How Much Does a Will Cost in Texas?
An attorney-prepared will in Texas runs $1,161Estimate: 3 hours at $387, Clio's Texas Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $2,322Estimate: 6 hours at $387, Clio's Texas 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 $27,634Tex. Est. Code § 352.051 (reasonable and necessarily incurred fees; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source.
A will in Texas costs what the provider charges. An online service runs $0 to $299 up front. An attorney in Texas charges around $387Clio Compare Lawyer Rates, Texas: Wills and Estates rate (2025 data)Verified Oct 15, 2026View source an hour for wills and estates work, which puts a simple will at $1,161Estimate: 3 hours at $387, Clio's Texas Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $2,322Estimate: 6 hours at $387, Clio's Texas Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source. The document is only part of the cost: probate adds about $27,634Tex. Est. Code § 352.051 (reasonable and necessarily incurred fees; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source on a $500,000 estate in fees the heirs pay later.
Probate in Texas costs about $27,634Tex. Est. Code § 352.051 (reasonable and necessarily incurred fees; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source on a $500,000 estate: attorney fees of typically 2.2%Tex. Est. Code § 352.051 (reasonable and necessarily incurred fees; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source to 3.5%Tex. Est. Code § 352.051 (reasonable and necessarily incurred fees; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate, plus executor fees, the court filing fee and publication. The estate pays those costs before anything transfers to the beneficiaries. The Texas probate calculator estimates them for a given estate.
No. A will does not avoid probate in Texas; probate is the court process that proves the will, pays the debts and distributes the assets. In Texas, estates valued at $75,000Tex. Est. Code § 205.001/205.006Verified Sep 8, 2026View source or less use the Small Estate AffidavitTex. Est. Code § 205.001/205.006Verified Sep 8, 2026View source, 30 daysTex. Est. Code § 205.001/205.006Verified 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 $1,161Estimate: 3 hours at $387, Clio's Texas Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $2,322Estimate: 6 hours at $387, Clio's Texas Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source for an attorney in Texas. 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 Texas costs $413Estimate: 1 hours at $413, Clio's Texas Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $826Estimate: 2 hours at $413, Clio's Texas Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source for a minor change and $1,652Estimate: 4 hours at $413, Clio's Texas Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $3,304Estimate: 8 hours at $413, Clio's Texas 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 Texas
Free forms for planning your estate in Texas: a will, living trust, pour-over will, both powers of attorney, living will, and TOD deed.
Last Will and Testament
In Texas, a will is signed before 2Tex. Est. Code § 251.051Verified Sep 16, 2026View source witnesses, and a self-proving affidavit signed with it lets the court admit it without witness testimonyTex. Est. Code § 251.051Verified Sep 16, 2026View source.
Healthcare Power of Attorney
Texas allows a choice for a healthcare power of attorney: 2Health & Safety Code § 166.164Verified Oct 15, 2026View source witnesses or a notary.
Financial Power of Attorney
Texas requires explicit durability language for a power of attorney to survive incapacityTex. Est. Code § 751.0021Verified Sep 20, 2026View source, and it is signed before a notaryTex. Est. Code § 751.0021Verified Sep 20, 2026View source.
Transfer on Death Deed
In Texas, a transfer on death deed is signed before a notaryTex. Estates Code 114.001 to 114.106Verified Oct 19, 2026View source, then recorded with the county before the owner's deathTex. Estates Code 114.001 to 114.106Verified Oct 19, 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 Texas, the living will is the Directive to Physicians and Family or SurrogatesTex. Health & Safety Code ch. 166, Subchapter B (ss. 166.031-166.054), with Subchapter A (ss. 166.001-166.011)Verified Sep 27, 2026View source, a document of its own, apart from the healthcare power of attorney.
Tools for Planning Your Estate in Texas
Free tools for planning your estate in Texas: 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 Texas, a parent names a guardian for a minor child in a will or a separate signed writingTex. Est. Code §§ 1104.053, 1104.151–1104.160Verified Sep 16, 2026View source, and the nomination covers the child until the age of majority, 18Tex. Fam. Code § 101.003Verified Sep 16, 2026View source.
Trust or Will: Which Costs Less?
In Texas, a will-based plan pays probate attorney fees of typically 2.2%Tex. Est. Code § 352.051 (reasonable and necessarily incurred fees; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source to 3.5%Tex. Est. Code § 352.051 (reasonable and necessarily incurred fees; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate; 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 Texas runs $4,130Estimate: 10 hours at $413, Clio's Texas Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $6,195Estimate: 15 hours at $413, Clio's Texas Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source and a simple will $1,161Estimate: 3 hours at $387, Clio's Texas Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $2,322Estimate: 6 hours at $387, Clio's Texas 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 Texas, four years at a public university cost about $76,292NCES 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 near the U.S. averageBEA Regional Price Parities, all items, by state, 2024Verified Oct 17, 2026View source; no state estate or inheritance tax appliesNo state estate or inheritance tax; Tex. Const. Art. VIII, § 26 (added Nov. 4, 2025 — HJR 2, 89th Leg., R.S., approved as Prop. 8) constitutionally prohibits any state estate, inheritance, or death tax. Former inheritance tax (Tex. Tax Code Ch. 211) repealed by SB 752 (84th Leg., R.S. 2015), effective Sept. 1, 2015; pick-up tax inoperative since EGTRRA 2001.Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
Are My Beneficiary Designations Protected?
Texas automatically revokes an ex-spouse as beneficiary at divorceTex. Fam. Code § 9.301; Tex. Fam. Code § 9.302; Tex. Est. Code § 123.052; Tex. Est. Code § 123.151; Tex. Est. Code § 114.057Verified 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 Texas costs an estimated $27,634Tex. Est. Code § 352.051 (reasonable and necessarily incurred fees; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source. Attorney fees run 2.2%Tex. Est. Code § 352.051 (reasonable and necessarily incurred fees; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source to 3.5%Tex. Est. Code § 352.051 (reasonable and necessarily incurred fees; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate under a reasonable-compensation standard.
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Texas Estate Planning Resources
In-depth guides covering Texas probate laws, trust requirements, and estate planning strategies.