What Families Should Expect
Estate planning costs can be confusing, especially when the internet offers everything from $99 templates to $20,000 trusts. Many Washington families wonder, “What should this actually cost?” or “Is there a difference between cheap documents and a real plan?”
At Pacific Northwest Family Law, we believe estate planning is not just about documents. It is about protecting your family in two different emergencies: death and incapacity. A complete estate plan includes wills, powers of attorney, health directives, and often trusts or specialized planning. Because no two families are the same, we charge on an hourly basis, with experienced attorneys whose rates begin at around $300 per hour, depending on experience. Your total cost depends on the amount of work needed—not a cookie-cutter package.
This guide explains how estate planning fees work, the ranges families can expect, and why investing in a personalized plan can prevent far greater costs, conflict, and stress later.
For more information about estate planning, see our page Estate Planning in Washington State
Myths and Misconceptions About Estate Planning Costs
Myth: “Estate planning is only for the wealthy.”
National studies consistently show that families of all income levels benefit from estate planning, especially when children, real estate, blended families, or medical concerns are involved. Estate planning is not about wealth—it is about clarity, security, and making sure the people you love are cared for.
Myth: “A cheap online form is just as good as hiring an attorney.”
A template can give you a will or trust that meets the technical requirements of Washington law. What it cannot give you is foresight. It cannot warn you that your guardianship choice may fall apart, that a child could inherit at the worst possible moment, or that a relative you never intended could gain power over your estate. Estate planning fails not when the document is invalid, but when it unintentionally harms the very people it was meant to protect.
Myth: “Estate planning should be a flat fee with no variation.”
Families come with different goals, assets, relationships, and risks. Will-based plans for simple estates require far less work than trust-based plans for blended families, special needs beneficiaries, farmers, or business owners. Hourly billing ensures you pay for the work your family actually needs—not for generic forms that leave dangerous gaps.
Myth: “A simple will should cost almost nothing.”
Cost depends on purpose. A will that takes no time, protects nothing, and requires no thought may indeed cost very little. But most families want a will that addresses guardians, blended-family concerns, special needs, or the division of meaningful property. A will that actually carries out your intentions is rarely as simple as it seems on the surface, and the value comes from the clarity it provides your loved ones—not the paper it’s printed on.
Myth: “Trusts are always extremely expensive.”
The cost of a trust depends on the type of trust and its purpose. Revocable living trusts, the most common type, are often accessible for many Washington families and can save significant expense later by avoiding guardianship proceedings or simplifying probate. More complex trusts, such as special needs trusts or tax-driven trusts, reflect the additional work required to protect beneficiaries.
Myth: “Hourly billing means the attorney can run up the bill.”
Predictability comes from communication, not from the billing method. At Pacific Northwest Family Law, you receive a clear budget before we begin, and we update you before any work exceeds the plan. Hourly billing simply ensures you pay for tailored work instead of paying more for a rigid package that does not fit your family.
Understanding How Pricing Works
How does Pacific Northwest Family Law charge for estate planning?
We primarily use hourly billing, with attorney rates beginning at about $300 per hour depending on experience. Hourly billing ensures that you pay only for the work your plan actually requires. Estate planning is not just drafting documents—it is understanding your goals, reviewing your family structure, identifying risks, and building a coordinated plan that works for both incapacity and death.
Our work includes:
- Meetings to clarify your goals and concerns
- Designing your estate structure
- Drafting customized documents
- Reviewing asset titles and beneficiary designations
- Guiding you through storage, use, and future updates
- Preparing your family to understand the plan and their roles
The time spent reflects the complexity of your life—not a template.
Why does estate planning require BOTH incapacity planning and death planning?
Most families think first about “what happens when I die.” But far more people will experience incapacity—through illness, dementia, or accident—than will die suddenly. A plan that focuses only on death leaves the family exposed to guardianship litigation, court oversight, and emotional turmoil during a medical crisis.
