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ESTATE PLANNING

How Much Does It Cost to Fund a Trust in Georgia?

Funding a trust in Georgia costs $550 for each extra property, $1,100 for each property in another state, and $1,250 for each business or LLC. Georgia’s own filing fee is a flat $25, no matter which county you live in, and it’s already built into those prices. Your bank accounts, investments, and beneficiary forms cost nothing to move into the trust.

By Melissa Breyer, Esq. 7 min read

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Signing your trust does not finish the job. A trust also has to own your things, and moving each asset into the trust’s name is a separate step called funding. It has its own cost, on top of the trust document itself. At The Hive Law, funding your home is already included in the $3,500 trust package. Every asset after that has its own flat price.

National estimates for this step are usually a vague range, with no real explanation of what it covers. That range is not built for Georgia, and it does not tell you what part of it is a government fee and what part is attorney work.

Funding costs break down into five pieces at The Hive Law: your home, extra property, property outside Georgia, a business or LLC, and the accounts and forms that cost nothing at all. If you already have a trust from somewhere else that was never funded, the same breakdown applies to getting it funded now.

What Funding a Trust Actually Costs

Funding means changing the name on each thing you own, from your name to your trust’s name, one part of a complete Georgia estate plan. Georgia law says it plainly: O.C.G.A. § 53-12-25(a) requires an actual transfer of legal title to the trustee. Signing the trust does not do that by itself.

Here is the full price list at The Hive Law:

  • Your home: included in the $3,500 trust package.
  • Each extra Georgia property: $550, rentals, land, and cabins included.
  • Each property in another state: $1,100.
  • Each business or LLC: $1,250.
  • Bank accounts, investments, and beneficiary forms: no fee.

For the step-by-step process behind each of these, see how to fund a trust in Georgia.

Your Home Is Usually Already Paid For

If you build your trust plan with The Hive Law, deeding your primary home into the trust is part of the $3,500 package price. You do not pay extra for it.

That single deed is also the one that does the most work. A home is usually a family’s largest asset, and it is the one most likely to force probate if it never gets retitled. See the full cost breakdown for a Georgia trust for how this fits into the whole package price.

Extra Georgia Real Estate: $550 Per Property

Every property beyond your home needs its own deed, recorded in the county where it sits. Rentals, land, and cabins all count. At The Hive Law, each one is $550, flat.

That price already includes Georgia’s own recording fee. The state charges a flat $25 to record a deed, under O.C.G.A. § 15-6-77(f)(1)(A)(i). It does not change by county, and it does not change if the deed is one page or ten. You will not see a separate county charge added to your bill for this.

Own four rental houses beyond your primary home? That is four deeds, four counties (or the same one, four times), and four times $550.

Property Outside Georgia: $1,100 Per State

A property in another state follows that state’s own deed rules, not Georgia’s. The Hive Law coordinates with a local attorney in that state to get it done correctly, for $1,100 per state.

That price covers the whole state, not each property in it. Two rental homes in the same other state is still one state fee, not two.

$550 Per Extra Georgia Property Rentals, land, and cabins beyond your home
Zero Cost to Retitle a Bank Account You call the bank yourself, no attorney fee
$25 Georgia's Flat State Filing Fee Already built into every price above

Moving a Business or LLC Into the Trust: $1,250 Each

A share of an LLC does not move with a deed. It moves with a written assignment, and the operating agreement usually needs an update to match. At The Hive Law, that work is $1,250 per business, and the operating agreement update is included. See how to transfer an LLC into a trust in Georgia for what actually changes on paper.

Two businesses is two separate fees. The price is per entity, not per owner.

Bank Accounts, Investments, and Beneficiary Forms Cost Nothing

Not everything needs an attorney. Bank and brokerage accounts move with a change-of-ownership form the bank already has. You make the call, you sign the form, and there is no fee for it.

Retirement accounts and life insurance are different. They are not retitled at all. They pass by whatever name is on the beneficiary form, no matter what the trust says. Checking those forms costs nothing either, and it is often the step that saves the most trouble later.

What It Costs to Skip This Step

A trust that owns nothing protects nothing. If a property, an account, or an LLC never gets retitled, it stays in your name, and it goes through probate the same as if the trust never existed.

On an average Georgia estate, probate runs 13 months and costs around $14,700. A more complex estate, one with rental property or a business, runs 25 months and around $29,700. Funding a single extra property for $550 costs a small fraction of either number.

Already Have a Trust That Was Never Funded?

Some people come to The Hive Law with a trust someone else drafted years ago, or one built from an online kit, that was never actually funded. The document is fine. Nothing in it ever got attached to anything.

