How Much Does a Will Cost in Missouri?

By The Estate Planning Guide Editorial Team Researched against primary sources

Published June 11, 2026 7 min read

Quick answer

A simple will in Missouri typically costs about $300 to $1,000 with an attorney, and $0 to $150 online. Missouri does not recognize handwritten (holographic) wills, so you can't skip the two-witness step. A will directs an estate through Missouri probate rather than avoiding it. If avoiding probate is the goal, that's a living-trust question.

⚠️ 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 will costs in Missouri

How you make it	Typical cost in Missouri	Best for
Attorney-drafted	$300 to $1000	Most people; anything with children, property, or blended families
Online will service	$0 to $150	Simple estates, clear beneficiaries
Pure DIY / handwritten	$0	Rarely the best idea — easy to get wrong

Illustrative Missouri pricing as of 2026 — re-verify with current quotes. Attorney quotes are often for a small package (the will plus financial and healthcare powers of attorney), not the will alone.

A simple will in Missouri is genuinely inexpensive — $300 to $1000 with an attorney, and as little as $0 online. The price is low for a reason: a will is a relatively simple document. The cost climbs only when your situation is complicated — minor children and a guardianship decision, a blended family, a business, or potential estate tax.

What makes a will valid in Missouri

A Missouri will must be in writing, signed by the testator (or by someone at the testator's direction and in the testator's presence), and attested by two or more competent witnesses who sign in the testator's presence (Mo. Rev. Stat. §474.320).

The witnesses should be disinterested — that is, not people who inherit under the will — so no one can later argue they had a reason to lie about the signing. Get that one detail wrong and the gift to an interested witness (or the whole will) can be challenged.

Can you write your own will by hand in Missouri?

Missouri does NOT recognize holographic (handwritten, unwitnessed) wills. Every will must be in writing, signed by the testator, and attested by two or more competent witnesses (Mo. Rev. Stat. §474.320).

Even where a handwritten will is legal, it’s the riskiest way to do it: no witnesses means no one to confirm it was really you and that you weren’t pressured, and ambiguous handwriting is a gift to anyone who wants to contest it. A typed, witnessed, self-proved will costs very little and avoids all of that.

The self-proving affidavit (a small step that saves a big headache)

Missouri allows a self-proving affidavit under Mo. Rev. Stat. §474.337 — the testator and witnesses acknowledge the will before a notary, so the will can be admitted to probate without further proof and the witnesses don't need to testify.

Without it, your witnesses may have to be tracked down years later to confirm they watched you sign — which can be impossible if they’ve moved, lost touch, or died. It’s one of the cheapest, highest-value things you can add to a will.

What a will does not do in Missouri

A will directs an estate through probate; it does not remove assets from it. A will tells the Missouri probate court who receives what and who administers the estate. Property governed by the will still passes through probate — the court-supervised, public process.

The cost of the document and the cost of probate are therefore separate figures. For what probate itself costs in Missouri, see How Much Does Probate Cost in Missouri?.

What passes outside probate in Missouri

Assets transfer outside probate only by operation of law or contract, regardless of what a will says. The recognised mechanisms are:

Beneficiary designations — retirement accounts, life insurance, and payable-on-death accounts pass to the named beneficiary.
Joint ownership with right of survivorship — passes to the surviving owner.
Transfer-on-death instruments, where Missouri authorises them.
Assets titled into a funded living trust.

A will has no effect on any asset transferred by these routes. For the Missouri figures on the trust alternative, see How Much Does a Living Trust Cost in Missouri?, and for the documented differences between the two instruments, Will vs. Trust: How They Differ.

What affects the price in Missouri

Published pricing varies with these factors:

Preparation route. Online will services are the lower end of the range; attorney drafting is the upper end. Missouri-specific forms and a self-proving affidavit are not included by every service.
Bundling. A will, a financial power of attorney, and a healthcare directive are commonly quoted together at less than the sum of their separate prices. The power of attorney and directive operate during life; a will operates only at death.
Estate complexity. Minor children, blended families, business interests, special-needs beneficiaries, and estate-tax exposure are the factors attorneys cite for higher quoted fees.

What the record shows

Item	Missouri
Attorney-drafted simple will	$300 – $1,000
Governing statutes	Mo. Rev. Stat. §474.320 (execution of wills); Mo. Rev. Stat. §474.337 (self-proved wills)
State authority	Missouri Revisor of Statutes (revisor.mo.gov)

A will directs an estate through probate and does not remove assets from it. Execution requirements, the treatment of handwritten wills, and the self-proving affidavit rules for Missouri are set out above with their statutory citations. Figures reflect published 2026 pricing and should be re-verified against live quotes.

Will costs in other states

Compare Missouri with what a will costs in other states:

How to Write a Will (and What Makes It Valid) — the full step-by-step.
Do I Need a Will? — what happens under intestacy when there is none.
How Much Does a Will Cost with a Lawyer? — the national cost picture.
How Much Does Probate Cost in Missouri? — the separate cost of probate itself.
How Much Does a Living Trust Cost in Missouri? — the instrument that holds assets outside probate.

This page explains will costs and validity rules in Missouri in general terms as of 2026. It is not legal advice; statutes and figures change and depend on your situation. Confirm current rules with a licensed Missouri attorney. Cost figures reflect published 2026 attorney and online-service pricing and should be re-verified with live quotes. Sources: Missouri Revisor of Statutes (revisor.mo.gov); Mo. Rev. Stat. §474.320 (execution of wills), Mo. Rev. Stat. §474.337 (self-proved wills).

Related guides

What Happens If You Die Without a Will by State

Do I Need a Will? What a Will Does and What Intestacy Does

How Much Does a Will Cost with a Lawyer?