The average hourly rate for an estate planning attorney in the United States is about $391 to $419 an hour in 2026. Clio’s rate data, updated October 2026, puts the average lawyer rate at $391 for wills and estates work and $419 for trusts work, against $362 for lawyers across all practice areas. State averages for wills and estates run from $319 in Michigan to $471 in California among the 22 states below, and the Oregon State Bar survey puts the 95th percentile for tax and estate planning lawyers at $450 statewide and $740 in downtown Portland (2021 rates).
Most people never see that hourly rate, though. In a 2026 study of 909 law firms, only about 6% billed wills and trusts by the hour; the rest quoted flat fees, with a median of $625 for a will and $2,700 for a living trust package. This page puts every published number in one place: hourly rates by practice area and state, bar survey and court-approved rates, real flat-fee price lists, statutory probate fee schedules, and a cost estimator that converts each fee into hours so you can compare quotes on the same scale.
Short answer: Estate planning attorneys average $391 an hour for wills and estates and $419 an hour for trusts (Clio, October 2026). Paralegal time on the same matters averages $205 to $215. A simple will usually costs a flat $450 to $1,000, and a revocable living trust package $2,500 to $3,500, which works out to roughly 1 to 3 hours and 6 to 8 hours of attorney time at those averages.
Estate planning attorney hourly rates in 2026: every published benchmark
No single number is “the” rate. Each source below measures something different: billed rates recorded in practice software, self-reported rates in a bar survey, or the rate a probate judge will approve when the estate pays. Read the “what it measures” column before you compare.
| Source | What it measures | Period | Figure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clio Legal Trends rate data | Average billed lawyer rate, trusts matters, US | Updated Oct 2026 | $419 |
| Clio Legal Trends rate data | Average billed lawyer rate, wills and estates matters, US | Updated Oct 2026 | $391 |
| Clio Legal Trends rate data | Average billed non-lawyer (paralegal and staff) rate, trusts / wills and estates | Updated Oct 2026 | $215 / $205 |
| Clio Legal Trends rate data | Average billed lawyer rate, all practice areas, US | Updated Oct 2026 | $362 |
| Clio 2025 Legal Trends Report, Appendix A | Same measure, prior edition: trusts / wills and estates lawyer rate | 2025 report | $394 / $370 |
| Oregon State Bar 2022 Economic Survey, Table 37 | Self-reported usual hourly rate, private practice, Tax/Estate Planning (n=281) | 2021 rates | Median $300, mean $309, 95th percentile $450 |
| Oregon State Bar 2022 Economic Survey, Table 37 | Same, Downtown Portland only (n=50) | 2021 rates | Median $358, mean $385, 95th percentile $740 |
| State Bar of Texas Income and Hourly Rate Report | Median hourly rate, full-time private practitioners, all practice areas | 2025 survey (fielded May to June 2026) | $368 |
| Bexar County Probate Court No. 2 fee standards | Court-approved rate for attorneys paid from a probate or guardianship estate | Effective March 1, 2022 | Up to $200 (0 to 2 years) through $375 to $400 (17+ years) |
| LegalTemplates study of 909 firms | Share of firms quoting hourly (not flat) for a POA, will or living trust | Published March 2026 | About 6% (56 of 909 firms) |
Two things stand out. First, estate work bills above the all-practice average: Clio’s wills and estates figure is 8% above its $362 national lawyer average, and trusts is 16% above. Second, rates are climbing fast. Between the 2025 report and the October 2026 update, Clio’s trusts average rose from $394 to $419 (6.3%) and wills and estates from $370 to $391 (5.7%).
The Oregon and Texas surveys run lower than Clio for two reasons you should keep in mind: they are medians rather than averages (a few very high rates pull an average up), and Oregon’s figures are 2021 rates. The Texas survey does not split rates by practice area at all; its $368 median covers every kind of private practitioner, from $238 in the Corpus Christi area to $398 in Austin.