You do not need to redo the trust to fix that. The Hive Law can fund an existing trust on its own, at the same flat per-item prices: $550 per extra Georgia property, $1,100 per out-of-state property, and $1,250 per business or LLC. If the trust itself needs a second look first, a Trust Package Review checks whether it still matches your wishes and confirms what is left to fund.

Start with a free 15-minute call, or go straight to deed transfer into your trust if you already know what needs to move.

How It Works

1

A 15-Minute Call With Shawn

Tell us what is going on with your family. Shawn walks you through your options and what each one costs. Free.

2

The Design Meeting With Shawn and Melissa

In a 60-minute meeting, Shawn and Melissa review your assets, your family, and your goals together and confirm your price. This meeting is credited toward your plan if you move forward.

3

Review Every Document With Melissa

Before you sign, Melissa walks through every document with you in plain language. No legal jargon. No confusion about what you are signing.

4

Your Plan Is Complete

Melissa delivers your completed documents and explains exactly what your family needs to do. You leave knowing your plan is in place and your family is protected.

ALREADY HAVE A TRUST?

Get Your Existing Trust Funded

If your trust was drafted somewhere else and never funded, we can do the deed work, the LLC assignment, and the account coordination at the same flat prices on this page. Start with a free 15-minute call.

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Melissa Breyer

Melissa Breyer

Georgia Estate Planning Attorney

Melissa Breyer is a Georgia estate planning attorney who works exclusively on trust-based estate planning and LLC formation. She personally designs and drafts every plan at The Hive Law after the initial call. Every plan is built from scratch for your specific family, your specific assets, and your specific wishes.

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What Our Clients Say

After my father passed away, my mother had to rely on my father's employer to navigate the estate. It was a disaster. After this experience, I knew I needed a plan. I turned to The Hive Law to set up a trust. I no longer have to worry about my wife and children going through a difficult process if something happens to me. I highly recommend The Hive Law!

Nicholas Google Review

My biggest fear was that if I died first, my wife would have no idea how to navigate the estate and legal system. I reached out to The Hive Law and they put my mind at ease immediately. Their process is easy to follow and they took care of everything. The Hive Law is the best decision I've made for my family's future.

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Working with Melissa Breyer to set up our Living Trust was a wonderful experience. She and her entire team were knowledgeable, professional, and made the whole process easy to understand. I highly recommend The Hive Law for all your estate planning needs!

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We highly recommend Hive Law. They were extremely patient and responsive, answering our many rounds of questions regarding trusts and estate planning. Shawn consistently responded the same day we sent our questions, even while his family was on vacation, which we greatly appreciated. Shawn was also always available to discuss matters by phone whenever we needed additional clarification on the options we were considering. Both are very knowledgeable in estate planning, and we would confidently recommend Hive Law to friends and family.

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The Hive Law made the entire estate planning and trust process easy to understand and stress-free. Melissa and Shawn walked us through every step and answered all of our questions. We feel confident that our family is protected. Highly recommend!

The Schmitty Family Google Review

My mom chose The Hive firm to help with estate planning and developing a trust to protect her assets. I sat in on her meeting with Melissa, and Melissa did a great job of simplifying complex legalese into easily understood concepts. Shawn was very quick to get us our documents and all steps in the process were clear and easy. They make a great team and we are thankful for their help!

Ed Udvadia Google Review

I used The Hive Law to help me create a trust for my family. The process was straightforward and Melissa and Shawn made sure I understood each step. They were responsive to all of my questions. I feel much more confident about my family's future now. Highly recommend!

Nate Tabler Google Review

Working with Shawn and Melissa at The Hive Law has been an excellent experience. They were one of three firms we contacted, but she made the strongest impression during our initial call. They asked great questions to understand our situation and clearly explained what we needed to put in place. We initially had some reservations about their fully virtual approach, but those concerns were quickly put to rest. After the first two calls, it was clear how easy they are to work with and how well connected we felt. Communication has been clear, organized, and reassuring throughout the process. Shawn and Melissa are professional, approachable, and thorough. We feel confident we're in good hands and highly recommend The Hive Law for estate planning.

Kyle Haynie Google Review

The Hive Law Firm, and specifically Melissa, has been wonderful to work with during our estate planning process. She is knowledgeable, patient, and thorough. She answered all of our questions and made the process easy to understand. I highly recommend The Hive Law!

Teresa Overstreet Google Review

Shawn and Melissa were amazing to work with! My partner and I recently bought a house and wanted to get important things like wills, healthcare directives, etc. set up. They were incredible at answering all our questions and working with us to make sure we felt confident in all of the legal aspects. Having tried to do this online before with one of the DIY tools, it was just an amazing experience to get to talk through what we wanted with a knowledgeable human and have them take care of the details.

