Will Costs & Will Fees

Estate Planning Fees invariably include Will Costs & Fees. Will Costs depend on the type of estate plan. 

Will Cost: Simple Will 

Every person needs a Will, Powers of Attorney & Living Will. Since 95% of the attorney's time is spent meeting and collecting client information, it will generally take the attorney the same amount of time to draft a Simple Will as it would to draft all the other documents also. This should always be the the case because the attorney's fees, whether transactional or hourly, are based on estimates of time. Consequently, its almost always more cost effective to purchase the aforementioned documents with a Simple Will.

Will Costs: Complex Wills, Detailed Wills, & Testamentary Trusts

Complex Wills,  Detailed Wills & Testamentary Trusts require more time to prepare because they are being prepared to address a specific issue. Because Living Trusts are almost always superior to these more expensive Wills, frequently it makes more sense to draft a Living Trust instead (exceptions exist; e.g., Will w/ testamentary trust for Medicaid planning). 

Consequently, if your Will cost is excessive, and you haven't ruled out a living trust for planning reasons, you should really consider spending a little more to eliminate or reduce future probate costs, estate administration fees and probate taxes. By spending a few hundred dollars more now on your Will Costs, you may likely save many thousands of dollars on costs, fees and taxes.