Average hourly rate for estate planning attorneys by state
Clio publishes a page for each state with the average lawyer rate by practice area. The table pulls the three estate-related categories for 22 states, plus each state’s all-practice average for context. All figures are average billed lawyer rates, updated October 2026. Click a state for Clio’s full breakdown.
| State | Wills & estates lawyer avg | Trusts lawyer avg | Elder law lawyer avg | All practice areas lawyer avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $471 | $454 | $404 | $430 |
| Florida | $467 | $464 | $429 | $378 |
| New Jersey | $461 | $470 | $330 | $349 |
| New York | $457 | $467 | Not published | $440 |
| Virginia | $444 | $449 | $363 | $395 |
| Washington | $410 | $332 | $275 | $363 |
| Arizona | $408 | $374 | $275 | $330 |
| Texas | $399 | $440 | $338 | $380 |
| Massachusetts | $398 | $432 | $380 | $360 |
| Maryland | $395 | $431 | $418 | $376 |
| Georgia | $392 | $391 | $407 | $372 |
| North Carolina | $388 | $441 | $263 | $328 |
| Colorado | $380 | $367 | $182 | $337 |
| Illinois | $372 | $459 | $320 | $361 |
| Oregon | $372 | $365 | $361 | $344 |
| District of Columbia | $369 | Not published | $245 | $498 |
| Minnesota | $355 | $373 | $224 | $342 |
| Pennsylvania | $350 | $402 | $289 | $316 |
| Missouri | $346 | $385 | $325 | $314 |
| Ohio | $329 | $331 | $276 | $287 |
| Tennessee | $321 | $331 | $293 | $307 |
| Michigan | $319 | $362 | $283 | $305 |
Rates track metro costs, but not perfectly. Washington’s wills and estates average ($410) is higher than its trusts average ($332), while Illinois shows the reverse ($372 versus $459). Where a state shows “Not published,” Clio lists the figure as currently unavailable, usually because the sample is too small. Elder law, which overlaps estate planning on Medicaid and long-term care work, is lower in most states and swings widely: $182 in Colorado, $429 in Florida.
What bar surveys and probate courts call a reasonable hourly rate
When an estate pays the lawyer, a judge often has to approve the fee. Courts lean on two kinds of evidence: bar economic surveys and their own published rate standards. Those standards are useful to consumers because they show what a court treats as reasonable for a given level of experience.
| Years practicing probate and guardianship law | Bexar County Probate Court No. 2 (eff. 3/1/2022) | Brazos County Courts at Law (work on or after 10/1/2022) |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | Up to $200/hour | Up to $200/hour |
| 3 to 5 years | $200 to $250/hour | $200 to $250/hour |
| 6 to 10 years | $250 to $300/hour | $250 to $300/hour |
| 11 to 16 or 17 years | $300 to $375/hour (11 to 17) | $300 to $375/hour (11 to 16) |
| 17+ years | $375 to $400/hour | $375 to $395/hour |
| Paralegals | Board-certified legal assistants eligible for +$25/hour | Up to $90 (0 to 2 years) through $115 to $125 (11+ years) |
Sources: Bexar County Probate Court No. 2 standards and Brazos County standards for court approval of attorney fee petitions. Both courts say the top tier is reserved for the few lawyers whose mastery qualifies them as experts, and both weigh Board Certification in Estate Planning and Probate Law. Bexar also asks attorneys to bill in 0.1 hour increments and refuses a 0.25 hour minimum, because a short email does not take 15 minutes. That is a fair test for any hourly fee agreement you are offered.
The underlying ethics rule is the same nationwide. ABA Model Rule 1.5 bars an unreasonable fee and lists eight factors, including the time and labor required, “the fee customarily charged in the locality for similar legal services,” and the experience of the lawyer. It also requires the basis or rate of the fee to be communicated, preferably in writing, before or soon after the work begins.
How much does an estate planning attorney cost? Flat fees vs hourly
For document drafting, the hourly rate is mostly a back-office number. The LegalTemplates 2026 study combined published prices from 266 firm websites with standardized email requests to 2,469 firms, and 909 firms gave a price without a consultation. Its national medians and middle-50% ranges:
| Document | Plan type | National median | Middle 50% range | Firms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power of attorney | Single document | $300 | $250 to $400 | 371 |
| Power of attorney | Package | $750 | $475 to $1,175 | 54 |
| Last will | Single document | $625 | $450 to $1,000 | 307 |
| Last will | Package | $1,000 | $750 to $1,500 | 319 |
| Revocable living trust | Single document | $2,475 | $1,600 to $3,000 | 226 |
| Revocable living trust | Package | $2,700 | $2,500 to $3,500 | 221 |
Keep the method in mind: the requests described simple situations (one adult, simple assets, one home for the trust), and LegalTemplates sells do-it-yourself documents, so it has a reason to highlight lawyer costs. The study also found that only 37% of firms gave a price upfront, and that prices vary more between firms in the same state than between states. Its state medians for trust planning range from $1,500 in Colorado to $4,000 in Alaska, and for a single will from $500 in Arkansas to $1,275 in California.
