How Much Does a Living Trust Cost in Mississippi? (2026)

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A living trust in Mississippi costs $900 – $2,950 attorney-drafted, $1,500 – $5,000 for a couple’s full plan, or $100–$600 online. Probate in Mississippi is cheaper and simpler than in states with statutory fee schedules, so the honest case for a trust here rests on privacy, incapacity planning, and speed more than on avoided cost.

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Mississippi Living Trust Cost (2026)

Typical flat fees reported by Mississippi attorneys and legal directories, reviewed quarterly. A guide, not a quote.

What Probate Actually Costs in Mississippi

• Important limitation: The beneficiary should either probate the estate or wait 3 years and 90 days for unsecured creditor claims to expire (10 years for federal estate tax claims) before relying fully on the deed
• Required appraisal: before any partition sale
• Commercially reasonable sale: supervised by the court (if partition is ordered, it must be an open-market sale, not a forced auction)
• Avoids probate: — assets pass directly to beneficiaries without Chancery Court involvement
• Medicaid note: Because MS uses probate-only recovery, a funded revocable trust may provide some protection, though this is less certain than a TOD deed or irrevocable trust
• Existing creditors: Must file within the later of 2 years after the transfer OR 6 months after discovering the transfer
• Future creditors: Must file within 2 years after the transfer
• Not a UPC state: — Mississippi uses its own probate statutes (Title 91, Chapter 7)
• Timeline: 4–6 months minimum; complex estates 6–12+ months
• Creditor claims: 90 days from first publication of notice (3 consecutive weeks)
• Small estate affidavit: ≤ $75,000 personal property, no real property (§ 91-7-322)
• Muniment of title: ≤ $75,000 probate estate (excluding real estate), will required (§ 91-5-35)

Full Mississippi probate rules and thresholds: our Mississippi estate planning guide.

What each price point buys in Mississippi

• $100–$600 (online): A valid Mississippi trust document, pour-over will, and directives. You do the funding — every Mississippi deed transfer, every account retitling.
• $900 – $2,950 (attorney, individual): Custom drafting, review of how your assets are titled, and usually one deed included. Confirm that last part before you sign.
• $1,500 – $5,000 (attorney, couple): Adds marital property planning.

Does your estate even need probate in Mississippi?

Before paying for anything, check whether Mississippi would require full probate at all. The state’s simplified route: ≤ $75,000 personal property, no real property (§ 91-7-322) Estates that fit under it can often transfer by affidavit or summary procedure, with no personal representative and no attorney — which makes a trust a convenience decision rather than a cost-avoidance one. Estates above it are where the numbers above start to bite.

Trust vs. probate in Mississippi

Online or Mississippi Attorney?

The dividing line is funding, not drafting. Online documents are valid in Mississippi; what they don’t do is retitle your assets. See funding your trust.

Other Mississippi rules that affect the plan

• Partition sales: Any single co-owner (or an outsider who buys one heir’s interest) can force a court-ordered sale of the entire property — at auction prices, often far below market value
• No access to USDA programs: Heirs’ property owners often can’t qualify for USDA loans, disaster assistance, or conservation programs because they lack clear title
• Can’t use as collateral: Banks generally won’t accept heirs’ property as loan collateral
• Property tax delinquency: When no single owner takes responsibility for taxes, the property can be sold at tax sale
• Right of first refusal: for co-tenants to buy out the petitioning owner’s interest
• Incapacity protection: — successor trustee steps in without needing court-appointed conservatorship
• Privacy: — trust assets don’t become part of public court records
• DAPT available: Mississippi’s Qualified Disposition in Trust Act (§§ 91-9-701–723, enacted 2014) allows self-settled asset protection trusts with a 2-year statute of limitations
• Dynasty trusts: Up to 360 years for personal property, 110 years for real property
• Directed trusts: (§§ 91-8-1201–1206) — split trustee duties among multiple parties with trust protector and trust advisor provisions
• Medicaid planning: — provides the strongest protection if established 5+ years before applying
• Court system: Chancery Court — 20 districts, 52 elected chancellors, covering 82 counties

Recent Mississippi Changes Worth Knowing

• 2020 — TOD Deeds for Real Property (SB 2851): Created the Mississippi Real Property Transfer-on-Death Act, effective July 1, 2020. Mississippi families can now pass real estate outside of probate using a recorded beneficiary deed.
• 2020 — UPHPA Adopted: Mississippi adopted the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act, providing protections against predatory partition sales of family land held as heirs’ property.
• 2014 — Mississippi Uniform Trust Code: Adopted the UTC (Chapter 91-8), providing comprehensive trust law for the first time. Also enacted the DAPT statute (Qualified Disposition in Trust Act, §§ 91-9-701–723) in the same session.

Living trust costs in nearby states

Attorney pricing and probate rules shift at the state line — compare Mississippi with Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas.

When to Hire A Mississippi Attorney

Online stops being the right answer when the estate has moving parts: property in more than one state, a blended family, a business, or anyone you intend to exclude.

1. Get two or three flat-fee quotes. Identical work varies by $1,000+ inside one metro.
2. Ask what’s included. Deed transfers run $150–$400 each and are often quoted separately.
3. Don’t buy complexity you don’t have.

Three ways to pay less in Mississippi

1. Compare two or three flat-fee quotes. Identical Mississippi trust packages vary by $1,000 or more inside the same metro, and almost nobody shops it.
2. Count the deeds before comparing prices. At $150–$400 apiece, with properties in multiple counties each needing their own recorded transfer, a quote including one deed can beat a cheaper quote including none.
3. Check the simplified threshold first. ≤ $75,000 personal property, no real property (§ 91-7-322) If your estate clears that, you may be buying convenience rather than savings.

Official sources: courts.ms.gov · dor.ms.gov

FAQ

How much does a living trust cost in Mississippi?

$900 – $2,950 attorney-drafted, $1,500 – $5,000 for a couple’s full estate plan, or $100 to $600 through an online service. Add $150 to $400 per property for the deed transfers that fund it.

Is a living trust worth it in Mississippi?

A trust costs $300–$500 to prepare and record once, against probate at $2,000–$5,000 for a full trust.

Can I make my own living trust in Mississippi?

Yes — online services produce valid Mississippi documents. The risk is funding: a trust that doesn’t hold title to your home doesn’t avoid probate for it.

Can a small estate skip probate in Mississippi?

Often, yes. Mississippi’s simplified threshold: ≤ $75,000 personal property, no real property (§ 91-7-322) Estates under it may transfer without full administration, which changes whether a trust is worth paying for.

More: Living trust costs nationwide · Mississippi estate planning guide · Funding your trust

Last updated: August 2026. Educational information, not legal advice or a quote.