Written by: Attorney Raymond Chandler
There’s no set price for setting up a trust. The fee depends on how an attorney charges for the work and what your specific plan actually needs to include, and both of those vary quite a bit. At Polaris, we start by understanding your family and your situation, then build a trust, and often a broader plan, around what you actually need. Here’s how attorney billing typically works, and how we think about pricing a plan the right way.
Key takeaways
- There’s no single price for setting up a trust. Attorneys bill in different ways, and what a plan actually needs varies significantly from one family to the next.
- Some attorneys charge a flat fee per tool: one price for the trust, another for a will, another for powers of attorney. Others bill hourly, so the total depends on how much time the work actually takes. Others price the plan as a whole, based on everything the family needs, rather than each piece separately.
- What drives cost isn’t the price of a form. It’s the complexity of what’s being planned for: how many people, what’s owned, and what protections the family actually needs.
- A plan built for someone early in their career looks different, and costs differently, than one built for someone in their sixties with a home, retirement accounts, and grown children. They’re different plans for different situations.
- At Polaris, we build the plan around your family first, then talk about cost. That approach runs through everything we do, not just the pricing conversation.
How attorneys typically charge for this work
Estate planning attorneys typically charge for this work in one of a few ways.
Some price by the tool: one fee for a trust, another for a will, another for powers of attorney. Some bill hourly, so the total reflects the actual time spent on the work. Others price around the whole plan, treating everything a family needs as one project rather than separate pieces.
At Polaris, we take that last approach. We think of a trust as one part of a bigger plan, so we’d rather build and price the whole thing together than quote each piece on its own. It’s worth understanding which approach a firm uses, since it shapes how any number you’re given was arrived at.
What actually drives the cost
What actually drives cost isn’t how an attorney bills. It’s what the plan needs to include, and that comes down to your specific situation.
Someone early in their career, building assets and starting a family, usually needs a more straightforward plan. Someone in their sixties, with a home, retirement accounts, and adult children, is often planning around more complexity: how assets pass to multiple beneficiaries, whether a blended family needs specific language, whether long-term care and asset protection belong in the plan. We build the plan around whichever situation is actually in front of us, rather than starting from a standard package and adjusting from there.
Why we start with a conversation, not a quote
We don’t have a single number we give every family who calls about a trust, or a will, or any part of an estate plan. The fee depends on what you actually need, and we won’t know that until we understand your family, what you own, and what you’re trying to protect.
We treat a trust, a will, powers of attorney, and healthcare directives as tools built for a purpose, not separate items on a menu. The right combination is different for every family we work with, which is why building it starts with a conversation about your situation rather than a quote based on a category.
What the first conversation actually covers
Before we talk about cost, we talk with you: about your family, what you own, who you want to protect, and what happens if something changes unexpectedly. That conversation is what tells us which tools belong in your plan, and it’s also where you’ll get a clear answer on cost that’s specific to your situation.
Frequently asked questions
Why can’t I just get a flat price up front? Because the fee depends on what your plan actually needs, and that’s different for every family. We’d rather understand your situation first and give you a number that actually reflects it.
Is a trust more expensive than a will? It depends on your situation. What matters more is which tools your specific plan actually needs, and that’s exactly what we talk through with you before recommending anything.
Do all attorneys charge the same way? No. Some price per tool, some bill hourly, and some price around the whole plan. It’s worth asking how a firm charges so you understand what a quote reflects.
What determines what I’ll actually pay? What you own, who you’re planning for, and what your family’s specific situation calls for. Two people the same age can need very different plans.
Do I pay for the first meeting? At Polaris, the first step is a free consultation with our Client Solutions team, where we discuss your family and what you want to protect. We talk about cost once we understand what your plan actually needs.
If you’re trying to figure out what a trust, or a full estate plan, would actually cost for your situation, the most useful next step is a conversation about your family. Call Polaris Estate Planning & Elder Law and let’s talk about what you actually need.
The choice of an attorney is an important decision and should not be based solely upon advertisements.
Ready to secure your family’s future or have a question about getting started? Call Polaris Estate Planning and Elder Law today.
St. Charles Office: (636) 202-1364
St. Louis County: (314) 470-8317
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