Here is what real firms publish on their own price pages, with the date each page was last updated:
| Firm (state) | Page date | Published price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opelon LLP (California) | Updated Sept 29, 2026 | $2,500 single, $3,500 married | Revocable living trust, will, powers of attorney, health care directive, guardian nominations, deed for the home. Trust administration after death is billed hourly. |
| KEYTLaw (Arizona) | Updated Oct 6, 2026 | $3,500 one person, $4,500 couple; +$1,000 for lifetime asset-protected heirs’ trusts | Revocable living trust plus 35 other documents and services, all meetings, calls and emails. The firm also lists $5,000 as its typical fee for a simple uncontested Arizona probate. |
| Leverson Budke (Minnesota) | Published June 8, 2026 | Will package $800 to $2,000 (couple $1,200 to $3,000); trust plan $2,500 to $5,000 (couple $3,500 to $7,000); complex plan $5,000 to $15,000+ | Ranges, not a single price. Plan review or update $450 to $2,000. |
Hourly billing has not disappeared. It is still common for work whose scope you cannot know upfront: trust administration, probate, contested matters and funding a trust with many assets. Clio’s 2025 Legal Trends Report found that across all practice areas, 54% of firms billed both hourly and flat fees in 2024, 41% billed exclusively by the hour, and 59% used flat fees in some form.
Estate planning cost estimator: flat fees converted to attorney hours
The fastest way to judge a quote is to turn it into hours. Divide the flat fee by the hourly rate for that kind of work. If a firm’s fee implies 3 hours for a simple will, ask what fills those hours. If it implies 40 hours for a trust administration, ask for the task list. The table uses national medians and Clio’s October 2026 averages; swap in your state’s rate from the state table above.
| Matter | Typical published fee | Rate used | Hourly equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple will, single document | $625 median ($450 to $1,000) | $391 wills and estates | 1.6 hours (1.2 to 2.6) |
| Will package (will, POAs, health care directive) | $1,000 median ($750 to $1,500) | $391 wills and estates | 2.6 hours (1.9 to 3.8) |
| Revocable living trust package | $2,700 median ($2,500 to $3,500) | $419 trusts | 6.4 hours (6.0 to 8.4) |
| Trust package, San Diego firm (Opelon) | $2,500 single / $3,500 married | $454 California trusts | 5.5 / 7.7 hours |
| Trust package, Arizona firm (KEYTLaw) | $3,500 single / $4,500 couple | $374 Arizona trusts | 9.4 / 12.0 hours |
| Simple uncontested probate, Arizona firm (KEYTLaw) | $5,000 typical | $408 Arizona wills and estates | 12.3 hours |
| California probate, $500,000 estate, statutory ordinary fee | $13,000 | $471 California wills and estates | 27.6 hours |
| Trust administration billed hourly | No published median | $419 trusts | 10 hours = $4,190; 25 hours = $10,475; 50 hours = $20,950 (illustrative hours, not survey data) |
Hours are simply fee divided by rate, rounded to one decimal. Real matters mix attorney and paralegal time, so the true attorney hours inside a flat fee are usually lower than the figure shown. Use the estimator as a sense check, not as a quote.
To estimate an hourly-billed matter yourself, use this four-step formula:
- Get the rates in writing. Attorney rate, paralegal rate and billing increment (0.1 hour is the standard Texas probate courts ask for).
- Ask for an hours estimate by task, split between attorney and paralegal: inventory, creditor notices, asset transfers, tax returns, accountings, final distribution.
- Compute the base: (attorney hours × attorney rate) + (paralegal hours × paralegal rate).
- Add a contingency for the unknowns the lawyer names (a property to sell, a missing beneficiary, a dispute), and ask what triggers a revised estimate.
Worked example: a trust administration estimated at 15 attorney hours at $419 and 20 paralegal hours at $215 comes to $6,285 + $4,300 = $10,585 before costs. The same work done entirely at the attorney rate would be $14,665, which is why a firm’s staffing mix matters as much as its headline rate.
