Will vs trust cost in Texas

Updated Oct 10, 2026

Short answer

On this site, an online will costs $109 to $199. An online living trust costs $149 to $549. Those are one-person prices, checked 2026-10-10. Couples pay more with most providers. A Texas will can then go to the county clerk as a muniment of title, or with an independent executor. Travis County lists $360 for either application. On a $500,000 estate, the site's probate math caps the executor's commission at $25,000. That figure is a legal maximum. This is general information, not legal advice.

What you pay up front

This is the price list behind will vs trust cost. Each price is for one person. "None stored" means the site's price file has no yearly fee on that row.

Plan	Price	Optional yearly fee
Will, Quicken WillMaker & Trust Starter	$109	none stored
Will, LegalZoom Basic will	$129	none stored
Will, Trust & Will Will plan	$199	none stored
Trust, Quicken WillMaker & Trust Plus	$149	$39.99
Trust, LegalZoom Basic living trust	$399	none stored
Trust, Trust & Will Trust plan	$499	$49
Trust, LegalZoom Premium living trust	$549	$199

The $39.99 is an optional yearly renewal. The $49 is an optional yearly membership. The $199 renews yearly for attorney access. A trust skips probate only for assets moved into it.

Muniment of title

Estates Code chapter 257 lets a court admit a will as a muniment of title. Section 257.001 allows it when the will should be admitted and either the estate owes no unpaid debt, other than a debt secured by a lien on real estate, or the court finds no need for administration. There is no dollar cap.

Section 257.054 requires filing within four years of the death, plus proof of that debt fact or that no-administration fact. Section 257.102 says the order lets a bank, a transfer agent, or a buyer hand over property without an administration. Section 257.103 requires a sworn affidavit within 180 days, listing which terms of the will are done. The court may waive it or allow more time. Skipping it does not undo title. Section 257.151 still allows a later administration within four years of the death, or when administration is necessary.

Chapter 257 uses that debt test. Texas Health and Human Services calls a Medicaid estate-recovery claim a Class 7 claim under Estates Code section 355.102, which makes it a debt of the probate estate. A debt secured by a lien on real estate is the exception in section 257.001.

The Travis County Clerk fee page lists $360 for an Application for Probate of Will as a Muniment of Title and $2 for the Order Admitting Will to Probate as a Muniment of Title. Those two lines add to $362. Citation can add a constable service fee. Copies the clerk makes cost $1 a page. A credit card adds $3 under $100, or 3% at $100 or more. A lost will, a will filed more than four years after death, or a case that needs an attorney ad litem adds a $525 deposit.

Independent administration

A muniment order does not appoint an executor. An independent administration does. Section 401.001 lets the will limit the court to probating and recording the will and the return of any required inventory, appraisement, and list of claims. The same section can forbid independent administration. If the will is silent, section 401.002 lets all distributees agree to appoint the named executor, unless the court finds that is not in the estate's best interest.

Section 402.001 stops further court action after that order and after the approved inventory, or an affidavit in lieu of it, except where the code specifically requires court action. Section 402.002 lets the independent executor take, without a court order, an action a supervised representative could take. The executor still holds letters.

For letters, Travis County lists $360 for an Application for Probate of Will and for Issuance of Letters Testamentary, $2 to issue letters testamentary, and $4 for the order that admits the will and grants letters. Those three lines add to $366. The page also lists issuance of letters of independent administration at $2. Pay the issuance line for the letters the court signs.

A $500,000 estate

County clerks set the court fee, so probateCost() leaves it out of the Texas total. Section 352.051 allows reasonable attorney's fees, with no schedule, so the lawyer's fee is left out too.

Section 352.002 sets a 5% commission on cash the executor actually receives or pays out, capped at 5% of the gross fair market value of the estate subject to administration. Cash on hand or in a bank or brokerage account at death, life insurance proceeds, and cash paid to an heir or legatee are excluded. The Texas record stores the ceiling as a 5% maximum. For a $500,000 estate, probateCost() returns an executor fee and a total of $25,000, marked "up to". If the executor waives the fee, both numbers are $0. The same function returns up to $3,750 at $75,000 and up to $15,000 at $300,000, the example on probate cost in Texas. At $75,000 it still shows the administration cap. Section 352.003 allows reasonable pay instead when the executor runs a business of the estate, or when 5% is unreasonably low. The calculator does not add that pay.

Path	Price now, one person	Travis County lines	Executor commission on $500,000
Will, then muniment of title	$109 to $199	$360 + $2 = $362	no section 352.002 commission unless an executor is later appointed
Will, then independent administration	$109 to $199	$360 + $2 + $4 = $366	up to $25,000, or $0 if the executor waives
Living trust for assets you retitle	$149 to $549	no probate case for assets in the trust	the cap covers property subject to administration

LegalZoom's basic and premium living trusts list a pour-over will. Trust & Will's trust plan lists one too. Property left outside the trust can still go through probate. Moving a house into the trust means recording a deed. The county sets that fee. It is not in the totals above. Enter another value in the probate cost calculator.

When there is no will

Chapter 257 requires a will. Without one, chapter 205 is the small-estate affidavit, and only if the person died intestate. Heirs wait 30 days. Assets excluding homestead and exempt property may not exceed $75,000, and the judge must approve the affidavit. Section 205.006 lets the homestead pass only when it is the only real property. Section 205.008 does not transfer other real estate. Travis County lists that affidavit at $360.

Prices here are the ones stored on this site. Clerk figures come from Travis County or the Estates Code. Another county can charge a different court fee. A bond, a citation, or a contest can add cost. This is general information, not legal advice.

Sources

General information from official sources, not legal or tax advice.