How Much Does a Will Cost in Missouri?
An attorney-prepared will in Missouri runs $984Estimate: 3 hours at $328, Clio's Missouri Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $1,968Estimate: 6 hours at $328, Clio's Missouri Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source, against $0 to $299 up front with an online service, and probate on a $500,000 estate adds about $28,815RSMo § 473.153(3) (statutory minimum: 5% first $5K, 4% next $20K, 3% next $75K, 2.75% next $300K, 2.5% next $600K, 2% over $1M; where reasonable compensation exceeds the minimum the court shall allow additional compensation — extraordinary services not required). Per § 473.153(1) the base is personal property administered plus proceeds of court-ordered real property sales; unsold real property is excluded.Verified Sep 8, 2026View source.
A will in Missouri costs what the provider charges. An online service runs $0 to $299 up front. An attorney in Missouri charges around $328Clio Compare Lawyer Rates, Missouri: Wills and Estates rate (2025 data)Verified Oct 15, 2026View source an hour for wills and estates work, which puts a simple will at $984Estimate: 3 hours at $328, Clio's Missouri Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $1,968Estimate: 6 hours at $328, Clio's Missouri Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source. The document is only part of the cost: probate adds about $28,815RSMo § 473.153(3) (statutory minimum: 5% first $5K, 4% next $20K, 3% next $75K, 2.75% next $300K, 2.5% next $600K, 2% over $1M; where reasonable compensation exceeds the minimum the court shall allow additional compensation — extraordinary services not required). Per § 473.153(1) the base is personal property administered plus proceeds of court-ordered real property sales; unsold real property is excluded.Verified Sep 8, 2026View source on a $500,000 estate in fees the heirs pay later.
Probate in Missouri costs about $28,815RSMo § 473.153(3) (statutory minimum: 5% first $5K, 4% next $20K, 3% next $75K, 2.75% next $300K, 2.5% next $600K, 2% over $1M; where reasonable compensation exceeds the minimum the court shall allow additional compensation — extraordinary services not required). Per § 473.153(1) the base is personal property administered plus proceeds of court-ordered real property sales; unsold real property is excluded.Verified Sep 8, 2026View source on a $500,000 estate: attorney fees set by statute as a percentage of the gross estateRSMo § 473.153(3) (statutory minimum: 5% first $5K, 4% next $20K, 3% next $75K, 2.75% next $300K, 2.5% next $600K, 2% over $1M; where reasonable compensation exceeds the minimum the court shall allow additional compensation — extraordinary services not required). Per § 473.153(1) the base is personal property administered plus proceeds of court-ordered real property sales; unsold real property is excluded.Verified Sep 8, 2026View source, plus executor fees, the court filing fee and publication. The estate pays those costs before anything transfers to the beneficiaries. The Missouri probate calculator estimates them for a given estate.
No. A will does not avoid probate in Missouri; probate is the court process that proves the will, pays the debts and distributes the assets. In Missouri, estates valued at $40,000RSMo § 473.097Verified Sep 8, 2026View source or less use the Small Estate AffidavitRSMo § 473.097Verified Sep 8, 2026View source, 30 daysRSMo § 473.097Verified Sep 8, 2026View source after death, a court filing short of full probate. A revocable living trust transfers assets to the beneficiaries without probate at any estate size.
An online will service costs $0 to $299 up front against $984Estimate: 3 hours at $328, Clio's Missouri Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $1,968Estimate: 6 hours at $328, Clio's Missouri Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source for an attorney in Missouri. Either way the will goes through the same probate. The lifetime figure turns on the subscription, the amendment charges and the probate expenses the heirs pay at the end.
A marriage, a divorce or a new child means updating the will. Some online providers require a new document. An attorney amendment in Missouri costs $357Estimate: 1 hours at $357, Clio's Missouri Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $714Estimate: 2 hours at $357, Clio's Missouri Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source for a minor change and $1,428Estimate: 4 hours at $357, Clio's Missouri Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $2,856Estimate: 8 hours at $357, Clio's Missouri Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source for a major restructuring.
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New Baby or Adoption
Your family is growing. Your protection should too. Guardian nominations, trusts for minors, beneficiary updates, and the documents new parents need in place.
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Divorce
What divorce does and does not undo: beneficiary designations, your will, powers of attorney, and the one account your ex stays on until you change it.
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Moving to a New State
State laws vary significantly for wills, trusts, and powers of attorney. What to review after relocating to make sure your estate plan still works.
Learn moreForms for Planning Your Estate in Missouri
Free forms for planning your estate in Missouri: a will, living trust, pour-over will, both powers of attorney, living will, and TOD deed.
Last Will and Testament
In Missouri, a will is signed before 2RSMo § 474.320Verified Oct 18, 2026View source witnesses, and a self-proving affidavit signed with it lets the court admit it without witness testimonyRSMo § 474.320Verified Oct 18, 2026View source.
