Educational guide — not legal advice. Costs vary by attorney and Georgia county. A written engagement letter states the exact fee before work begins.
The short answer
“Estate plan” can mean anything from a single will to a full trust package, so the price depends on what you actually need:
| What you’re getting | Typical Georgia cost |
|---|---|
| Basic will only | Not set by law; no independent published source found as of September 2026 |
| Will + financial POA + advance directive (basic plan) | Not set by law; no independent published source found as of September 2026 |
| Revocable living trust package (trust + pour-over will + POAs + directive) | Not set by law; no independent published source found as of September 2026 |
| Complex plan (blended family, special needs, business, out-of-state property) | Not set by law; no independent published source found as of September 2026 |
| Online will (simple situation) | Not set by law; no independent published source found as of September 2026 |
Metro Atlanta runs at the higher end of these ranges; smaller Georgia markets run lower.
What each package includes
A basic will
A Georgia-compliant will customized to your wishes, guidance on naming an executor and guardians for minor children, and a signing appointment with witnesses. It does not include a power of attorney, an advance directive, or a trust — those are separate.
A full basic estate plan
The will plus the documents most adults need:
- Durable financial power of attorney — names someone to manage your money if you can’t.
- Georgia Advance Directive for Health Care — the state’s combined living will + health care agent form.
- Often a HIPAA authorization so your agent can access medical records.
For most Georgia families, this is the sweet spot — a complete plan for a modest flat fee.
A revocable living trust package
Everything above plus a revocable living trust and a pour-over will. The trust operates on the assets retitled into it, and covers if you want to keep real estate out of probate (Georgia has no transfer-on-death deed), own property in more than one state, or want privacy and incapacity protection. Quotes differ on whether trust funding — retitling your home and accounts into the trust — is included.
A complex plan
Blended families, special-needs beneficiaries, business succession, or out-of-state property. The price reflects real attorney time.
What a Georgia trust does that the other mechanisms do not
Georgia sets no statutory attorney-fee percentage for probate, and Georgia levies no state estate or inheritance tax. Neither of the two cost drivers that a trust is commonly said to avoid — a percentage-of-estate attorney fee, as California sets in Prob. Code §10810, and a state death tax — exists in Georgia.
A trust operates only on the assets retitled into it. What the other mechanisms leave in Georgia is real estate — Georgia has no TOD deed, so there is no deed route to pass a home outside probate — together with property in more than one state, privacy, and incapacity management. Accounts that already carry a beneficiary designation pass outside probate whatever else the plan contains. See Do You Need a Living Trust in Georgia?.
Georgia-specific things that affect cost
- No state death taxes. Georgia has no estate or inheritance tax, so tax-driven planning isn’t a factor for most people.
- Year’s Support. Georgia has a distinctive procedure that lets a surviving spouse or minor children set aside estate property for their support — sometimes avoiding full administration entirely. It’s handled after death, but it shapes how much planning a family needs. See Estate Planning in Georgia.
- Witnesses, not notarization. A Georgia will needs two witnesses; a notarized self-proving affidavit is optional but smart. See Does a Will Have to Be Notarized in Georgia?.
Online and DIY options
They’re a good fit when your situation is straightforward and you can confidently answer a guided questionnaire. Georgia’s execution requirements, and the section that sets them, are documented at Does a Will Have to Be Notarized in Georgia?; Georgia recognises no holographic will, so a DIY will follows the same requirements. We found no independent published source for this figure as of September 2026; the ranges that are published come from law firms, online document sellers, or sites paid to refer customers to them.
A reasonable rule: if you can answer every question on the questionnaire without hesitation, online is fine. The moment you’re unsure — a blended family, a special-needs child, a business — that’s when a Georgia attorney earns the fee.
The cost of not planning
It’s worth weighing the price of a plan against the cost of skipping one. If you die without any documents in Georgia:
- Intestacy decides who inherits — the state’s formula, not your wishes. For blended families or unmarried partners, the result is often not what you’d have chosen.
- We found no independent published source for this figure as of September 2026; the ranges that are published come from law firms, online document sellers, or sites paid to refer customers to them.
- We found no independent published source for this figure as of September 2026; the ranges that are published come from law firms, online document sellers, or sites paid to refer customers to them.
Seen that way, a basic estate plan isn’t really a cost — it’s a way to spend a little now so your family spends much less (in money and stress) later.
Ways to spend less
- We found no independent published source for this figure as of September 2026; the ranges that are published come from law firms, online document sellers, or sites paid to refer customers to them.
- Do the prep work — know your executor, guardians, and who inherits what before you meet the attorney.
- Quoted fees vary between firms. Flat-fee quotes for the same package differ across Georgia; each firm sets its own.
- Current beneficiary designations — retirement accounts and life insurance pass outside probate for free.
- Check for will clinics — some Georgia legal aid organizations and bar associations run free or low-cost will clinics for seniors and qualifying residents.
What the record shows
Georgia imposes no state estate or inheritance tax, and probate carries no statutory attorney or executor fee percentage. Georgia has no transfer-on-death deed statute, so real property passes outside probate by survivorship titling or by a funded trust. A funded revocable trust operates on the assets retitled into it and additionally provides non-public administration, successor-trustee authority on incapacity, and administration of out-of-state real property without an ancillary proceeding. We found no independent published source for this figure as of September 2026; the ranges that are published come from law firms, online document sellers, or sites paid to refer customers to them.
Common questions
Do you need a lawyer to make a will in Georgia?
No. You can make a valid Georgia will yourself or online, as long as it’s typed, signed, and witnessed by two people. The execution requirements, with the section that sets them, are documented at Does a Will Have to Be Notarized in Georgia?; who drafted the document is not among them. What an attorney-drafted package adds is drafting, supervision of execution, and the accompanying powers of attorney and directive.
Does Georgia have an estate or inheritance tax?
No — Georgia has neither. Only the federal estate tax (very large estates) applies.
How much does a living trust cost in Georgia?
A trust operates only on the assets retitled into it. We found no independent published source for this figure as of September 2026; the ranges that are published come from law firms, online document sellers, or sites paid to refer customers to them.
Is an online will valid in Georgia?
Yes, if it’s typed, signed, and witnessed by two people. Georgia does not accept handwritten (holographic) wills, so follow the signing instructions carefully.
Related reading
- Does a Will Have to Be Notarized in Georgia?
- Do You Need a Living Trust in Georgia?
- Estate Planning in Georgia: The Complete Guide
- How Much Does a Will Cost with a Lawyer? (national)
- How Much Does a Living Trust Cost?
Educational information only — not legal advice. Georgia estate-planning costs vary by attorney, county, and complexity; figures are 2026 estimates. A written engagement letter states the fee before work begins. Sources: O.C.G.A. Title 53 (Revised Probate Code); State Bar of Georgia; published flat-fee surveys.