Probate and trust administration: hourly vs statutory percentage fees
After a death, some states tie the probate lawyer’s fee to the estate’s value instead of hours. That changes the math completely, and it is the main reason estate planning lawyers push living trusts in those states. Four state schedules, applied to the same estates:
| State and rule | How it works | $250,000 estate | $500,000 estate | $1,000,000 estate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California Probate Code §10810 | Statutory fee for ordinary services: 4% of first $100k, 3% of next $100k, 2% of next $800k, 1% of next $9M. Based on gross inventory value, not net of mortgages. | $8,000 | $13,000 | $23,000 |
| Florida Statutes §733.6171 | Fee presumed reasonable: $1,500 up to $40k, +$750 to $70k, +$750 to $100k, then 3% of the next $900k, 2.5% from $1M to $3M. Negotiable; written disclosure required. | $7,500 | $15,000 | $30,000 |
| Missouri RSMo §473.153 | Minimum fee: 5% of first $5k, 4% of next $20k, 3% of next $75k, 2.75% of next $300k, 2.5% of next $600k, 2% above $1M. Counts personal property administered and real estate sold, not real estate kept. | $7,425 | $14,050 | $26,550 |
| Iowa Code §633.197 and §633.198 | Maximum fee: 6% of first $1k, 4% of next $4k, 2% above $5k of gross inventory assets. | $5,120 | $10,120 | $20,120 |
The dollar columns apply each schedule to the full amount as the base, for comparison only; real bases differ by state, as the middle column explains. In hourly terms, California’s $13,000 on a $500,000 estate is 27.6 hours at the state’s $471 wills and estates average, and Florida’s $30,000 on a $1 million estate is 64.2 hours at Florida’s $467. Each of these schedules also allows extra fees for extraordinary work such as litigation or selling real estate.
Florida’s statute is the clearest consumer protection on this list. A lawyer who wants to use the schedule must tell the personal representative, in writing, that there is no mandatory statutory fee, that the fee does not have to be based on estate size, that it is negotiable, and that the client is entitled to a summary of hours or services at the end. Ask for the same disclosures in any state.
Is $400 an hour a lot for an estate planning lawyer? What about $900?
$400 an hour
No. $400 sits between Clio’s October 2026 national averages for wills and estates ($391) and trusts ($419), and below the wills and estates average in California, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Washington and Arizona. It is also inside the Texas probate courts’ approved band for lawyers with 17 or more years of experience ($375 to $400 in Bexar County). In Ohio ($329), Michigan ($319) or Tennessee ($321), it is above the state average for wills and estates.
$900 an hour
For estate planning, yes. $900 is above every state wills and estates average Clio publishes in the table above and above the 95th percentile in the Oregon bar survey, even for downtown Portland tax and estate lawyers ($740). It is not unheard of: the same Oregon survey recorded a statewide high of $1,375 across all practice areas. A rate like that should come with a matter that needs it, such as estate tax planning, a contested trust or a large business succession, and a fee agreement that explains why.
Fee agreement checklist: pass or fail before you sign
| Check | Pass | Fail |
|---|---|---|
| Fee basis in writing | Flat fee or hourly rate stated, with what it covers (ABA Rule 1.5(b)) | “We’ll discuss fees after the consultation” with no written scope |
| Billing increment | 0.1 hour | 0.25 hour minimum on every call or email |
| Who does the work | Attorney and paralegal rates both listed | Only the partner rate quoted, staff time unclear |
| Trust funding | Deed and account retitling either included or priced | Trust drafted, funding left to you with no instructions |
| Changes and updates | Amendment or update fee stated | Every later question billed hourly with no estimate |
| Probate or trust administration | Hours estimate by task; for percentage fees, the disclosures Florida requires | Percentage fee presented as mandatory |
One term searchers ask about here is the “5 by 5” rule. It is not a fee rule. It comes from 26 U.S.C. §2514(e): a beneficiary’s lapsed yearly power to withdraw from a trust is not treated as a taxable gift to the extent it does not exceed the greater of $5,000 or 5% of the trust assets. Drafting lawyers use it to give beneficiaries limited annual withdrawal rights.
For firm owners: pricing an estate planning practice
If you run an estate planning firm, the published numbers above are your market. Prospects compare your fee against a $2,700 median trust package whether you publish prices or not, and the LegalTemplates study counted 457 firms advertising “transparent, flat-fee pricing” without publishing a single price. In my view, publishing a starting price is one of the simplest conversion edges a firm has, and our guide to website copy for estate planning attorneys covers how to present it.
