What a will or estate plan costs in Dallas, and what actually moves the price

The short answer: complexity sets the price, not wealth

What a will or estate plan costs depends mostly on how complicated your family and your property are, not on how much the estate is worth. A married couple with children, a house and ordinary accounts sits at the simple end; a blended family, a business, property in another state or a trust adds drafting time and therefore cost. I do not publish a fee list, because two people asking for "a will" often need very different documents. I quote a fee once I understand the situation, at the first conversation.

That answer can feel evasive when you are trying to budget, so the rest of this guide explains the pieces that actually move the number. Once you know them, you can describe your situation to any estate planning attorney and get a meaningful quote instead of a range that means nothing. Everything here is general information from my practice, not advice about your situation.

What is usually inside a basic plan

Most people who ask about price are really asking about a package of documents, not a single will. For a typical family, the foundation looks like the list below. Each document is drafted for your situation, so the total depends on how many of them you need and how much tailoring each one takes.

A plan with only a will is rare in my experience, because the documents that work while you are alive matter as much as the one that works after you die. I explain those separately in my guide on powers of attorney and medical directives.

• A will naming an executor, a guardian for minor children and who inherits
• A trust inside the will for a child's share, if your children are young
• A durable power of attorney for finances
• A medical power of attorney
• A directive to physicians stating your wishes about life-sustaining treatment
• Help aligning beneficiary forms and account titles with the plan

Seven things that push the fee up or down

When I hear a new client describe their family and property, these are the factors I am listening for. None of them is a problem; each simply means more provisions to write and more decisions to talk through.

Notice that the dollar size of the estate is not on the list. A modest estate in a blended family can take more care than a large estate where everything goes to one spouse and then to the children equally.

• Family shape: a first marriage with shared children is simpler than a blended family or children from more than one relationship
• Minor or vulnerable heirs: a child under 18, a child with special needs or an heir who should not receive a lump sum calls for trust provisions
• A business interest: ownership in a company raises questions about who runs it and who inherits it
• Real estate in more than one state: property outside Texas can require its own planning
• A trust-based plan: a revocable living trust takes more drafting than a will-based plan
• Specific conditions: wanting to control when and how heirs receive money adds terms
• Old documents to unwind: an existing will, trust or marital agreement has to be reviewed and coordinated

A will or a trust is the biggest single decision

The largest swing in cost usually comes from choosing between a plan built around a will and a plan built around a revocable living trust. A trust-based plan typically involves the trust itself, a short "pour-over" will, and the work of retitling assets into the trust. That last step is where trust plans succeed or fail, and it takes time.

Many Texas families do not need a living trust. A will that names an independent executor keeps probate fairly streamlined here. Others benefit from one, particularly when there is property in another state or a strong wish for privacy. I walk through how to tell the difference in will or living trust in Texas: which one your family actually needs. The right choice is the one that fits the family, not the one that costs more or less.

It also helps to think about cost over time rather than only at signing. A will-based plan usually costs less up front, and the work comes later, when the executor takes the will through probate. A trust-based plan puts more of the work at the beginning, in drafting and retitling, so that less is left for the family afterward. Neither is free in total. The question is when you would rather the effort happen, and how much your family would struggle with a court process when the time comes.

The cost of having no plan at all

Families comparing quotes sometimes forget the other side of the ledger: what the estate spends when there is no plan. That cost does not appear on an invoice from me; it comes out of the estate before anyone inherits, and the family pays it at the hardest possible time.

Some of those costs are visible in public court information. The Dallas County Clerk's probate FAQ lists a base fee of $360 for a new probate application and a $500 cash deposit for an attorney ad litem, the lawyer a court appoints in some cases, such as to represent unknown heirs when there is no will. Fees change, so treat those as examples rather than a current quote. TexasLawHelp.org also notes that almost all probate cases require a lawyer, and that attorney fees for locating heirs in an estate without a will are paid from the estate.

The larger cost is usually time. Without a will, the court first has to determine who the heirs are before anyone can be appointed to handle the estate, and the family may not be able to sell or refinance the house until title is settled. I describe that process in my guide to what probate involves after a parent dies.

How to get a fee quote that means something

Calling an office and asking "how much is a will" rarely gets a useful answer, because the honest response is that it depends. You will get a better answer faster if you give the attorney the facts that drive the price up front.

Before you call, put together a short summary of your situation. You do not need exact figures or account numbers for this step, just enough for the attorney to see the shape of the plan.

• Marital status, and whether either spouse has children from another relationship
• Ages of your children, and whether any has special needs
• Whether you own a business or real estate outside Texas
• Roughly what you own and how it is titled
• Whether you already have a will, trust or marital agreement
• What prompted you to call now

Questions to ask about the fee itself

Once you have described your situation, ask how the fee is structured. Estate planning attorneys commonly quote a flat fee for a defined set of documents, though some bill by the hour. Either can be fair; what matters is knowing what is included before you start. In my practice, I discuss the fee at the first conversation, once I understand what is involved.

For a fuller checklist on choosing the attorney, not only the price, see the questions worth asking before you hire an estate planning attorney.

• Is the fee flat or hourly, and what exactly does it cover?
• Are drafts and revision meetings included?
• Is the signing, with witnesses and a notary, included?
• Will you help update beneficiary forms and deeds, or is that separate?
• What would a later update cost if my family changes?
• If I need probate help later, do you handle that too?

Where people try to save and end up paying more

The most common false economy I see is the free or cheap online will that does not fit Texas law or the family. The Supreme Court of Texas has approved basic will forms that TexasLawHelp.org publishes, and for a simple situation they can be better than nothing. But they are written for four standard family types, and the site itself says they are not a substitute for a lawyer's advice. Blended families, minor children with significant assets and business owners are exactly where a form leaves gaps.

The second false economy is paying for good documents and never finishing the follow-up. A trust that was never funded, or a retirement account whose beneficiary form still names a former spouse, can undo the plan you paid for. The third is waiting for a better time. A plan written now can be changed later at modest cost; no plan cannot be fixed after a death or a disabling illness.

What the first conversation with me looks like

I practice alone from my office on Plano Road in the Lake Highlands area of Dallas, so when you call, you talk with the attorney who will draft your documents. I have been licensed in Texas since 1969, and for more than 20 years my practice has centered on wills, trusts and probate.

In the first conversation, by phone or at the office, I ask about your family, what you own and what you want to happen. I explain what Texas law would do without a plan, what I would recommend instead and what it will cost. If you decide to go ahead, we move through drafts and a signing at a pace that suits you. Specific fees, documents and timelines are confirmed with me directly; for anything beyond general information, talk to a licensed Texas attorney about your own facts.

Questions people ask me