The Estate Planning Guide Est. 2026

How Much Does a Living Trust Cost in Texas?

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 Texas typically costs $1,500 to $3,000 (more for couples or complex estates), and online trust services run about $300 to $800. The figure that sits against it: Texas administers most estates under independent administration (Tex. Est. Code §401.001), which removes them from continuing court supervision, and sets no statutory attorney fee percentage. A funded trust operates on the assets retitled into it and additionally provides non-public administration, successor-trustee authority on incapacity, staged distributions, and administration of out-of-state real property without an ancillary proceeding.

⚠️ 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 Texas 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 Texas

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

How it’s prepared Typical cost in Texas What’s typically included
Attorney-drafted $1,500 to $3,000 Trust, pour-over will, powers of attorney, deed preparation and funding assistance
Online service $300 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 Texas 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 Texas typically runs $1,500 to $3,000. Online trust services advertise $300 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 Texas

  • 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 Texas by comparison

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

Texas is the structural counter-example to California. Most well-drafted Texas wills request independent administration, which lets the executor settle the estate with almost no court supervision after the initial appointment. Reported attorney fees and court costs for a straightforward Texas estate run $3,000 to $7,000.

A straightforward, uncontested Texas probate with a valid will requesting independent administration commonly runs $3,000 to $7,000 all-in. That's a fraction of what statutory-fee states like California charge — and it's exactly why a living trust is a weaker value proposition in Texas than almost anywhere else.

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

How Texas probate cost compares to trust cost

Texas independent administration is among the least expensive probate procedures in the country, so the fee differential between probate and a trust is narrower here than in statutory-fee states. The documented effects of a trust in Texas are ancillary-probate avoidance for out-of-state real estate, privacy, staged distributions, and incapacity management.

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 Texas.

Texas-specific things to know

Texas is a community-property state, which simplifies planning for married couples and provides a full step-up in basis on community property at the first spouse's death. Texas trust law is the Texas Trust Code (Property Code, Title 9, Subtitle B).

Funding is everything. If you do use a trust, it only avoids probate for assets retitled into it — a new deed for Texas real estate and ownership changes on accounts. Texas also offers cheaper, narrower probate-avoidance tools: a Transfer on Death Deed for real estate and payable-on-death designations on accounts, which cost little or nothing. 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 Texas

Before paying for a trust in Texas, ask an attorney honestly whether a will with independent administration, plus a Transfer on Death Deed and POD/TOD beneficiary designations, would accomplish your goal for a fraction of the cost. For many Texans, it will.

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 Texas

In Texas the operative factors are out-of-state real property (which otherwise requires a separate ancillary probate in that state), privacy, blended-family or protected-beneficiary distributions, and incapacity planning. A will with an independent executor covers in-state estates through independent 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 Texas
Attorney-drafted living trust $1,500 – $3,000
Online trust services $300 – $800
Governing statutes Tex. Est. Code §401.001 et seq. (independent administration); Tex. Prop. Code Title 9, Subtitle B (Texas Trust Code); Tex. Est. Code §114.051 (transfer on death deed)
State authority TexasLawHelp.org (Texas Legal Services Center)

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

This page explains living trust costs and the probate they avoid in Texas 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 Texas attorney. Cost figures are drawn from published 2026 attorney and online-service pricing and should be re-verified with live quotes. Sources: TexasLawHelp.org (Texas Legal Services Center); Tex. Est. Code §401.001 et seq. (independent administration), Tex. Prop. Code Title 9, Subtitle B (Texas Trust Code), Tex. Est. Code §114.051 (transfer on death deed).

Related guides