A living will costs anywhere from $0 to about $1,000, and most people spend somewhere between $0 and $300. The floor is free because every state publishes a legally valid advance directive form you can download and sign at home. The ceiling is a standalone document drafted by an estate planning attorney. Where you land on that range depends on how complicated your wishes are, whether you want a professional reviewing your choices, and whether you’re buying the living will by itself or as part of a broader estate plan.
The Free Route
Every state offers a free, legally compliant living will form. State health departments publish standardized advance directive forms you can download, print, and sign according to your state’s instructions. The National Institute on Aging confirms that free advance directive forms are available for every state.1National Institute on Aging. Preparing a Living Will AARP maintains a directory covering all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, with instructions for filling each one out.
You can also get the paperwork from a hospital. Federal law requires every hospital, skilled nursing facility, home health agency, and hospice program that accepts Medicare or Medicaid to give you written information about your right to create an advance directive at admission or enrollment.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 U.S. Code 1395cc – Agreements With Providers of Services Many of these facilities will hand you the forms. Social workers and patient advocates routinely help patients complete them. If you’re already admitted and don’t have a living will, ask the social work or patient advocacy department.
The free route works cleanly when your wishes are straightforward: declining life-sustaining treatment if you’re terminally ill or permanently unconscious fits standard forms without trouble. Where free forms fall short is unusual situations — specific instructions about experimental treatments, religious considerations that don’t fit checkbox forms, or family dynamics where you want to explain your reasoning in detail.
Online Services: Roughly $50 to $250
Online platforms sit between free forms and full attorney work. Basic plans that include a living will start around $50 and go up to roughly $150. Some services, including FreeWill, offer advance healthcare directives at no charge. Comprehensive packages bundling a living will with a last will and healthcare power of attorney generally run $100 to $250, with premium tiers reaching $400 or more when trusts are included.
These platforms walk you through a questionnaire, generate a document tailored to your state’s requirements, and often include instructions for proper signing and witnessing. The better ones update their templates when state laws change and let you revise your documents later. The trade-off is that no human reviews your specific situation. If you pick options that contradict each other or don’t quite capture what you mean, the software won’t catch it.
Attorney-Drafted Living Will: $200 to $1,000
An attorney drafting a standalone living will or advance healthcare directive typically charges $200 to $1,000 as a flat fee. Where you land depends mostly on geography and whether the attorney specializes in estate planning. A general practitioner in a smaller city might charge $200 to $400. An elder law specialist in a major metro area could charge $600 to $1,000 for the same document.
Attorneys who bill hourly create more cost uncertainty. Hourly rates for estate planning attorneys range from about $150 to $400 depending on experience and location. A living will is a relatively simple document, so even at hourly rates you’re unlikely to spend more than an hour or two of attorney time unless your situation is complicated.
Paying an attorney is most worthwhile in three scenarios: you have medical conditions that call for nuanced instructions, your family is likely to disagree about your care, or you want someone to explain the practical consequences of each choice. An attorney can also flag issues you hadn’t considered, such as whether your state’s form covers organ donation preferences or what happens if you move.
Bundled Into an Estate Plan: $2,000 to $5,000+
Most attorneys recommend creating a living will as part of a broader estate plan rather than as a standalone document. A full package that includes a last will, revocable trust, financial power of attorney, healthcare power of attorney, and living will typically costs $2,000 to $5,000 or more, depending on estate complexity. The living will portion adds relatively little to the total because the attorney is already familiar with your situation.
Bundling makes sense because the documents work together. Your healthcare power of attorney names someone to make medical decisions when you can’t; your living will tells that person and the medical team what you actually want. Drafting them at the same time keeps them consistent. It also avoids paying $400 for a standalone living will now and then paying again later when you realize you need the other documents.
One point worth building into your budget: you almost certainly need both a living will and a healthcare power of attorney, not just a living will. A living will activates only in narrow circumstances — terminal illness or permanent unconsciousness where you can’t communicate. A healthcare power of attorney is broader, authorizing someone to make any medical decision on your behalf whenever you can’t, even for temporary conditions. Many states combine both into a single advance directive form. If your state uses separate forms, budget for both. The cost difference when done together is minimal, and having only a living will leaves a gap.
Signing Costs: Witnesses, Notary, and Registry Fees
The signing requirements for a living will vary by state and can add a small cost. Most states require two witnesses to watch you sign. A handful, including Alaska and Idaho, require no witnesses at all. Witnesses generally must be adults who won’t inherit from you and aren’t your healthcare provider.
Notarization is less common than people assume. Most states that address notarization treat it as an alternative to witnesses rather than an additional requirement. Only a few states require both. Where a notary is required, state-set maximum fees typically range from $2 to $15 per signature, though a mobile notary who comes to your home may add a travel fee.
If you can round up two adults who aren’t family members or beneficiaries, you can probably get your living will properly signed for free. Even with a notary, most people spend $5 to $25. Some states also maintain voluntary advance directive registries where you can file your document for a nominal fee, typically around $10.
Updating Costs Later
A living will isn’t a one-time expense to plan around. Major life changes — a new diagnosis, marriage, divorce, or a move to a different state — should prompt a review, and estate planning attorneys generally recommend reviewing advance directives every three to five years even without an obvious trigger.
If you used a free form or online service, updating is usually free or close to it. Most online platforms let you log back in and generate a new document. If you used an attorney, expect $75 to $300 for revisions depending on how extensive the changes are. Changing your healthcare agent’s name costs less than a full rewrite of your treatment preferences.
POLST Forms Are Not Living Wills
If you’re pricing a living will, you may run across POLST (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) forms, sometimes called MOLST depending on the state. These are not living wills and they serve a different purpose. A POLST is an actual medical order signed by your physician that tells emergency responders exactly what to do. It’s designed for people who are seriously ill or near the end of life, not healthy adults doing general planning.
POLST forms are typically free. You complete one during a conversation with your doctor, who signs it as a medical order, and the form travels with you between care settings. A POLST complements a living will but doesn’t replace it, so paying for a living will is still the right move if what you want is a document capturing your broader values and preferences for the long term.