How Much Does an Irrevocable Trust Cost in Georgia?
An irrevocable trust in Georgia costs $6,500 at The Hive Law. That one flat fee is the same for every type of irrevocable trust. It 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 fee includes drafting the trust, your signing instructions, 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. This one is 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.
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, your signing instructions, and the first funding guidance session. You will know 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
The Georgia state recording fee is already included in these prices. We confirm your exact quote in your Design Meeting with our team.
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. Deed preparation and recording are 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, we review your goals, your assets, your family situation, and your trustee options with you. 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. You can ask every question you have on this call.
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 a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust, the five-year clock runs from the day each asset goes into the trust. This session shows you how to make each transfer.
After You Sign
1
Post-Signing Checklist
A written list of every step that needs to happen after you sign: accounts to retitle, deeds to record, and beneficiary designations to review.
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 and recorded as part of the engagement. 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 is built to keep your home and savings from being spent down on nursing home care. Georgia Medicaid will not pay for nursing home care until a single applicant spends down to $2,000 in countable assets. Without protection, a nursing home that costs $8,821 to $9,429 per month drains savings in months. The critical rule: Medicaid looks back 5 years before your application date. Assets moved into the trust inside that window can cause a penalty period, a time when Medicaid will not pay the nursing home. The five-year clock does not start when you sign. It starts the day each asset goes into the trust. Until 60 months have passed, the full value of what you moved still counts toward the penalty. There is no partial credit. After five years, Medicaid generally does not count the trust’s principal when it decides if you qualify. Any income the trust pays you still counts as your income. No trust is a guarantee. A MAPT costs $6,500 at The Hive Law. That is 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.
Qualified Domestic Trust (QDOT) — $6,500 at The Hive Law
A QDOT lets a non-citizen spouse still get the marital deduction when the first spouse dies. Without one, federal law blocks that deduction unless the surviving spouse is a U.S. citizen, even with a green card. A QDOT needs a U.S. citizen or U.S. company as trustee, and the executor must choose QDOT status on the estate tax return. See how the QDOT rule works for Georgia couples for the full breakdown, including the jointly titled property risk and the $194,000 annual gifting workaround.
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 $15,000,000 under current law. Georgia has no state estate tax. For estates approaching or above that threshold, an ILIT can take the policy out of your taxable estate. A policy you already own is pulled back in if you die within three years of moving it. The trust owns the policy and receives the benefit. If your estate is well below the federal threshold, an ILIT is typically not necessary. For the full cost breakdown, including the policy itself, the three-year rule on a transferred policy, and the yearly Crummey letter requirement, see How Much Does an ILIT Cost in Georgia?
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. Georgia has no law allowing a trust that shields assets from your own creditors while it can still pay you. If the trustee can pay trust money to you, your creditors can reach that same amount, even in an irrevocable trust. Shawn and Melissa go over what that means for your plan in your Design Meeting.
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 free 15-minute call with Shawn 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. The costs it is meant to prevent:
Nursing home care in Georgia: $8,821 to $9,429 per month, out of pocket without Medicaid coverage.
Georgia probate: A simple estate costs an average of $14,700 in lawyer and court fees. It takes about 13 months. A complex estate costs an average of $29,700 and takes about 25 months. Your family cannot sell your home until it is put into their own names at the end of probate.
Loss of government benefits for a disabled beneficiary: An inheritance paid straight to a person on SSI counts as income in the month it arrives. Whatever is left on the first day of the next month counts toward the $2,000 limit. Going over the limit can stop SSI, and in Georgia it can stop Medicaid too.
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
A nursing home stay has already begun: there is usually not enough time left to get a transfer outside the five-year look-back, and the full value of anything moved now would count toward a penalty
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?
Your free 15-minute call with Shawn 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
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
Sign at Home
You sign at home, in front of a notary and witnesses you line up. Your signing instructions tell you who needs to be there. After you sign, you get a written checklist of what to do next.
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. On a free 15-minute call, Shawn walks you through your options and what each one costs.
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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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!
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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!
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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!
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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!
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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.
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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!
Rachel ShannonGoogle 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 UdvadiaGoogle 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!!
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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.
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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!!
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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.
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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
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. That fee includes drafting, your signing instructions, 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 this kind of protection possible. How much protection you get depends on the type of trust and how it is set up.
The person who set up an irrevocable trust cannot change or cancel it alone. The trust itself may give a trustee or someone else the power to change it. If it does not, Georgia law offers two main paths. First, under O.C.G.A. § 53-12-61, a court can approve a change. While you are living, the court must approve a change, or an end to the trust, if you and all qualified beneficiaries agree and the trustee has been given notice. After your death, all qualified beneficiaries must agree and the trustee must be given notice. For a change, the court must also find that it does not go against any important purpose of the trust. To end the trust, the court must find the trust is no longer needed for any important purpose. A court can also approve some changes without anyone’s consent, such as for events you did not expect or to meet your tax goals. Second, under O.C.G.A. § 53-12-62, a trustee may move the trust’s property into a new trust. This works only if the trustee has the choice to pay out the trust’s income or principal, the trustee did not put money or property into the trust, and the trust does not forbid it. The trustee must give written notice at least 30 days before the move. The new trust cannot add new beneficiaries.
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). Your Design Meeting with Shawn and Melissa identifies which of your specific assets can be transferred and which should remain outside the trust.
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 $15,000,000 under current law. 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.
You’ll have your documents to review about 2 to 3 weeks after your Design Meeting. Signing and funding come after your review, so the total depends on how quickly you go through your drafts. For a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust, the five-year clock runs from the day each asset goes into the trust, not from the day you sign.
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. A free 15-minute call with Shawn identifies which applies to your situation.
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