How Much Does an Irrevocable Trust Cost in Georgia?
An irrevocable trust in Georgia costs $5,000 at The Hive Law. Once funded, the assets are no longer part of your taxable estate and are protected from creditors. The flat fee covers drafting, review, and all trust administration instructions.
An irrevocable trust in Georgia costs between $3,000 and $8,000 or more depending on the type of trust and how complex your situation is. At The Hive Law, an irrevocable trust is a flat fee of $6,500 — that includes drafting the trust, the signing process, and first funding guidance so you know exactly which assets to transfer and how. There is no hourly billing.
A Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (MAPT) is also $6,500 at The Hive Law. The same flat fee covers a different type of irrevocable trust — one built specifically for Medicaid planning with additional asset eligibility review and lookback documentation. Most Georgia attorneys charge between $300 and $500 per hour for this type of work. At 10 to 20 hours, the total can reach $3,000 to $10,000 with no way to know the final number before you commit.
The sections below break down what affects the cost, which type of irrevocable trust matches which situation, and how to decide whether the upfront cost makes sense for what you are trying to do.
How Much Does an Irrevocable Trust Cost in Georgia?
Georgia attorneys charge between $3,000 and $8,000 or more for an irrevocable trust, depending on the trust type and complexity. Simple asset protection trusts on the lower end of that range can be straightforward documents. Complex trusts, special needs trusts with ongoing distribution standards, Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts (ILITs) with policy coordination, or Medicaid Asset Protection Trusts requiring detailed asset review, sit at the higher end.
Most of the cost is attorney fees. Filing fees and government recording fees are minimal. When two firms quote different prices, the difference is almost always in the time the attorney expects to spend drafting and the services included in the fee.
The Hive Law Flat Fee — $6,500
At The Hive Law, an irrevocable trust is $6,500, one flat fee that covers drafting the trust document, the signing process, and the first funding guidance session. You leave the signing call knowing exactly which assets to transfer into the trust, what to tell your bank, and what the next steps are. There are no hourly billing surprises and no separate charges for calls or revisions.
This flat fee applies to all irrevocable trust types: standard asset protection trusts, Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts (ILITs), Medicaid Asset Protection Trusts (MAPTs), and similar structures. The $6,500 is the same regardless of type, the drafting complexity is priced into the flat fee.
Georgia Irrevocable Trust Cost Calculator
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$550 each — rentals, land, cabins.
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$1,100 per state — we coordinate with local counsel.
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$1,250 each — includes operating agreement update.
Irrevocable Trust $6,500
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Your Estimated Total $6,500
County recording fees are extra. We confirm your exact quote in your Design Meeting with our Attorney.
The $6,500 flat fee covers every document and working session required to properly set up an irrevocable trust in Georgia. Other firms charge a base drafting fee and bill separately for additional calls, deed preparation, and funding guidance. This fee has one number.
The Trust Documents
The Irrevocable Trust. The core legal document, drafted for your specific trust type and situation. Whether the goal is Medicaid protection, creditor protection, providing for a disabled beneficiary, or keeping life insurance out of your taxable estate, the trust is drafted to accomplish that specific purpose. Generic irrevocable trust forms do not hold up. Every provision is written for your situation.
Quitclaim Deed. If real estate is being transferred into the trust, a quitclaim deed is prepared as part of the engagement. This transfers legal title from your name into the trust. Without the deed, the real estate remains outside the trust and is not protected. Government recording fees apply when the deed is filed at the county level, those are disclosed before you sign anything. Deed preparation is included in the flat fee.
EIN Registration. Every irrevocable trust is a separate taxpayer. It needs its own Employer Identification Number from the IRS before accounts can be retitled into the trust’s name. EIN registration is handled as part of the engagement. You do not need to apply separately.
The Three Working Sessions
Trust Design Meeting. Before any document is drafted, Melissa reviews your goals, your assets, your family situation, and your trustee options. This is where the trust is structured, who the trustee is, who the beneficiaries are, what the distribution standards are, and what happens to trust assets if a beneficiary predeceases you. The drafting follows from this meeting. Changes are far easier to make here than after the document is signed.
Document Walk-Through Call. When the draft is ready, Melissa walks through every provision with you in plain language. You leave this call knowing exactly what the trust does, what it does not do, and what your obligations are as the person who created it. Questions are answered on this call, not by email days later.
Funding Guidance Session. Signing the trust document does not protect anything on its own. Assets only get protection when they are formally transferred into the trust. This session explains which assets to transfer, how to retitle bank accounts and investment accounts into the trust’s name, what to tell your financial institutions, and what the trustee needs to know. For Medicaid Asset Protection Trusts, the 5-year lookback clock does not start until the trust is funded, this session is what starts it.
After You Sign
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Post-Signing Checklist
A written list of every step that needs to happen after the signing appointment, accounts to retitle, deeds to record, and beneficiary designations to review. Most clients complete trust funding within two to four weeks of signing when they have a clear checklist in hand.
