple and private, a flat-fee Pennsylvania trust ($1,500–$3,500) or a quality online service ($200–$600) is reasonable. But if you're being sold a trust as an inheritance-tax dodge, get a second opinion — for that you'd need lifetime gifting or an irrevocable trust, not a revocable one.

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 Pennsylvania

In Pennsylvania the operative factors are privacy, transfer speed, out-of-state real property, and incapacity planning. Pennsylvania inheritance tax applies to trust-held assets on the same terms as probate assets.

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 Pennsylvania
Attorney-drafted living trust $1,500 – $3,500
Online trust services $200 – $600
Governing statutes 20 Pa.C.S. Ch. 77 (Pennsylvania Uniform Trust Act); 72 P.S. §9101 et seq. (inheritance tax); 20 Pa.C.S. §3101 et seq. (probate)
State authority Pennsylvania Department of Revenue — Inheritance Tax

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

This page explains living trust costs and the probate they avoid in Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania attorney. Cost figures are drawn from published 2026 attorney and online-service pricing and should be re-verified with live quotes. Sources: Pennsylvania Department of Revenue — Inheritance Tax; 20 Pa.C.S. Ch. 77 (Pennsylvania Uniform Trust Act), 72 P.S. §9101 et seq. (inheritance tax), 20 Pa.C.S. §3101 et seq. (probate).

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