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What Trusts Actually Cost

Nobody selling you a trust volunteers the total. Ask for a fixed fee in writing before any drafting begins, and ask separately what it costs to run every year for the next thirty—because the recurring number, not the setup fee, is what decides whether a structure earns its place. Table 23.4 gives realistic 2026 ranges for a competent US practitioner; expect the top of each range in California and the Northeast, the bottom in lower-cost markets, and treat any quote far below the floor as a document-assembly service rather than legal advice.

Table 23.4: Typical Trust Costs: Setup and Recurring

Structure	Setup	Recurring
Will-based plan only (will, durable power of attorney, healthcare directive)	$1,500–$3,000	None until death—then probate
Revocable living trust package (trust, pour-over will, directives, funding)	$3,000–$8,000 typical; to $25,000 with entities and complexity	None—grantor trust, no separate return (section “Revocable Living Trust”)
ILIT	$3,000–$8,000	Crummey notices and premium administration; $500–$1,500 if professionally administered
SLAT, QPRT, CRT, or CLT	$5,000–$15,000 each	Form 1041 or 5227 preparation, $1,000–$3,000
GRAT	$5,000–$15,000 per GRAT—and rolling two-year series means a new one every year	Annual valuation of the funded asset, $5,000–$15,000 if closely held
Sale to an IDGT	$25,000–$75,000 all in: trust, entity, promissory note, and a qualified appraisal at $10,000–$30,000	Entity maintenance, note administration, and periodic revaluation
DAPT or dynasty trust with out-of-state situs	$10,000–$25,000	Resident corporate trustee: 0.5%–2.0% of assets with a $5,000–$15,000 floor (section “Choosing a Corporate Trustee: Pros and Cons”), or $3,000–$10,000 flat for administration only under a directed trust (section “Directed Trusts”)

Three recurring costs are routinely left out of the pitch. A non-grantor trust files its own Form 1041 every year—$500 for a simple one, $2,500 and up once there are multiple K-1s or several states in play. A corporate trustee’s percentage fee compounds against the corpus for the life of the trust, which on a perpetual vehicle is the single largest lifetime expense by a wide margin. And every structure needs a legal review every three to five years, because tax law moves and your family does too.

Is It Worth It? Do the Arithmetic For a revocable trust the comparison is simply setup cost against probate. California publishes its answer: statutory compensation under Probate Code §§10800 and 10810 is 4% of the first $100,000 of the gross estate, 3% of the next $100,000, 2% of the next $800,000, 1% of the next $9 million, and 0.5% of the next $15 million—and the attorney and the personal representative are each entitled to that amount:

Total statutory fees = 2 \times [0.04 (100 K) + 0.03 (100 K) + 0.02 (800 K) + 0.01 (E - 1 M)]

for an estate $E$ between $1 million and $10 million. A $2 million estate therefore generates $2 \times $ 33, 000 = $ 66, 000$ before the $435 filing fee, the probate referee’s appraisal (0.1% of asset value), publication, and any bond. Note gross: a $2 million house with a $1.5 million mortgage is a $2 million estate for this purpose. Against that, a $5,000 trust package returns better than twelve to one, and it is the easiest financial decision in this chapter.

For irrevocable structures the test is different, because you are buying tax savings or creditor protection rather than avoiding a fee. Compare the all-in lifetime cost—setup plus recurring, projected over the years the trust will actually run—against the expected benefit, and be honest that the benefit is probabilistic. The IDGT in section “Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts (IDGTs)” costs perhaps $50,000 to build and moves roughly $20 million out of a taxable estate, avoiding some $8 million of tax: a rounding error against the payoff. A DAPT holding $800,000 and paying a $10,000 minimum trustee fee is spending 1.25% a year, forever, insuring against a lawsuit that may never come. Both are defensible; only one is obviously correct. If the annual cost exceeds roughly 1% of what the structure protects, or the setup exceeds a tenth of the tax it saves, the structure is probably too elaborate for the problem. Selecting a trustee dictates the success of your estate plan. For revocable trusts:

Grantors typically serve as the initial trustees, maintaining complete control over the assets.
Successor trustees are designated to assume control upon the grantor’s incapacity or death.

For irrevocable trusts, the choice is more permanent. The trustee can be an individual (a family member, friend, attorney, or private fiduciary) or an institution (a corporate trust company).

Key selection criteria:

Administrative and Financial Competence: The trustee must file annual trust tax returns (Form 1041 under IRC §641 for non-grantor trusts or comply with grantor reporting under IRC §§671–679) and manage investments under the Prudent Investor Rule.
Fiduciary Integrity: The trustee must manage assets solely in the interests of the beneficiaries, avoiding conflicts of interest.
Availability: Trustee duties require significant time, from asset accounting to coordinating distributions. Individual trustees may serve without fee, while corporate trustees charge an annual asset-based fee (typically 0.5% to 2.0% of assets under management).

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