The Estate Planning Guide Est. 2026

How Much Does a Living Trust Cost in Missouri?

By The Estate Planning Guide Editorial Team Researched against primary sources

Published June 11, 2026 Updated September 23, 2026 9 min read

Quick answer

No Missouri law sets what a living trust costs, and we found no published source for Missouri 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. Missouri is one of the few states with a statutory probate fee schedule — both the attorney and the personal representative can each charge a sliding percentage of the personal property administered plus any real estate sold — so probate fees can add up on a larger estate. But because those fees apply only to personal property and real estate that's sold, a beneficiary deed on the home plus POD/TOD designations can keep the biggest assets out of probate without a full trust.

⚠️ 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 Missouri 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 Missouri

There are three ways to set up a revocable living trust in Missouri. 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 Missouri 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 Missouri 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 Missouri statute sets what a living trust costs. Missouri 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 Missouri

No Missouri 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 Missouri by comparison

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

Missouri sits in the middle. It has a statutory minimum fee schedule (Mo. Rev. Stat. §473.153) under which the attorney and the personal representative may each charge 5% of the first $5,000, 4% of the next $20,000, 3% of the next $75,000, and so on — but those percentages apply only to personal property administered and real estate actually sold, not to a home that passes by beneficiary deed. Most estates also use independent administration when the will allows or the heirs consent, which carries less court oversight.

We found no published source for what probate costs in total in Missouri 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 statutory percentage fees on both the attorney and the personal representative apply on top, and scale with the estate.

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

How Missouri probate cost compares to trust cost

Missouri statutory fees apply only to personal property and to real estate that is sold, so a beneficiary deed (Mo. Rev. Stat. §461.025) on a home plus POD/TOD designations on accounts keep the largest assets out of both probate and the fee base at minimal cost. Missouri has no state estate tax and no inheritance tax, so no tax consideration enters the comparison.

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 Missouri.

Missouri-specific things to know

Missouri is a common-law (not community-property) state, so married couples don't get the community-property double step-up in basis. Trust law is the Missouri Uniform Trust Code, Mo. Rev. Stat. Ch. 456. Missouri has NO state estate tax and NO inheritance tax (only the federal estate tax can apply, with its much higher exemption), so a Missouri trust is about avoiding probate and statutory fees, not state death taxes.

Funding. A trust only avoids probate for assets you actually retitle into it — a new deed for Missouri real estate and ownership changes on bank and brokerage accounts. Missouri also offers narrower tools: a beneficiary deed (Mo. Rev. Stat. §461.025) for real estate and payable-on-death / transfer-on-death designations on accounts, which cost little or nothing and keep that value out of the statutory fee base. 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 Missouri

We found no published source for Missouri 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 Missouri

In Missouri the operative factors are out-of-state real property, protected-beneficiary distributions, and incapacity planning. In-state homes can pass by beneficiary deed, and the statutory fee base excludes unsold real estate.

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 Missouri
Price of a living trust Not set by law; no independent published source found as of September 2026
Governing statutes Mo. Rev. Stat. Ch. 456 (Missouri Uniform Trust Code); Mo. Rev. Stat. §461.025 (beneficiary deed); Mo. Rev. Stat. §473.153 (statutory probate fee schedule)
State authority Missouri Courts self-help resources (courts.mo.gov) and Missouri Legal Services (lsmo.org)

A trust holds outside probate only the assets actually retitled into it; an unfunded trust leaves those assets in probate. The Missouri 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 Missouri with living trust pricing in other states:

This page sets out what Missouri 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 Missouri attorney. It states no drafting price, because we found no independent published source for one. Sources: Missouri Courts self-help resources (courts.mo.gov) and Missouri Legal Services (lsmo.org); Mo. Rev. Stat. Ch. 456 (Missouri Uniform Trust Code), Mo. Rev. Stat. §461.025 (beneficiary deed), Mo. Rev. Stat. §473.153 (statutory probate fee schedule).

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