Cost for Irrevocable Trust?

We are also in Texas, and I know this is probably too late. but in Texas you can also do a Ladybird Deed on the house. It names a beneficiary who gets the house when dad passes but until then he retains full control. There are some lawful protections provided by one also. many attys will offer a free first consultation, take care

We paid $1500 last month for our own living trust with three properties put in it. For that price we also got powers of attorney, advance medical directives, and wills -- all very basic forms, really.

We used a trust and estate attorney. Don't use some other specialty, just do it correctly.

We're in California.

SaintPaul, may I ask in what capacity you ask?  Your profile indicates you're caring for your mother who is living at home.    I checked your earlier posts and have the impression you're acting, or searching, on behalf of others outside your family.  

Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I'm wondering if you're acting in an individual, voluntary, or paid capacity.    Is this individual one of your parents?

As to this post, who made the determination that the widower needs an IT and not an LT?   If one of the children is already a Trustee, that infers there's a trust in existence.   Is this so?  

If there's only one asset, and no other income, what benefit arises from an IT as opposed to an LT?  

Once established, what would be needed is to retitle the home into the name of the trust, identifying who the Settlor, Trustee and Successor Trustee is/are.    A PourOver Will used to accompany an LT; I don't know if this is still the practice.

In terms of price, it depends on the complexity of the Trust, the transfers, ancillary documents (such as a Bill of Sale transferring other miscellaneous personal possessions), and especially the geographic location and the size and experience of the firm.

Since you haven't provided a location, it's impossible to guess what the cost would be.  You really have to identify potential firms to handle this, interview them and provide a list of what the Widower wants, as well as what your role is.  

And, w/o intent to challenge anyone else's advice, anyone who thinks trust preparation is easy or can be done through online forms, or books, doesn't really have a concept of how complex trusts can be.   

Do you have any idea how to update yourself on trust law?     Have you ever worked for law firms with estate planning practices?

If you disagree, download the IRA Form 1041, Instruction for Trusts, and try reading through it.    Even with only a house as an asset, there are a lot of complicating factors to understand.


In addition, why should this individual pay to have a VA application completed when one of the service organizations will do it for free?    This would be money spent needlessly.

We got 3 quotes. $1500 from a personal injury lawyer. $6000 from a certified elder law attorney. $3000 from a tax attorney. This was for a bare bones trust, nothing special.

We went with the certified elder law attorney thinking we would spend more to do it right and set up a relationship with the right type of attorney in case there are future elder law issues. If we had to do it again, we would go with the $1500 personal injury lawyer.

Our trust cost us $1500. I did most of the legwork and all the attorney did was input the info and have it notarized. He made a few suggestions of things we'd not thought to add.

VERY basic and no frills. Named our POA's and executrix and made that legal. As things change, we'll go back and do addendums, but so far, it's just peace of mind.

If the estate is simple, it can cost nothing. He can check out or buy a "how to" book about trusts that are easy to read and simple. He can do it himself. When I read this book and wrote my own, it was important to me to hire an estate lawyer to review it to ensure it was correct for me and legal. That was almost 20 years ago, so I can't comment an amount for a review.

These "how to" books will explain the house needs to be "in" the trust, in other words he'll need a QuitClaim deed transferring the house from his name to the trust.

Side note: If the intent is to transfer the house after he passes to be quickly sold, then an easier method may be to get with the city/county government and ask about a Transfer on Death deed. With a death certificate, the property will transfer to the beneficiaries listed. Easy, peasy.

The cost varies depending on your state. My MIL paid $1250 in California and my parents paid $2500 in NV. First lawyer my parents contacted wanted $5k. Both trusts were straightforward irrevocable trusts, 2-3 beneficiaries, one house and no other assets to put in the trust.