2
Trustee Briefing Guide
Your trustee receives a written guide explaining their duties, what they are permitted to do, and what they need to know before they ever need to act. Most trustees have never served in this role before. The guide is written in plain language, not legal terms.
What Is Not Included
The $6,500 flat fee does not cover annual trust tax preparation. An irrevocable trust files its own federal income tax return (Form 1041) each year as a separate taxpayer. CPA fees for annual Form 1041 preparation typically run $300 to $800 per year. This is a recurring cost you should factor into your decision. Melissa discloses this before you sign anything.
What Affects the Cost of an Irrevocable Trust?
Four factors drive the cost up or down within the Georgia attorney fee range.
Type of Trust
Asset protection trusts and ILITs are typically on the lower end of the range at other firms. The drafting is more straightforward and the asset coordination is simpler. Special needs trusts and Medicaid Asset Protection Trusts sit higher because they require coordination with government benefit rules, detailed asset eligibility reviews, and drafting that has to hold up against a Medicaid application or benefits determination.
Number of Beneficiaries and Trustees
An irrevocable trust with one beneficiary and one trustee is simpler to draft than one with multiple beneficiaries, contingent beneficiaries, successor trustees, and distribution standards that vary by beneficiary. More parties means more pages and more review time.
Real Estate Transfers
If your home or another Georgia property needs to be transferred into the trust, a quitclaim deed is prepared as part of the engagement. Government recording fees apply when the deed is filed at the county level. If you own property in multiple states, each state requires a separate deed prepared under that state’s law.
Ongoing Administration Costs
An irrevocable trust is not a one-time cost. Once funded, the trust is a separate legal entity. That means a separate EIN from the IRS and an annual Form 1041 federal income tax return, separate from your personal return. CPA fees for Form 1041 preparation typically run $300 to $800 per year. A revocable trust does not have these requirements while you are alive because the IRS treats its assets as your own.
Irrevocable trust is a category, not a single document. The type of trust determines the drafting requirements, the ongoing rules, and the cost. Each one is built to solve a specific problem.
Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (MAPT) — $6,500 at The Hive Law
A MAPT protects your home and savings from Medicaid spend-down if you need nursing home care. Georgia Medicaid will not pay for long-term care until your countable assets fall below $2,000. Without protection, a nursing home that costs $7,000 to $9,000 per month drains savings in months. The critical rule: Georgia Medicaid looks back 5 years before your application date. Any assets transferred into the trust within that window trigger a penalty period of ineligibility. The protection does not start when you sign. It starts when the trust is funded, and it does not fully vest until 60 months later. A MAPT costs $6,500 at The Hive Law — the same flat fee as other irrevocable trusts. The drafting includes a full Medicaid asset eligibility review, documentation of the strategy behind the transfer, and funding guidance designed to start the lookback clock correctly.
Special Needs Trust
A special needs trust holds assets for a beneficiary with a physical or cognitive disability without cutting off their eligibility for SSI, Medicaid, or other means-tested government benefits. The trust pays for items those programs do not cover while the beneficiary continues to receive their government benefits. Without a special needs trust, leaving assets directly to a disabled beneficiary can disqualify them from the benefits they depend on. Drafting standards are specific to the beneficiary’s disability, age, and benefit programs.
Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT)
An ILIT holds a life insurance policy outside of your taxable estate. When you own a life insurance policy yourself, the death benefit is included in your gross estate for federal estate tax purposes. The federal estate tax threshold is approximately $13.6 million (2024). Georgia has no state estate tax. For estates approaching or above that threshold, an ILIT removes the policy from the estate entirely. The trust owns the policy and receives the benefit. If your estate is well below the federal threshold, an ILIT is typically not necessary.
Asset Protection Trust
An asset protection trust holds assets outside of your personal estate to shield them from future creditors. This is most relevant for professionals with significant liability exposure, business owners, or anyone in a high-risk occupation. Note: Georgia does not have a self-settled domestic asset protection statute — a technical distinction that should be addressed explicitly in your strategy call with Melissa.
The Bottom Line on Trust Types
The type of irrevocable trust you need is determined by the problem you are trying to solve. Medicaid, creditors, a disabled beneficiary, and life insurance taxes are four different problems that require four different trust structures. If you are not certain which applies to you, the strategy call is the right first step.
Is an Irrevocable Trust Worth the Cost?
The answer depends entirely on what you are trying to prevent and what that outcome would cost your family if you did nothing.
Compare the Cost to What You Are Protecting Against
An irrevocable trust at The Hive Law costs $6,500 upfront. Here is what the relevant alternatives cost:
Nursing home care in Georgia: $7,000 to $9,000 per month. A 5-year stay costs $420,000 to $540,000 out of pocket without Medicaid coverage.
Georgia probate: An average of $15,000 in attorney and court fees. Up to $35,000 for complex estates. Timeline of 9 to 18 months with assets frozen the entire time.
