The Estate Planning Guide Est. 2026

How Much Does a Living Trust Cost in South Carolina?

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 South Carolina typically costs about $1,500 to $3,500, and reputable online trust services run roughly $200 to $700. The operative factor is real estate: South Carolina has no transfer-on-death deed for real estate, so a trust (or joint ownership) is the main way to keep a house out of 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 South Carolina 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 South Carolina

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

How it’s prepared Typical cost in South Carolina 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 $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 South Carolina 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 South Carolina typically runs $1,500 to $3,500. 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 South Carolina

  • 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 South Carolina by comparison

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

South Carolina probate is moderate in cost but not cheap for larger estates, thanks to a sliding-scale court filing fee (§8-21-770) that grows with value and a personal-representative commission capped at 5% (§62-3-719). The eight-month creditor window also keeps most estates open close to a year.

On a $500,000 South Carolina estate, expect roughly a $695 court filing fee plus $2,500 to $6,000 in attorney fees; the 5% PR commission could add up to about $25,000 if taken, though family executors often waive it.

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

How South Carolina probate cost compares to trust cost

South Carolina has no TOD deed for real estate, so solely-owned real property passes through probate unless titled into a trust or held with survivorship. South Carolina also charges a sliding-scale filing fee based on estate value.

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 South Carolina.

South Carolina-specific things to know

South Carolina has adopted the South Carolina Trust Code (S.C. Code Title 62, Article 7), its version of the Uniform Trust Code, so trust administration is well-settled here. The state has no estate or inheritance tax, so most trusts are about probate avoidance, not tax.

Funding is everything. A trust only avoids probate for assets you retitle into it — recording a new deed for South Carolina real estate with the county Register of Deeds and updating account ownership. Transfers into your own revocable trust are generally exempt from the state deed-recording (documentary) stamp 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 South Carolina

A reputable flat-fee South Carolina attorney ($1,500–$2,500) or an online service ($200–$700) handles a simple home-and-accounts estate well. Pay full rates for blended families, a business, special-needs beneficiaries, or out-of-state property.

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 South Carolina

In South Carolina the operative factor is solely-owned real estate — no TOD deed exists, and the filing fee scales with estate value. Accounts with named beneficiaries pass by designation.

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 South Carolina
Attorney-drafted living trust $1,500 – $3,500
Online trust services $200 – $700
Governing statutes S.C. Code §62-3-719 (PR commission); S.C. Code §8-21-770 (probate filing fees); S.C. Code Title 62, Article 7 (SC Trust Code); S.C. Code §62-3-1201 (small-estate affidavit)
State authority South Carolina Judicial Branch and county Probate Courts (sccourts.org)

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

This page explains living trust costs and the probate they avoid in South Carolina 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 South Carolina attorney. Cost figures are drawn from published 2026 attorney and online-service pricing and should be re-verified with live quotes. Sources: South Carolina Judicial Branch and county Probate Courts (sccourts.org); S.C. Code §62-3-719 (PR commission), S.C. Code §8-21-770 (probate filing fees), S.C. Code Title 62, Article 7 (SC Trust Code), S.C. Code §62-3-1201 (small-estate affidavit).

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