{
  "slug": "living-trust-vs-will-cost-calculator",
  "title": "Living Trust vs Will Cost Calculator",
  "heading": "Living Trust vs Will Cost Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/living-trust-vs-will-cost-calculator",
  "summary": "Upfront planning cost against the probate cost your family would pay later.",
  "description": "A will is cheap to write and expensive to administer; a revocable living trust is the reverse. This calculator puts both on the same timeline. On one side is the cost of drafting and funding a trust today, including retitling real estate and updating beneficiary designations, plus a modest ongoing maintenance cost as assets change. On the other is the cost of a simple will plus the probate your estate would go through, which in percentage-fee states scales with gross asset value and in all states costs months of delay. The tool shows total cost under each path, the break-even estate size at the fee levels you enter, and the value of the delay difference if your heirs would otherwise wait a year or more for distribution. The right answer depends on your state's probate cost, whether you own real estate in more than one state (which can trigger separate ancillary probates), and how much privacy matters — probate files are public, trust administration generally is not.",
  "formula": "Trust Path = Drafting + Funding + (Annual Upkeep × Years). Will Path = Will Cost + Probate Cost. Compare totals.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-06",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=living-trust-vs-will-cost-calculator",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "estate",
      "label": "Estate value",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 850000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 25000,
      "max": 20000000
    },
    {
      "id": "trustCost",
      "label": "Trust drafting cost",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 3000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 500,
      "max": 20000
    },
    {
      "id": "fundingCost",
      "label": "Funding / retitling cost",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 900,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 10000
    },
    {
      "id": "upkeep",
      "label": "Annual trust upkeep",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 150,
      "unit": "$/year",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 3000
    },
    {
      "id": "years",
      "label": "Years until estate settles",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 20,
      "unit": "years",
      "min": 1,
      "max": 60
    },
    {
      "id": "willCost",
      "label": "Simple will cost",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 600,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 5000
    },
    {
      "id": "probatePct",
      "label": "Combined probate fees",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 5,
      "unit": "% of estate",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 12
    },
    {
      "id": "extraStates",
      "label": "Out-of-state properties (ancillary probate)",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 0,
      "unit": "count",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 5
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "difference",
      "label": "Trust saves your family",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "trustPath",
      "label": "Total cost — trust path",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "willPath",
      "label": "Total cost — will + probate",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "probate",
      "label": "Probate fees avoided",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "ancillary",
      "label": "Out-of-state probate cost",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "breakEvenEstate",
      "label": "Estate size where trust breaks even",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Estate value: 850000 $",
      "Trust drafting cost: 3000 $",
      "Funding / retitling cost: 900 $",
      "Annual trust upkeep: 150 $/year",
      "Years until estate settles: 20 years",
      "Simple will cost: 600 $",
      "Combined probate fees: 5 % of estate",
      "Out-of-state properties (ancillary probate): 0 count"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Trust saves your family: $36,200",
      "Total cost — trust path: $6,900",
      "Total cost — will + probate: $43,100",
      "Probate fees avoided: $42,500",
      "Out-of-state probate cost: $0",
      "Estate size where trust breaks even: $126,000"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter estate value ($).",
      "Enter trust drafting cost ($).",
      "Enter funding / retitling cost ($).",
      "Enter annual trust upkeep ($/year).",
      "Enter years until estate settles (years).",
      "Enter simple will cost ($).",
      "Enter combined probate fees (% of estate).",
      "Enter out-of-state properties (ancillary probate) (count).",
      "Read your trust saves your family on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "estate": 500000,
        "trustCost": 1800,
        "fundingCost": 500,
        "upkeep": 100,
        "years": 12,
        "willCost": 350,
        "probatePct": 3,
        "extraStates": 0
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "estate": 850000,
        "trustCost": 3000,
        "fundingCost": 900,
        "upkeep": 150,
        "years": 20,
        "willCost": 600,
        "probatePct": 5,
        "extraStates": 0
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "estate": 1350000,
        "trustCost": 4800,
        "fundingCost": 1400,
        "upkeep": 250,
        "years": 32,
        "willCost": 950,
        "probatePct": 8,
        "extraStates": 0
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "Does a trust avoid estate tax?",
      "a": "A revocable living trust avoids probate, not estate tax. Assets in it remain in your taxable estate. Tax reduction requires irrevocable structures, which are a different conversation with different trade-offs."
    },
    {
      "q": "What does 'funding' the trust mean?",
      "a": "Retitling assets into the trust's name — deeds, brokerage accounts, business interests. An unfunded trust is the most common planning failure: the document exists, the assets still go through probate."
    },
    {
      "q": "Do I still need a will with a trust?",
      "a": "Yes, a pour-over will catches anything you never retitled and names guardians for minor children. It is normally drafted alongside the trust."
    },
    {
      "q": "When is a plain will genuinely fine?",
      "a": "Modest estates in states with cheap simplified probate, with most assets already passing by beneficiary designation, and no out-of-state real estate. The break-even figure above shows where that stops being true."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/probate-cost-calculator",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/estate-tax-exposure-calculator"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Living Trust vs Will Cost Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/living-trust-vs-will-cost-calculator)"
}