The Estate Planning Guide Est. 2026

How Much Does a Living Trust Cost in Delaware?

By The Estate Planning Guide Editorial Team Researched against primary sources

Published June 11, 2026 Updated September 23, 2026 8 min read

Quick answer

No Delaware law sets what a living trust costs, and we found no published source for Delaware trust-drafting prices as of September 2026 that is not a law firm, an online document seller, or a site paid to refer customers to one. Delaware probate is a reasonable-fee process with no statutory percentage, and Delaware has no state estate tax. A funded trust keeps trust-titled assets out of the court process and off the public record.

⚠️ Educational information only — not legal, tax, or financial advice.

The figures on this page are the ones a statute or a named, dated publisher sets. Laws, fees, thresholds, and prices differ by state and change often, and your own situation may change the result. Before you act, confirm the current numbers and rules for Delaware with a licensed professional — an attorney, tax advisor, or licensed agent as appropriate. Reading this page does not create a professional relationship.

What a living trust actually costs in Delaware

There are three ways to set up a revocable living trust in Delaware. What each includes differs; what each costs is not set by law and is not published by any independent source we could find:

How it’s prepared Price in Delaware What the engagement or the service’s terms state
Attorney-drafted Not set by law; no independent published source found as of September 2026 Whatever the written engagement letter lists. It is the engagement, not a market convention, that fixes the scope.
Online service Not set by law; no independent published source found as of September 2026 Whatever the service’s own published terms list.
DIY template Not set by law; no independent published source found as of September 2026 The document alone. Drafting and funding are the purchaser’s to do.

We found no published source for this figure as of September 2026. The Delaware trust prices that are published come from law firms, online document sellers, or sites paid to refer customers to them. None is an independent publisher, so none is cited here.

No Delaware statute sets what a living trust costs. Delaware trust law governs how a trust is created and administered; it fixes no drafting charge. What is fixed by law is the probate side of the comparison, below. A trust holds assets outside probate only to the extent those assets are retitled into it, and deed preparation — the step that retitles real estate — is a separate charge wherever the trust is drafted.

What drives the price within Delaware

No Delaware statute sets any of these, and we found no independent published source for how much each moves the price as of September 2026. They are the items a drafting engagement is made of:

  • A joint trust for a married couple, against a single-person trust, against two separate trusts.
  • A new deed drafted and recorded for every property retitled into the trust, and a separate one in each other state where property is held.
  • A blended family, a special-needs beneficiary, a business interest, or estate-tax exposure.
  • Whether the price covers the trust document alone or a package with a pour-over will and powers of attorney.

What probate costs in Delaware by comparison

A funded living trust holds assets outside probate. The figure it is measured against is therefore the cost of Delaware probate itself.

Delaware probate is comparatively mild. Attorney and executor fees are 'reasonable' (Court of Chancery Rule 192), not a percentage of gross value, and there is no Delaware estate or inheritance tax — so probate cost tracks complexity, not asset size.

We found no published source for what probate costs in total in Delaware as of September 2026. The ranges that are published come from law firms, online document sellers, or sites paid to refer customers to them, so none is cited here. The Register of Wills charges a filing fee set by its own schedule; that schedule was not read, so no figure is given here.

For the full breakdown, see How Much Does Probate Cost in Delaware?.

How Delaware probate cost compares to trust cost

Delaware probate carries an 8-month creditor claim period: 12 Del. C. §2102 bars a claim not presented within 8 months of the decedent's death, whether or not the §2101 notice was given, which sets the floor on how quickly an estate can close. Delaware now provides a TOD deed for real estate, so a home can pass outside probate without a trust.

A living trust operates on two things: assets retitled into it pass outside probate, and the trust document governs management if the grantor becomes incapacitated. Those are the documented functions; the figures above are what each costs in Delaware.

Delaware-specific things to know

Delaware is a national leader in trust law (the reason so many dynasty and asset-protection trusts are sited here) and has adopted much of the Uniform Trust Code framework in 12 Del. C. Ch. 33. For a simple revocable living trust, though, that sophistication is overkill.

Funding. A trust only avoids probate for assets you retitle into it — record a new deed for Delaware real estate (Delaware charges a realty transfer tax on many transfers, though transfers to your own revocable grantor trust are generally exempt) and change the owner on bank and brokerage accounts. A trust holds outside probate only the assets actually retitled into it; assets left in the grantor’s own name pass through probate whether or not a trust exists.

What affects the price in Delaware

We found no published source for Delaware trust pricing as of September 2026, so this page states no range and no price drivers beyond what the work itself consists of, above. The one price on this page that is fixed by law is the probate court’s, in the section above, with the statute that fixes it cited there.

What determines whether a trust applies in Delaware

In Delaware the operative factors are out-of-state real property, privacy, the 8-month creditor period under 12 Del. C. §2102, and protected-beneficiary distributions. In-state homes can pass by TOD deed.

The circumstances in which a living trust has a documented effect:

  • Real estate, particularly in more than one state — property in another state otherwise requires a separate ancillary probate there.
  • Privacy — a probated will becomes a public court record; a trust does not.
  • Incapacity — a trust governs management during life; a will takes effect only at death.
  • Staged distributions — a trust can direct payment over time; a will distributes at closing.

Where an estate consists of assets that already pass by beneficiary designation or joint ownership, those assets bypass probate without a trust. For the documented differences between the two instruments, see Will vs. Trust: How They Differ.

What the record shows

Item Delaware
Price of a living trust Not set by law; no independent published source found as of September 2026
Governing statutes Del. Ct. Ch. R. 192 (fiduciary commissions and fees); 12 Del. C. Ch. 33 (Delaware trust law); 12 Del. C. § 2306 (small estate affidavit limit); 25 Del. C. Ch. 2 (transfer-on-death deed)
State authority Delaware Register of Wills (New Castle, Kent & Sussex Counties) / Delaware Courts (courts.delaware.gov)

A trust holds outside probate only the assets actually retitled into it; an unfunded trust leaves those assets in probate. The Delaware probate figures this is measured against are set out above with their citations. No figure is published here for what a trust costs to draft: we found no independent published source as of September 2026.

Living trust costs in other states

Compare Delaware with living trust pricing in other states:

This page sets out what Delaware law fixes about a living trust and the probate it is measured against, as of September 2026. It is not legal or financial advice; statutes and thresholds change and depend on your situation. Confirm current figures and rules with a licensed Delaware attorney. It states no drafting price, because we found no independent published source for one. Sources: Delaware Register of Wills (New Castle, Kent & Sussex Counties) / Delaware Courts (courts.delaware.gov); Del. Ct. Ch. R. 192 (fiduciary commissions and fees), 12 Del. C. Ch. 33 (Delaware trust law), 12 Del. C. § 2306 (small estate affidavit limit), 25 Del. C. Ch. 2 (transfer-on-death deed).

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