Healthcare Power of Attorney
Missouri requires 2RSMo § 459.015 (optional living will form only)Verified Oct 15, 2026View source witnesses and notarizationRSMo § 459.015 (optional living will form only)Verified Oct 15, 2026View source for a healthcare power of attorney.
Financial Power of Attorney
Missouri requires explicit durability language for a power of attorney to survive incapacityRSMo §§ 404.700-404.735Verified Sep 18, 2026View source, and it is signed before a notaryRSMo §§ 404.700-404.735Verified Sep 18, 2026View source.
Transfer on Death Deed
In Missouri, a beneficiary deed is signed before a notaryRSMo 461.003 to 461.081Verified Oct 18, 2026View source, then recorded with the county before the owner's deathRSMo 461.003 to 461.081Verified Oct 18, 2026View source.
Vehicle Transfer on Death
Name a beneficiary to inherit your vehicle at death without probate. Available in 26 states and the District of Columbia.
Living Will
In Missouri, the living will is the DeclarationMo. Rev. Stat. ch. 459, §§ 459.010-459.055 (Declarations, Life Support) and § 459.250 (Advance Health Care Directives Registry)Verified Sep 27, 2026View source, a document of its own, apart from the healthcare power of attorney.
Tools for Planning Your Estate in Missouri
Free tools for planning your estate in Missouri: what a will or trust costs, whether you need a trust or TOD deed, and how documents are signed.
How Do I Name a Guardian for My Minor Children?
In Missouri, a parent names a guardian for a minor child in a will or a separate signed writingMo. Rev. Stat. §§ 475.045, 475.046Verified Sep 15, 2026View source, and the nomination covers the child until the age of majority, 18Mo. Rev. Stat. § 475.010(15)Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
Trust or Will: Which Costs Less?
In Missouri, a will-based plan pays probate attorney fees set by statute as a percentage of the gross estateRSMo § 473.153(3) (statutory minimum: 5% first $5K, 4% next $20K, 3% next $75K, 2.75% next $300K, 2.5% next $600K, 2% over $1M; where reasonable compensation exceeds the minimum the court shall allow additional compensation — extraordinary services not required). Per § 473.153(1) the base is personal property administered plus proceeds of court-ordered real property sales; unsold real property is excluded.Verified Sep 8, 2026View source; a funded revocable trust keeps those assets out of probate and off that fee.
What Does Estate Planning Actually Cost?
An attorney-prepared revocable trust in Missouri runs $3,570Estimate: 10 hours at $357, Clio's Missouri Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $5,355Estimate: 15 hours at $357, Clio's Missouri Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source and a simple will $984Estimate: 3 hours at $328, Clio's Missouri Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $1,968Estimate: 6 hours at $328, Clio's Missouri Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.
How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?
In Missouri, four years at a public university cost about $82,516NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 330.20, public 4-year in-state tuition, fees, room and board, academic year 2022-23Verified Oct 17, 2026View source and the cost of living is 9% below the U.S. averageBEA Regional Price Parities, all items, by state, 2024Verified Oct 17, 2026View source; no state estate or inheritance tax appliesMo. Rev. Stat. §§ 145.011, 145.1000; Mo. Dept. of Revenue, Estate Tax (no Missouri estate tax imposed; no return required for deaths on or after Jan. 1, 2005)Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
Are My Beneficiary Designations Protected?
Missouri automatically revokes an ex-spouse as beneficiary at divorceMo. Rev. Stat. § 461.051Verified Sep 15, 2026View source; employer plans under ERISA follow federal rules either way, so a 401(k) beneficiary changes only by a new designation.
How Do I Sign Estate Documents?
Find witness, notary, and remote signing requirements for all 50 states.
Will My Estate Documents Transfer?
Check if estate planning documents signed in one state are valid in another.
How Much Does Probate Cost?
Probate on a $500,000 estate in Missouri costs an estimated $28,815RSMo § 473.153(3) (statutory minimum: 5% first $5K, 4% next $20K, 3% next $75K, 2.75% next $300K, 2.5% next $600K, 2% over $1M; where reasonable compensation exceeds the minimum the court shall allow additional compensation — extraordinary services not required). Per § 473.153(1) the base is personal property administered plus proceeds of court-ordered real property sales; unsold real property is excluded.Verified Sep 8, 2026View source. Attorney fees are statutory (set by law)RSMo § 473.153(3) (statutory minimum: 5% first $5K, 4% next $20K, 3% next $75K, 2.75% next $300K, 2.5% next $600K, 2% over $1M; where reasonable compensation exceeds the minimum the court shall allow additional compensation — extraordinary services not required). Per § 473.153(1) the base is personal property administered plus proceeds of court-ordered real property sales; unsold real property is excluded.Verified Sep 8, 2026View source.
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Missouri Estate Planning Resources
In-depth guides covering Missouri probate laws, trust requirements, and estate planning strategies.