Denali Pray Google Review

Hive Law was awesome to work with! Melissa and Shawn explained everything, kept things stress-free, and were always quick to respond to my questions. They made the whole process simple and smooth from start to finish. Highly recommend if you want a team that's knowledgeable but also easy to work with.

Ryan Rollins Google Review

I lost my father in February of this year without any estate planning in place. The process of dealing with the probate court has been overwhelming and expensive. After this experience, I contacted The Hive Law to set up a trust so my children never have to go through what I've been through. Melissa and Shawn were compassionate, knowledgeable, and made the entire process simple. I highly recommend The Hive Law!

Rachel Shannon Google Review

I used to know the bare minimum about probate and trust. I first encountered Shawn Breyer on Facebook. He was offering a webinar that I watched. That gave me a better understanding of probate versus trust. I was impressed enough to have him and his wife represent me. I had my initial one on one interview with Melissa Breyer, it went smoothly and she made everything clear. We are now proceeding with getting a revocable trust in place.

Jer Udvadia Google Review

The Hive Law has been amazing throughout the process of setting up our trust. Every detail is considered and no stone is left unturned. They have been easy and enjoyable to work with. I would absolutely recommend them! Don't let your estate be turned over to Probate!!

Christy Evans Google Review

The Hive Law helped us set up a revocable trust. Their webinar is great for answering any questions you may have, to clarify and avoid probate. Get in touch with them right away, you won't be disappointed.

Keith Wiseman Google Review

Melissa was great! She gave me an honest review of my future plans that I already have in place. Turns out, I already had my ducks in a row!!! She was a pleasure to talk with!!

Pat Paine Google Review

For several years now I have been thinking about having a will drawn up, but continued to procrastinate until an older sibling had a medical situation occur which none of the family was prepared for. This was the determining factor for me to get it done. We never know when an emergency medical situation could arise and I didn't want my other siblings to be scrambling around trying to figure things out in the event I couldn't make any decisions for myself, or God forbid I pass away. My attorney (Melissa), was very funny and made the whole experience quite entertaining. She listened to what I wanted and explained the type of plan I needed. Thanks Melissa & Shawn for making the process an enjoyable experience.

Rena Solomon Google Review

The Hive Law Firm did an excellent job helping my mother-in-law with her estate plan. The process felt overwhelming at first, but their team walked us through every step with compassion and professionalism. They listened to our concerns, explained things in simple terms, and made sure our mother's wishes were honored. We're very grateful for their guidance.

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The Hive Law firm did an outstanding job helping my family members with their estate planning. They made the process clear, smooth and stress free. Truly professional and caring team, highly recommend!

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The whole process of creating a family trust felt simple, clear, and stress-free. We really appreciated how patient, helpful, and easy to communicate with the team was throughout everything. Shawn and Melissa gave us great guidance and helped us feel confident every step of the way. We're grateful for their support and would definitely recommend them.

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Frequently Asked Questions

The total depends on what you own. Funding your primary home is included in the $3,500 trust package. Beyond that, each extra Georgia property is $550, each out-of-state property is $1,100 per state, and each business or LLC is $1,250. Bank accounts, investments, and beneficiary forms cost nothing.

Funding your home is included, as long as The Hive Law builds the trust. The $3,500 package price covers drafting the trust and deeding your primary home into it. Anything beyond your home, an extra property, a business, or an out-of-state property, is priced separately.

Georgia charges a flat $25 per deed, under O.C.G.A. § 15-6-77(f)(1)(A)(i). That fee is set by the state, not the county, and it does not change with how long the deed is. At The Hive Law, this fee is already included in the $550 price for each extra property.

There is no fee for this at The Hive Law. Retitling a bank or brokerage account is a change-of-ownership form the bank already has. You call the bank, sign the form, and the account number usually stays the same.

Moving a business or LLC into a trust costs $1,250 per entity at The Hive Law. That price includes updating the operating agreement to match the new ownership on paper.

The Hive Law can fund a trust someone else drafted, even one built from an online kit, without redoing the document. We charge the same flat prices for the work: $550 for each extra Georgia property, $1,100 for each out-of-state property, and $1,250 for each business or LLC.

Most online estimates use national averages, not Georgia numbers. They also blend two different costs into one range: the government’s recording fee and the attorney’s work. Georgia’s own recording fee is fixed at $25 per deed. So almost all of the variation you see online comes from the attorney-fee half of the estimate, not the state’s half.

An unfunded trust does not protect anything it does not own. A property, account, or business that never gets retitled stays in your name and goes through probate the same as if you had never signed a trust at all. On an average Georgia estate, that runs 13 months and about $14,700, or 25 months and about $29,700 for a more complex one.

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