Wills are cheap in the short term, but they can be expensive for your family in the long run. A living trust, properly funded, is often the best plan from the overall viewpoint of saving money for the family. Some people care about the cost out of their own pockets to save money later for the family, some don't. It depends on your view.
A properly drafted Trust package, with the necessary ancillary documents (including a pourover Will, Nomination of Conservator, Advance Health Care Directive, and
Power of Attorney
for financial matters at a minimum), and the documents needed to transfer your assets to the Trust, will cost you from about $2,000 up, depending on the documents and your assets. HOWEVER, NOTE that a fee for a complete Trust package (even if it is several thousand dollars) is far less than the potential statutory probate fee that will be charged to your estate when you die if you still own the house. You can pay the Trust fee now to save your family fees later. If you don't set up a Trust, your children will bear the probate fee when you die.
If you use a simple Will to pass your estate to your children, the cost to you now will range anywhere from $500 to perhaps $1500 for a complete set of documents including the Will, Nomination of Conservator, Advance Health Care Directive, and Power of Attorney for financial matters. HOWEVER, when you get sick or die, your children will have to pay additional attorney fees to handle a Conservatorship for you, or to probate your Will.
The probate fee on a house valued at $600,000 is set by statute, and is $15,000 each to the attorney and the personal representative. If you have additional assets to probate the additional fee will be 2% of those assets up to $1 Million. If the total estate is valued at from $1 to 25 Million, the additional fee on those assets ranges from 1% to 1/2% of those additional assets.
BOTTOM LINE? Don't try to do your own estate plan without the advice of an estate planning attorney. Consult with an estate planning attorney, and review the estate planning options available and suitable for you. Many estate planning attorneys offer a courtesy initial consultation to discuss your plan with you.