A complete estate plan protects you in two different emergencies:
1. Incapacity: Who makes decisions? Who pays the bills? Who can access accounts?
Without proper powers of attorney and directives, families may be forced into court for a guardianship—a process that is slow, expensive, and emotionally painful.
2. Death: Who inherits? Who handles your affairs? Who cares for minor children?
Without a coordinated plan, even simple estates become confusing, and blended families or special needs beneficiaries face significant risk.
A good estate plan must do both. In fact, incapacity planning is often more important, because it protects you while you are still alive and vulnerable.
What is an advance fee deposit and how does it work?
Before work begins, we ask clients to make an advance fee deposit into our trust account. This deposit is your money until earned through actual work. You receive weekly updates on your matter, and we provide cost estimates before undertaking any substantive work. Unused funds are refunded when the project is complete.
What factors influence the total cost of a plan?
The cost depends on:
- Your goals
- Whether you are planning as an individual or a couple
- Complexity of assets (real estate, businesses, farms, retirement plans, etc.)
- Blended-family or estranged-family dynamics
- Whether you need trusts
- Whether special needs or Medicaid planning is required
- Any tax-planning needs
Every complete plan at PNWFL also includes incapacity planning, because failing to plan for incapacity is one of the costliest mistakes families make.
Cost Ranges for Complete Estate Planning Packages
Below are ranges that reflect typical Washington planning needs. Each includes both incapacity and death planning—because leaving one out creates serious risk.
What does a complete will-based estate plan cost in Washington?
For individuals, a complete will-based estate plan typically costs between $2,000 and $4,500. For couples—whether married or domestic partners—the cost generally falls between $3,500 and $6,500.
These plans include wills, financial and medical powers of attorney, advance directives, HIPAA releases, guardianship nominations for minor children, and any testamentary trust provisions that may be appropriate. They also include a review of your assets and beneficiary designations, along with guidance on storing, updating, and using the plan over time. Individuals with very simple estates usually fall on the lower end, while blended families, couples with complex assets, or families experiencing conflict among adult children fall toward the higher end.
What does a revocable living trust (RLT) plan cost?
For individuals, a revocable living trust plan generally costs between $4,500 and $9,500, while couples can expect a range of $7,000 to $15,000. These plans include all components of a will-based plan plus additional work such as drafting the revocable trust, preparing trust funding instructions, coordinating real estate deeds, outlining successor trustee roles, and establishing long-term inheritance structures.
Because revocable living trusts require more drafting, analysis, and coordination—particularly for families with multi-state property, blended-family considerations, or inheritance protections—trust-based planning typically requires more attorney time than a will-centered plan.
Why are trust plans more expensive than will plans?
Trust plans cost more because they require additional layers of design and preparation. Attorneys must create detailed trust provisions, draft successor trustee guidance, prepare property transfers (including real estate deeds), coordinate with beneficiary designations and financial accounts, and ensure the trust is correctly funded so it functions as intended. This process requires significantly more attorney and staff time, and unlike a will, a trust must be built as a complete working system that your family can immediately use when needed.
What does special needs planning cost?
Special needs planning typically costs between $5,000 and $15,000 for individuals and between $7,500 and $20,000 for couples. These plans often involve drafting a third-party special needs trust, preparing detailed trustee instructions, integrating the plan with SSI, Medicaid, or ABLE accounts, and developing care instructions or letters of intent. Because a single drafting mistake can jeopardize a beneficiary’s eligibility for essential government benefits, these plans require careful, precise work.
What does Medicaid or long-term care planning cost?
Medicaid and long-term care planning generally costs between $4,500 and $12,500 for individuals and between $6,500 and $18,000 for couples, depending on the level of complexity. Costs fall on the lower end when planning is proactive and completed years before care is needed. Crisis planning—when a loved one requires nursing home care immediately—tends to fall on the higher end because it requires intensive work within the five-year lookback period and often involves emergency asset restructuring, spousal impoverishment analysis, and coordination with DSHS.
What does farm or agricultural estate planning cost?