Flat fee vs hourly: which to use where
| Work | Better fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Wills, POAs, standard trust packages | Flat fee, tiered | Scope is repeatable; about 94% of firms in the 909-firm study already quote flat |
| Tax-driven or business succession plans | Flat fee by tier, priced off a scoping meeting | Scope is knowable after intake; clients still want a number |
| Trust administration and probate | Hourly with a task estimate, or the state schedule where one applies | Asset count, sales and family conflict are unknown at the start |
| Disputes and litigation | Hourly | Opposing parties control the hours |
A three-tier structure (basic will plan, standard trust plan, tax or business plan) works well here; the logic is the same as in our breakdown of good, better, best pricing.
Effective hourly rate: the calculation that tells you if a flat fee works
Track actual time on flat-fee matters for one quarter, then run this:
Effective attorney rate = (flat fee − paralegal hours × paralegal cost rate − hard costs) ÷ attorney hours
Worked example with illustrative hours: a $2,700 trust package that takes 5 attorney hours and 4 paralegal hours. Valuing paralegal time at Clio’s $215 trusts average gives (2,700 − 860) ÷ 5 = $368 an hour for the attorney. That is below the $419 national trusts average, so either the price is light or the process is slow. Cut attorney time to 4 hours and the effective rate rises to $460.
Compare that with hourly billing honestly. Clio’s October 2026 national figures show lawyers bill 42% of an eight-hour day (utilization), invoice 90% of it (realization) and collect 92% of invoices. That is about 2.8 collected hours a day. A flat-fee practice keeps whatever time it saves, which is exactly why flat fees reward a tight intake and drafting system.
Price also sets your marketing math: a $2,700 package can carry a very different cost per signed client than a $1,000 will plan. Size spend with an estate planning marketing budget built on your fees, pick the estate planning marketing ideas that fit each price point, and tighten how you convert consultations into signed clients once a prospect knows your fee. Firms moving up to larger trust clients should read our notes on attracting high-net-worth trust clients. If you want a second set of eyes on your fee tiers, you can book a consultation.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the average hourly rate for an estate planning attorney?
Clio's rate data, updated October 2026, puts the average US lawyer rate at $391 an hour for wills and estates and $419 for trusts, versus $362 across all practice areas. Paralegal time on those matters averages $205 to $215. Bar surveys report lower medians: the Oregon State Bar found a $300 median for tax and estate planning lawyers in 2021.
How much does an estate planning attorney charge per hour?
Most charge between about $320 and $470 an hour depending on state, based on Clio's October 2026 wills and estates averages: $329 in Ohio, $399 in Texas, $457 in New York and $471 in California. Experience moves the rate too; Texas probate courts approve up to $200 for new lawyers and $375 to $400 for lawyers with 17 or more years.
How much does an estate planning attorney cost for a will or trust?
Most firms quote a flat fee. A 2026 study of 909 law firms found a median of $625 for a single will ($450 to $1,000 middle range), $1,000 for a will package and $2,700 for a revocable living trust package ($2,500 to $3,500). Only about 6% of firms quoted hourly for these documents.
Is $400 an hour a lot for a lawyer?
Not for estate planning. $400 is close to Clio's 2026 national averages of $391 for wills and estates and $419 for trusts, and below the wills and estates average in states such as California, Florida, New York and New Jersey. It is above average in lower-cost states like Ohio, Michigan and Tennessee.
Is $900 an hour a lot for a lawyer?
For estate planning, yes. It is above every state wills and estates average Clio publishes and above the 95th percentile rate of $740 reported for downtown Portland tax and estate lawyers in the Oregon State Bar survey. Rates that high usually belong to complex estate tax, business succession or contested trust work.
What is the 5 by 5 rule in estate planning?
It refers to 26 U.S.C. 2514(e). When a trust beneficiary lets a yearly withdrawal right lapse, the lapse is not treated as a taxable gift to the extent the amount does not exceed the greater of $5,000 or 5% of the trust assets. Lawyers use it to give beneficiaries limited annual withdrawal powers without gift tax consequences.
Do probate lawyers charge hourly or a percentage of the estate?
It depends on the state. California sets a statutory fee (4% of the first $100,000, then declining tiers), Florida presumes a percentage schedule reasonable but lets it be negotiated, Missouri sets a minimum and Iowa a maximum. Elsewhere most probate and trust administration is billed hourly, so ask for a task-by-task hours estimate.