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Estate Planning · Cost Guide

How Much Does an Estate Plan Cost in Texas?

A straight answer on price — what a will, a living trust, and a full plan typically cost in Texas, what drives the number, and how WG Law quotes a flat fee up front so there are no hourly surprises.

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The Short Answer

In Texas, a will-based plan — a will with a financial power of attorney, a medical power of attorney, a HIPAA authorization, and a directive to physicians — typically runs $500 to $1,500. A revocable living trust plan that avoids probate typically runs $2,000 to $5,000 or more. Advanced planning — special needs trusts, business succession, tax-sensitive estates, or Medicaid asset protection — is priced on complexity. WG Law works from a flat fee quoted up front after a consultation, so you know the full cost before any work begins.

Typical Texas Ranges

What Each Level of Planning Costs

Ranges are typical for Texas and vary with the complexity of your estate. The only way to get your number is a fee quote for your specific situation — which we provide up front.

Will-Based Plan

$500 – $1,500

The most affordable way to put a plan in place. Best for younger families and simpler estates that mainly need guardianship nominations and a clear distribution plan.

  • Last will and testament
  • Financial (durable) power of attorney
  • Medical power of attorney
  • HIPAA authorization
  • Directive to physicians (living will)

Revocable Living Trust Plan

$2,000 – $5,000+

A trust-centered plan that lets your major assets pass to your beneficiaries outside of probate — privately, and without court delay. Best for homeowners and families who want to avoid probate.

  • Revocable living trust
  • Pour-over will as a backstop
  • Full incapacity powers of attorney set
  • Trust funding guidance (the step many firms skip)
  • Beneficiary-designation coordination

Advanced & Specialized Planning

Quoted individually

Priced on complexity. For estates with special needs beneficiaries, business interests, blended families, federal estate-tax exposure, or Medicaid asset protection.

  • Special needs / supplemental needs trusts
  • Tax-sensitive and larger-estate planning
  • Business succession and entity coordination
  • Blended-family (QTIP / lifetime) trusts
  • Medicaid and long-term-care asset protection

What You Are Really Paying For

Six Things That Move the Price

1

Will-based vs. trust-based

A will package costs less than a revocable living trust package because a trust does more — it avoids probate, keeps the transfer private, and manages your assets if you become incapacitated. The trust also has to be funded, which is additional work.

2

The complexity of your assets

A single home and a few accounts is straightforward. Rental properties, mineral interests, a closely held business, brokerage accounts, and real estate in more than one state each add drafting and titling work that affects the fee.

3

Your family situation

Blended families, minor children, a beneficiary with special needs, or a beneficiary who cannot manage money all call for specialized trust provisions that a basic plan does not include.

4

Tax exposure

Most Texas families are well under the federal estate-tax exclusion, but larger estates, business owners, and families using advanced gifting strategies need tax-sensitive drafting — the area where Carla Alston's NYU Tax LL.M. matters most.

5

Medicaid and long-term-care planning

Protecting the home and savings from nursing-home spend-down uses irrevocable structures and a Lady Bird deed, and it is timing-sensitive because of Medicaid's five-year look-back. That planning is priced separately from a standard estate plan.

6

Whether the plan is actually funded

A trust only avoids probate for the assets that are titled into it. Real funding — deeds, account retitling, and beneficiary updates — is part of a complete engagement, and it is the step that determines whether the plan works at all.

Value, Not Just Price

What a Complete Estate Plan Includes

A low quote for “just a will” and a higher quote for a complete plan are not the same product. When you compare estate-planning fees, compare what is actually inside the plan. A complete WG Law engagement generally includes:

A will (or a will plus a funded revocable living trust)
A durable financial power of attorney
A medical power of attorney and HIPAA authorization
A directive to physicians (living will)
Guardian nominations for minor children
Beneficiary-designation review so accounts and documents agree
A signing ceremony with proper Texas witnesses and notarization
Trust funding guidance where a trust is used

The Comparison That Matters

The Cost of No Plan Is Almost Always Higher

The fairest way to weigh the price of an estate plan is against the cost of doing nothing. When there is no plan, the estate typically still goes through probate — court filing fees, publication costs, and attorney fees — and dying without a will can add a determination of heirship and extra steps to transfer real estate. A plan is built to reduce or avoid those downstream costs, and to keep your family out of a courtroom during a difficult time.

