Can You Set Up a Trust Without an Attorney? Steps, Risks and Costs

Yes, you can set up a trust without an attorney. The law cares about whether the trust meets your state's requirements and whether you actually move your property into it, not about who drafted it. A simple revocable living trust is a common do-it-yourself project; a trust for a disabled family member, a business or a large estate is where a lawyer's review pays for itself.

Many states base their trust law on the Uniform Trust Code. Florida's version is typical: a trust is created only if (Fla. Stat. § 736.0402(1)):

Requirement	What it means in practice
The settlor has capacity	You understand what you're signing
The settlor shows intent to create a trust	The document clearly says you're creating one
There's a definite beneficiary (or an allowed purpose, such as charity or pet care)	Name the people who benefit
The trustee has duties to perform	The trustee manages property for the beneficiaries
The same person isn't the sole trustee and sole beneficiary	Name a successor or other beneficiary

We checked § 736.0402 on November 7, 2026. Signing rules differ: some states require witnesses or a notary, especially for trust terms that work like a will, and a deed to real estate almost always has to be notarized and recorded.

Compare the cost

Put in a lawyer's flat fee for a trust package, any extra hours, and the recording and notary costs you'll pay either way.

The defaults are an example, not a typical price: a $1,500 package, 2 hours at $300 for funding help and $150 in recording and notary costs, $2,250 in all. For a do-it-yourself trust, set the fee and hours to zero, put the cost of the forms or software in flat fees, and keep the recording costs.

Steps to do it yourself

1. List your assets and decide which belong in the trust: real estate, bank and brokerage accounts, business interests.
2. Choose a trustee and a successor. For a revocable trust, you're usually the first trustee.
3. Draft the trust document from a reputable state-specific form or software, naming beneficiaries and what each receives.
4. Sign it the way your state requires, with a notary even if it isn't required, since banks and title companies often ask.
5. Fund the trust. Record a new deed to the trustee, retitle accounts, and update beneficiary designations where it makes sense.
6. Sign a pour-over will that sends anything left outside the trust into it.

Where do-it-yourself trusts go wrong

• Not funding it. An empty trust doesn't avoid probate. Property still in your name goes through the court. See our guide to probate lawyer cost.
• Retirement accounts. Naming a trust as beneficiary of an IRA or 401(k) has tax effects that are easy to get wrong.
• A beneficiary on public benefits. An inheritance can cost them SSI or Medicaid unless the trust is written for that.
• Real estate in another state. It may need its own deed under that state's rules.
• Vague wording. Unclear terms are what lead to court fights between relatives.

What an estate planning attorney costs

Estate planning lawyers usually quote a flat fee for a package: a will, a revocable trust, powers of attorney and health care directives, with a lower price for a will-only plan and a higher one for couples or for tax planning. Funding the trust, such as preparing and recording deeds, is sometimes extra. Ask what the package includes, whether the lawyer retitles accounts for you, and what later changes cost. The estimator above works for a quote either way.

Paying a lawyer for part of the job

You don't have to choose between doing everything yourself and paying for a full package. Under ABA Model Rule 1.2(c), as states have adopted it, a lawyer can agree to a limited task, such as reviewing the trust you drafted or preparing only the deed, if the limit is reasonable and you agree to it. Ask for the scope and the fee in writing.