Estate planning for Washington farmers typically costs between $7,500 and $25,000 or more for individuals and between $10,000 and $35,000 or more for couples or multi-heir families. This work often involves multiple parcels of land, water rights, entity structuring such as LLCs or partnerships, succession planning for future generations, and Washington estate tax analysis. Because farmland frequently carries significant value and emotional importance—and because agricultural estates can be legally complex—these plans require substantial attorney time to design securely and effectively.
Comparing Billing Models
Is hourly billing better than flat fees?
No. Both can work well depending on the situation, and Pacific Northwest Family Law offers both. Hourly billing is often the most natural starting point because the cost directly reflects the amount of attorney time involved. This gives you flexibility—your plan evolves based on your goals, not a preset package.
Flat-fee plans offer predictability but rely on a fixed scope. The fee reflects a defined amount of attorney time, and if your needs exceed the original scope, the flat-fee agreement must be updated. Hourly work carries more flexibility, but in some firms it can feel unpredictable because the attorney completes the work and only afterward presents the bill.
At Pacific Northwest Family Law, we do our best do eliminate as much uncertainty as we can. We narrow the risks for both the client and the firm through clear communication, weekly client updates, and cost estimates before substantive work begins. You always know what we plan to do, why we’re doing it, and what it is expected to cost—before the work is done. Predictability comes from communication, not from the billing model itself, which is why our approach makes hourly billing feel structured, transparent, and easy to manage.
Do flat-fee plans exist in the market?
Yes. Many firms—including Pacific Northwest Family Law—offer flat-fee estate plans when a client’s needs are clearly understood and the scope of work can be defined at the outset. Flat fees provide cost certainty because the client pays a single fee for a specific bundle of services, and the fee is typically earned on receipt rather than held in trust.
Flat-fee work depends on accurate scoping. Sometimes, once drafting begins, we discover details the client did not know to mention—title issues, beneficiary conflicts, outdated deeds, tax exposure, property not titled as expected, or family dynamics that require different planning tools than originally discussed. When those discoveries make the original plan unworkable or unsafe, the flat-fee agreement is adjusted so the legal work matches the client’s actual needs.
Hourly billing offers more flexibility because you pay only for the time actually spent, even if the plan evolves. Flat fees offer predictability by defining the work in advance. Both approaches are valid; the key is choosing the one that fits your family’s goals and comfort level. At Pacific Northwest Family Law, we make either model predictable through clear budgets, weekly updates, and cost estimates before any substantive work begins, so you always understand what we are doing, why we are doing it, and what it is expected to cost.
Practical Considerations
Should I be concerned that high-end plans can cost tens of thousands?
Not every family needs high-end planning. Those costs apply primarily to farms, businesses, special needs trusts, or large multi-generational estates. But for families who do need that level of planning, the cost is small compared to the tax consequences, land loss, benefit disruption, or family conflict that poor planning can cause.
Why hire an attorney instead of using online tools?
Online platforms generate documents; attorneys build plans. A plan clarifies your intentions, coordinates your accounts, anticipates conflict, and gives your family a process to follow. For families with children, real estate, blended-family dynamics, or special needs beneficiaries, a personalized plan offers the protection a template simply cannot.
When is the right time to invest in an estate plan?
The best time is now. Families who wait often wait too long, and the results can be heartbreaking: children placed with the wrong guardian, disability benefits disrupted, farmland forced into sale, or loved ones pushed into court when they should be grieving. A small investment today prevents far greater costs later.
Estate Planning Is an Investment in Your Family’s Future
A thoughtful estate plan is not an expense—it is a safeguard that protects your children, your spouse, and everything you have worked for. Whether your family is simple, blended, growing, or built around special needs or agricultural land, the right plan gives clarity, confidence, and peace of mind.
At Pacific Northwest Family Law, we help families become Family Heroes by making the decisions today that protect the people they love tomorrow. When you are ready to put your family first, we are ready to help.
Reviewed by Attorney Zachary C Ashby, Pacific Northwest Family Law, December 2025.