See what probate and Medicaid planning cost in Texas for the other side of that comparison, or read more about the Texas probate process.

Free Interactive Tool

Will or trust — which do you need?

Answer a few questions about your family, assets, and goals for a personalized assessment in under two minutes. It also helps you understand which price tier fits.

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Who Builds Your Plan

Fixed Fees From Attorneys Who Do This All Day

Estate planning at WG Law is led by Taylor Willingham, who has served more than 10,000 estate-planning clients, authored five books on estate planning and elder law, and earned Super Lawyers Rising Star recognition (2019–2022). For tax-sensitive and larger estates, Carla Alston brings an LL.M. in Taxation from NYU School of Law — the most respected tax LL.M. in the country — and 39 years of practice.

We quote a flat fee up front, and we build a custom plan — not a template — so the documents work together the way they should. Trusted by 350+ five-star clients across North Texas.

Estate Planning OverviewAbout TrustsMeet Taylor Willingham

Common Questions

Estate Plan Cost — FAQ

How much does an estate plan cost in Texas?
A will-based plan (a will with a financial power of attorney, a medical power of attorney, a HIPAA authorization, and a directive to physicians) typically runs $500 to $1,500 in Texas. A revocable living trust plan that avoids probate typically runs $2,000 to $5,000 or more. Advanced planning — special needs trusts, business succession, tax-sensitive estates, or Medicaid asset protection — is priced on complexity. WG Law works from a flat fee quoted up front after a consultation, so you know the full cost before any work begins.
How much does a will cost in Texas?
A will is the most affordable way to put a plan in place, and at WG Law it is billed as a flat fee quoted up front — not by the hour. The price depends on how complete the package is: a simple will costs less than a will paired with a financial power of attorney, a medical power of attorney, a HIPAA authorization, and a directive to physicians — the combination most Texas families actually need. A defective do-it-yourself will that is improperly signed or witnessed can fail entirely under the Texas Estates Code, so an attorney-drafted flat fee usually costs far less than fixing a bad will later.
How much does a living trust cost in Texas?
A revocable living trust package in Texas typically ranges from about $2,000 to $5,000 or more, depending on the assets involved and whether specialized provisions are needed. It costs more than a will because it does more: it avoids probate on the assets titled into it, provides for management of those assets if you become incapacitated, and keeps the transfer private. A properly funded trust often saves the family far more than its cost by avoiding a probate administration later.
Why does a trust cost more than a will?
A will is a single document that directs how your assets are distributed, but assets passing under a will still go through probate. A revocable living trust is a more involved instrument that avoids probate, manages your assets during incapacity, and must be funded — meaning your home and accounts are retitled into the trust. The additional drafting and the funding work are why a trust-based plan costs more than a will-based plan, and why it delivers more.
Is it cheaper to use an online estate-planning template?
The upfront price is lower, but the real cost often is not. Generic templates may not meet Texas-specific execution requirements, frequently omit critical provisions like trust funding instructions and coordination with beneficiary designations, and cannot account for a blended family, a special needs beneficiary, or business interests. A mistake usually is not discovered until the person has died and it is too late to fix — at which point the family may face an heirship proceeding or a contested probate that costs many times what a proper plan would have.
How much does probate cost if I don't have an estate plan?
When there is no plan, the estate typically still goes through probate, and the cost is the sum of court filing fees, publication costs, and attorney fees, which depend on the type of administration and the complexity of the estate. Dying without a will (intestate) can add a determination of heirship and, for real estate, additional proceedings. A well-built estate plan is designed to reduce or avoid these downstream costs, which is why comparing the price of a plan to the price of doing nothing is the fairer comparison.
Does WG Law charge for a consultation?
WG Law quotes estate-planning fees as a flat fee up front after a consultation, so there are no hourly surprises. Estate planning is led by Taylor Willingham, who has served more than 10,000 estate-planning clients and authored five books on estate planning and elder law; for tax-sensitive estates, Carla Alston brings an LL.M. in Taxation from NYU School of Law and 39 years of practice. Call 214-250-4407 or request a consultation to get a fee quote for your specific situation.

Get Your Fee Quote

Know the Full Cost Before Any Work Begins

Tell us about your family and your assets, and we will quote a flat fee for the plan you actually need. An intake specialist responds within one business day.

Request a Consultation214-250-4407