One of the first questions we hear from clients considering a living trust is a simple one: what’s this going to cost? It’s a fair question, and the honest answer is that it depends on your situation. Here’s a realistic breakdown of what living trusts typically cost in Arizona in 2026, what drives that price up or down, and how it compares to the cost of doing nothing and leaving your family to deal with probate instead.
Typical Living Trust Costs in Arizona
Across Arizona, a revocable living trust prepared by an experienced estate planning attorney generally runs between $1,500 and $4,500, depending on whether you’re planning individually or as a couple and how complex your estate is. Simpler online or document-preparation services can run less, sometimes just a few hundred dollars, but typically without an attorney’s guidance, without help actually transferring your property into the trust, and without anyone to catch mistakes specific to your situation.
At Fleming & Monroe, our Trust Package is a flat $2,950 for a married couple or $2,150 for an individual. It includes the trust, a will, powers of attorney, a living will, and one deed. See the full breakdown of our packages below.
What Affects the Cost of a Living Trust
Individual vs. couple. A trust for a married couple usually costs more than an individual trust, though often less than two separate individual trusts.
Complexity of your estate. More properties, business interests, or a blended family typically mean more planning and documentation.
What’s included. A complete plan often bundles the trust with a pour-over will, financial and healthcare powers of attorney, and a living will. Make sure you understand exactly what’s included in any quote you receive.
Trust funding. Actually transferring property, like your home, into the trust is a separate but essential step, and one that’s easy to overlook if it isn’t included in your package.
Costs Beyond the Initial Trust Document
The quoted price for a living trust typically covers drafting the trust and its companion documents, but a few line-item costs often come up separately. Transferring your home into the trust requires recording a new deed with the county recorder, which carries a recording fee. Many estate planning documents must be notarized, and Arizona allows notaries to charge up to $10 per signature. Future amendments, updating your trust after a move, a new asset, or a change in beneficiaries, are usually billed separately from your original preparation fee. Ask upfront whether these are included in your quote or billed separately, since they can meaningfully affect your total cost.
Beyond those items, a properly funded revocable living trust generally does not carry ongoing management fees. You typically remain your own trustee during your lifetime, so there is no outside party charging recurring administration costs the way a managed investment account might. The main future costs are the ones already mentioned, amendments if your situation changes, plus any professional help your successor trustee may want when the trust is eventually settled.
Living Trust vs. Will: A Cost Comparison
A simple will is usually less expensive to prepare than a living trust. But a will does not avoid probate, and Arizona probate typically costs families thousands of dollars and takes six months to a year or longer to resolve. When you weigh the upfront cost of a trust against the time, expense, and loss of privacy that probate creates for your family later, a trust is often the more cost-effective choice over the long run, not the more expensive one. For a closer look at how the two documents work, see our Will vs. Trust guide.
Why Cheaper Isn’t Always Better
Arizona families generally choose from three paths when creating a living trust, and the price gap between them is real. DIY or online platforms typically run $100 to $1,000, offering a template-based document with little to no personalized guidance or help actually transferring your property into the trust. Certified legal document preparers are a licensed but non-attorney option, generally less expensive than hiring an attorney, though document preparers cannot give legal advice about which trust provisions fit your situation. An estate planning attorney typically runs $1,500 and up, but includes legal advice tailored to your family and assets, and often assistance with trust funding.
Online or document-preparation services can look appealing at a lower upfront price, but a living trust that isn’t properly drafted or funded may not actually avoid probate at all. We regularly meet with clients whose do-it-yourself estate planning documents didn’t hold up the way they expected. A trust is only as good as the planning and funding behind it.
Fleming & Monroe’s Flat-Fee Approach
At Fleming & Monroe, we believe you should know the cost of your estate plan upfront, not after the fact. We do not bill by the hour. Our estate plans are flat-fee packages for married couples and individuals:
- Trust Package: $2,950 for a married couple, $2,150 for an individual. Includes a revocable living trust, declaration of trust, certification of trust, one deed, personal property assignment, last will and testament, durable power of attorney, healthcare power of attorney, living will, and final disposition instructions.
- Will Package: $1,750 for a married couple, $1,250 for an individual. Includes a last will and testament, durable power of attorney, healthcare power of attorney, living will, and final disposition instructions.
- Ancillary Package: $950 for a married couple, $650 for an individual. Includes a durable power of attorney, healthcare power of attorney, living will, and final disposition instructions.
- Deeds: $250, plus a $50 recording fee.
We also accept legal insurance plans, including MetLife Legal Plans and ARAG, which may cover some or all of your estate plan depending on your coverage. During a free consultation, we walk you through which package fits your situation before you commit to anything. You can also compare our packages or read what a full estate plan costs.
Frequently Asked Questions
For many Arizona families, yes. While a trust costs more upfront than a will, it can save your family significantly more in probate costs, time, and hassle after you pass away.
Often, yes. Transferring real estate into a trust, called funding the trust, may involve a new deed and recording fees. Make sure any trust quote you receive clarifies whether this is included. At Fleming & Monroe, our Trust Package includes one deed, and deeds prepared separately are $250, plus a $50 recording fee.
Yes. A revocable living trust can be amended as your life changes, though updates are typically a separate cost from the original trust preparation.
Not meaningfully. Arizona has no state estate or inheritance tax, and a revocable living trust is tax-neutral during your lifetime, you continue reporting income under your own Social Security number as if the trust did not exist. Only very large estates need to consider the federal estate tax, which affects a small share of families.
It may. Fleming & Monroe accepts legal insurance plans, including MetLife Legal Plans and ARAG, which many employers offer as a workplace benefit. Coverage varies by plan, so contact your plan provider or HR department for your case or claim number, then reach out to us and we will help you get started.
Get a Clear, Flat-Fee Quote
If you’re weighing a living trust against a will, or just want a clear answer on what your specific situation would cost, schedule a free consultation with Fleming & Monroe. We’ll walk you through your options and help you choose the package that fits before you decide anything.