Loss of government benefits for a disabled beneficiary: If SSI or Medicaid is lost because of an outright inheritance, the beneficiary may lose thousands per month in benefits permanently.
Who This Makes Sense For
Over 60 with a home or savings above $100,000 and concern about long-term care costs — a MAPT started now could protect assets a nursing home would otherwise consume
Parents of a child with a disability who need to leave assets without disrupting benefits
Business owners or professionals with significant creditor exposure who want assets outside the reach of future judgments
Larger estates approaching the federal estate tax threshold with life insurance that should be removed from the taxable estate
Who It Probably Does Not Make Sense For
You want to keep control of the assets and be able to change your mind — a revocable trust is the right tool for that
Your estate is straightforward with no nursing home, creditor, or disability concern — the additional cost and ongoing administration adds complexity without a corresponding benefit
The 5-year Medicaid lookback window has already closed because a nursing home stay has begun — a MAPT funded now will not protect those assets in time
An irrevocable trust is a significant, permanent decision. It is worth taking the time to confirm it solves a real problem before signing anything.
Not Sure Which Applies to You?
The free strategy call with Melissa identifies which trust type — if any — makes sense for your specific situation. There is no obligation and no charge for the call.
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
Melissa Designs Your Plan
She builds your estate plan from scratch based on your specific assets and family. You get an exact quote before you commit to anything.
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.
Not Sure Which Trust You Need?
Find Out Where You Stand
The right trust type depends on your specific goal — Medicaid protection, creditor protection, a disabled beneficiary, or life insurance planning. Melissa identifies the right structure for your situation and gives you an exact fee on the first call.
Melissa Breyer is a Georgia estate planning attorney who works exclusively on trust-based estate planning and LLC formation. She personally designs every plan at The Hive Law and handles every client consultation herself. Every plan is built from scratch for your specific family, your specific assets, and your specific wishes.
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Working with Shawn and Melissa at The Hive Law has been a great experience. They are very knowledgeable and took the time to explain all of our options. They made the process of setting up a trust simple and stress-free. I would highly recommend them to anyone needing estate planning.
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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!!
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Frequently Asked Questions
An irrevocable trust in Georgia costs between $3,000 and $8,000 or more depending on the type and complexity. At The Hive Law, the flat fee is $6,500 for all irrevocable trust types — which includes drafting, the signing process, and first funding guidance. This applies whether the trust is a standard asset protection trust, a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust, an ILIT, or a special needs trust.
A revocable trust can be changed or canceled at any time while you are alive. You keep full control of the assets, and the IRS treats them as your own. This makes a revocable trust useful for avoiding probate but not for protecting assets from Medicaid spend-down or creditors. An irrevocable trust transfers the assets out of your legal ownership permanently. You cannot take them back. That permanence is what makes the assets unreachable by Medicaid, creditors, or estate taxes.
Generally no. An irrevocable trust cannot be modified, amended, or revoked after signing without the consent of all beneficiaries and, in some cases, court approval. This is not a mistake in the drafting — it is the legal requirement that makes the trust work for asset protection, Medicaid planning, and estate tax purposes. If flexibility is a priority, a revocable trust is the right tool.
The most common assets transferred into an irrevocable trust are real estate (transferred by deed), savings accounts, brokerage accounts, and second properties. Retirement accounts such as IRAs and 401(k)s generally cannot be transferred without triggering a taxable distribution. Life insurance policies can be transferred into an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT). The strategy call with Melissa identifies which of your specific assets can be transferred and which should remain outside the trust.
Yes. An irrevocable trust is a separate taxpayer. It needs its own Employer Identification Number (EIN) and files an annual Form 1041 federal income tax return separate from your personal return. Trust income that is not distributed to beneficiaries is taxed at trust tax rates. Georgia has no state estate tax. The federal estate tax threshold is approximately $13.6 million (2024). CPA fees for Form 1041 preparation typically run $300 to $800 per year.
The trustee controls the irrevocable trust — not the person who created it. You name a trustee when the trust is drafted. In most irrevocable trusts, you cannot serve as your own trustee because that would mean you still control the assets, which undermines the legal protection the trust is designed to provide. The trustee can be a family member, a trusted friend, or in complex situations, a professional trustee.
Most clients complete the strategy review, document signing, and initial funding in 3 to 5 weeks from the first call. The drafting phase typically takes 1 to 2 weeks after the strategy review. Signing is scheduled once documents are approved. Funding takes an additional 2 to 4 weeks depending on asset types. For a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust, the 5-year lookback clock does not start until funding is complete.
It depends on what problem you are trying to solve. If you want to avoid probate and keep control of your assets while you are alive, a revocable trust is the right tool. If you are concerned about nursing home costs, protecting assets from creditors, providing for a disabled beneficiary without disrupting benefits, or removing life insurance from your taxable estate, an irrevocable trust addresses those goals. Many families need both. The free strategy call identifies which applies to your situation.
