Legal costs and timelines, in plain numbers. Not a law firm.
Every figure sourced and dated. Updated 2026-09-05.
Updated 2026-09-05 · 21 sourced figures · 19 named sources · every figure checked against its source at publish
Most pages about estate planning tell you it is important. Almost none tell you what it costs. Here are the numbers, sourced: a 2026 study of 909 law firms puts the average attorney-drafted will at $733, with typical basic wills at $300 to $600 and attorney-drafted living trusts at $1,500 to $3,500. Skipping the plan does not skip the cost: probate typically consumes 3% to 7% of a gross estate, and roughly about 2 out of 3 American adults have no will at all.
Sources: Legal Templates 909-firm study 2026; LegalZoom 2026; SwiftProbate 2026; Caring.com survey series. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
Every figure this page relies on, with its source and date. This table is the page's receipts.
| Figure | What it measures | Source · retrieved |
|---|---|---|
| $733 | average attorney-drafted will (909-firm study) | Legal Templates nationwide study of 909 law firms, 2026, 2026-08-31 |
| $300 to $600 | typical basic will range | LegalZoom 2026 estate planning cost guide, 2026-08-31 |
| $1,500 to $3,500 | attorney-drafted living trust | LegalZoom / Neptune 2026 guides, 2026-08-31 |
| 3% to 7% | probate cost as share of gross estate | SwiftProbate 2026, 2026-08-31 |
| 6 to 12 months | typical uncontested probate | Alix probate timeline guide 2026, 2026-08-31 |
| about 2 out of 3 | American adults with no will | Caring.com wills survey series, 2026-08-31 |
| 12 to 18 months | California probate duration | Alix 2026 state guide, 2026-09-01 |
| 9 to 15 months | New York probate duration | EstateClarity 2026 state timelines, 2026-09-01 |
| 4 to 8 months | Texas independent administration | 48HourProbate 2026, 2026-09-01 |
| $50 to $1,200 | court filing fees by state/county | Trust & Will 2026, 2026-09-01 |
| 2% to 4% | statutory attorney fees, set-fee states | Estate Mentors 2026, 2026-09-01 |
| $15,000 to $35,000 | typical probate cost, $500k estate | SwiftProbate 2026, 2026-09-01 |
| $2,000 to $3,500 | revocable trust, attorney-drafted | Neptune 2026, 2026-09-01 |
| $75,000 | Texas small-estate-affidavit threshold (excludes homestead and exempt property; decedent must have left no will) | SettledEstate 2026 / FastWill 2026, 2026-09-01 |
| $208,850 | California small-estate threshold, adjusted for inflation April 2025 (from $184,500) | MMZ Law 2026, 2026-09-01 |
| $50,000 | New York small-estate threshold | Legal Survival 2026, 2026-09-01 |
| $75,000 | Florida's Disposition Without Administration threshold, its small-estate equivalent | SJF Law Group 2026, 2026-09-01 |
| Texas Estates Code s.203.001-203.002 | statutory basis for the Texas affidavit of heirship | LoneStarLandLaw 2026, 2026-09-01 |
| two disinterested witnesses | affidavit-of-heirship witness requirement, people who knew the family but hold no stake in the estate | TexasLawHelp 2026, 2026-09-01 |
| $15 to $50 | county recording fee, first page (plus about $4 per additional page) | Griffin & Cain 2026, 2026-09-01 |
| four years | a will not probated within this window after death is treated as if none exists, triggering the affidavit-of-heirship route | LoneStarLandLaw 2026, 2026-09-01 |
Three tiers, honestly priced: do-it-yourself templates run under a few hundred dollars and carry no judgment; an attorney-drafted will averages $733; an attorney-drafted trust package runs $2,000 to $3,500. The trust's premium buys probate avoidance for titled assets, which is the later-money half of the comparison. The full tier table lives in the cost breakdown.
Sources: Legal Templates 2026; Neptune 2026. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
When an estate does go through probate, the typical uncontested case runs 6 to 12 months from filing to final distribution, through a sequence that barely varies by state even when the clock does:
Sources: Alix 2026; Trust & Will 2026; Estate Mentors 2026; SwiftProbate 2026. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
Probate is state law, and the clock swings hard: Texas independent administration typically completes in 4 to 8 months; New York runs 9 to 15 months; California runs 12 to 18 months. Your state's rules control everything on this page, so treat these bands as the national picture and your county's probate court as the authority.
Sources: 48HourProbate 2026; EstateClarity 2026; Alix 2026. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
Pay $300 to $600 now. Your estate likely goes through probate later: 6 to 12 months typically, at 3% to 7% of its value. Rational for small estates and states with streamlined procedures.
Pay $2,000 to $3,500 now. Titled assets generally pass outside probate, skipping the months and the percentage. Rational when the estate would face a long, costly probate.
The full comparison with the family-pays-later math is in Will vs trust.
Sources: LegalZoom 2026; Neptune 2026; SwiftProbate 2026. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
"A will avoids probate." It does not; a will goes THROUGH probate, which for most estates means 6 to 12 months and real money. "Estate planning is for the wealthy." The probate percentage applies to ordinary estates too, and about 2 out of 3 adults having no will means most families take the default, slowest path.
Sources: Alix 2026; SwiftProbate 2026; Caring.com survey series. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
How long does probate take? 6 to 12 months for a typical uncontested estate; 4 to 8 months in Texas at the fast end. Full state detail: probate timelines. What does a will cost? $733 average, $300 to $600 typical range. What does a trust cost? $2,000 to $3,500 attorney-drafted. What if I die without a will? Your state's intestacy rules decide who inherits, and probate still happens on the slow path.
The situations where professional drafting earns its fee, stated factually: estates with real property in more than one state; blended families or disinheritance intentions; a child or dependent with special needs; business ownership; estates near federal or state tax thresholds. In those situations the document's failure surfaces only after you are gone, which is the one moment nobody can fix it.
Not every estate needs full probate. When the estate is small enough and the state's dollar threshold is not crossed, a small estate affidavit can transfer assets without opening a formal case, and the threshold is not the same number everywhere: Texas sets it at $75,000 (excluding the homestead and exempt property, and only when the decedent left no will); New York sets it at $50,000; Florida uses a similar $75,000 cutoff through its Disposition Without Administration process; California's limit, adjusted for inflation in 2025, now sits at $208,850.
When the estate holds real property and there is no will, a different tool applies: an affidavit of heirship. In Texas it is authorized by Texas Estates Code s.203.001-203.002, requires two disinterested witnesses, and gets recorded in the county's real property records for $15 to $50 for the first page. It is also the tool families reach for when a will exists but was never probated within four years of death.
Sources: SettledEstate 2026; FastWill 2026; MMZ Law 2026; Legal Survival 2026; SJF Law Group 2026; LoneStarLandLaw 2026; TexasLawHelp 2026; Griffin & Cain 2026. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
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Will vs trust: pay now or your family pays later · What estate planning costs, every tier · How long probate takes, by state · Small estate affidavit limits, by state · Affidavit of heirship, step by step
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