The average cost of a will runs between $300 and $1,000 when drafted by an attorney for a simple estate, though the full range stretches from free using online tools to $5,000 or more for complex situations. What you actually pay depends on three things: the method you choose, how complicated your estate is, and your family situation.
Cost by Method
How you create the will matters more than where you live or what you own. The three main options sit at very different price points.
DIY Kits and Templates
Printed will kits and downloadable templates start around $13 and top out around $50 to $60 for more detailed packages. Some are free. They work when your wishes are simple: everything to a spouse, or split evenly among adult children, with nothing unusual to sort out.
The risk is real. Most states require two witnesses present at the same time when you sign, and if a beneficiary serves as a witness, a court can void that person’s inheritance. Vague phrases like “share equally among my family” invite the exact fight a will is meant to prevent. These errors usually surface in probate, when it’s too late to fix them.
Online Will Services
Online platforms walk you through a questionnaire and generate state-specific documents. An individual will typically runs $99 to $299. Couples often get a discount for buying two together. Some services are free, with fewer features and less customization.
Most platforms charge a recurring fee if you want to keep editing after the first year. Annual subscriptions generally run $19 to $39. Your will stays legally valid without the subscription; you just lose in-platform editing. Optional attorney review is sometimes available for a few hundred dollars on top of the base price.
Attorney-Drafted Wills
Hiring an attorney for a simple will typically costs $300 to $1,000 as a flat fee. That covers a straightforward situation: one person, clear beneficiaries, no business ownership, no trusts built into the will. Flat-fee pricing means you know the cost before you start.
Complex estates shift to hourly billing, usually $150 to $450 per hour. Newer attorneys in smaller markets charge toward the low end. Specialists in expensive cities can exceed $400 per hour. Estates involving business interests, blended families, property in multiple states, special-needs beneficiaries, or significant tax planning regularly run $5,000 to $15,000 or more once you add the full set of documents.
What Pushes the Price Higher
Two people with the same net worth can pay very different amounts for a will. A few factors matter most.
Estate complexity drives the biggest swings. A home and some retirement accounts is simple. Rental properties in three states, a small business, and an investment portfolio with illiquid assets is not. Each layer forces the attorney to address ownership structures, tax consequences, and potential conflicts among beneficiaries.
Family dynamics add cost quickly. Blended families with children from prior marriages need careful drafting to avoid unintended disinheritance. A child with special needs may require a supplemental-needs trust to preserve government benefit eligibility, and that trust lives inside or alongside the will. Naming guardians for minor children sounds simple but often involves backup guardians, financial arrangements, and custody conversations that take time to draft properly.
Geography matters less than you might expect. Attorney fees do run higher in New York, San Francisco, or Chicago than in rural areas. But the gap between a $400 flat fee and a $700 one is small compared to the jump from a simple will to a complex one.
What the Fee Actually Covers
When an attorney quotes a flat fee, it generally covers an initial consultation, drafting the will, one or two rounds of revisions, and a signing ceremony where the attorney supervises proper execution with witnesses. Some attorneys include a basic power of attorney or healthcare directive in the flat fee. Others charge separately for each document.
Online services typically include the will document, state-specific formatting, instructions for signing and witnessing, and digital storage for at least the first year.
What’s usually not included matters just as much. Tax planning advice, trust creation, beneficiary designation reviews for retirement accounts and life insurance, and deed transfers all fall outside a standard will fee. If an attorney tells you a flat fee covers “estate planning,” ask exactly which documents and services are in the price before you agree.
Add-On Costs
Notarization
A will doesn’t need to be notarized to be legally valid in any state. Attaching a notarized self-proving affidavit, which most states allow, means your witnesses won’t have to appear in probate court after your death to confirm they watched you sign. It’s a small expense that can save your family real hassle later.
Notary fees are set by state law and vary widely, from as low as $2 per signature in some states to $25 in others. A mobile notary who comes to your home or a hospital typically adds $50 to $150 depending on your location and local rules on travel fees.
Codicils and New Wills
A codicil is a formal amendment to an existing will. Attorney-prepared codicils typically run $100 to $400 depending on complexity. For a minor change like swapping an executor, a codicil works. For anything more substantial, most attorneys recommend drafting a new will, because stacking multiple codicils onto one will creates confusion and invites probate challenges. A fresh simple will often costs less than two or three codicils added over time.
Companion Documents
A will covers what happens to your assets after death. It doesn’t cover what happens if you’re alive and incapacitated. Most people who make a will also need:
- A financial power of attorney, typically a few hundred dollars when prepared alongside a will.
- A healthcare directive or living will, in a similar price range and often bundled with the power of attorney.
- A revocable living trust, $1,000 to $3,000 for a straightforward trust and significantly more for complex plans. A trust avoids probate for the assets you transfer into it.
Package pricing for a will plus these companion documents usually costs less than buying each separately.
Free and Low-Cost Options
Cost doesn’t have to be the reason you don’t have a will. Some online platforms offer completely free will creation that produces legally binding documents in all 50 states. You give up customization and attorney review, but a free online will beats no will at all for a simple estate.
Legal aid organizations in most areas provide free will preparation for people who meet income guidelines. Many local and state bar associations run pro bono clinics focused on estate planning, particularly for seniors and veterans. Active-duty military members and their families can get wills prepared at no cost through military legal assistance offices on base.
Budgeting for Updates
A will isn’t a one-time purchase. Reviewing it every three to five years is a reasonable baseline, and certain events should trigger an immediate update: marriage, divorce, the birth or adoption of a child, buying or selling significant property, moving to a different state, a major financial change, or the death of a named beneficiary or executor.
Marriage is the most urgent. In many states, getting married automatically revokes an existing will. Divorce usually removes an ex-spouse from the will automatically, but that can leave gaps if you haven’t named replacements.
Updates cost money. If you’re on an online platform with an active subscription, changes are included. Otherwise, expect to pay for a codicil or a new will at the rates above. Planning for one or two updates over a decade is realistic.
What It Costs to Skip the Will
The most expensive will is the one you never make. If you die without a will, your state’s intestacy laws decide who inherits, a court appoints someone to manage your estate, and a judge decides who raises your minor children. The person the court picks may not be who you would have chosen.
Probate without a will tends to take longer and cost more. Filing fees typically range from around $50 to $500 depending on the state and estate size, and attorney fees for the estate can dwarf what the will itself would have cost. A few hundred dollars spent now on a basic will can prevent thousands in legal costs later, plus the family conflict that intestate estates tend to produce.