Standard Cost for Drafting a Will

I've heard you can do this on Legalzoom.com for fairly cheap.

http://www.doyourownwill.com - FREE just get it notarized- that's where we did ours

We used the Will Maker software. You may be able to draw up a trust with it too.

Lawyers who do wills won't tell you this: DON'T execute a will unless you are worth more than $600,000. It will just cost lots of money and time to probate it. Go see a lawyer and draft a family trust. You can leave your money and property the way you want to, and your heirs won't have to jump through hoops and pay through the nose.

As far as cost goes, every lawyer charges a different fee. Some snazzy big-firm lawyers charge upwards of $300.00 an hour. They're no better than some small practitioners, who may charge half that. The best thing to do is to call your county Bar Association and ask them for referrals to reputable lawyers who do probate and estates work. You will have to pay for the referral, and it's not a guarantee, but they will at least refer you to attorneys who have clean disciplinary records, and are considered reputable in the legal community.

It depends which lawyer you go to and where he is located (burbs vs. city). It also depends if you are doing straight Will or a Trust (whole different ball game).

If I remember correctly, we paid $150 for each Will (you and your husband will EACH have a will) and $75 each for Power of Attorney. Any major changes (i.e. you change you want to leave your kids to will result, most likely, in those fees having to be paid again). Many attorney's will do a free consult... so visit with the office first if you can.

You can check your company to see if they offer these services. Many do and employees don't even know it...but again, it won't be entirely "covered" there will still be costs associated with it.

Good luck.

There is a much easier solution to this problem. If you use a legal insurance policy like PrePaid Legal, you can redo your will every year for free, and you have legal coverage any time you need advice or help. My husband and I use it for problems such as mechanics who do work without asking or problems with my childcare clients who run out on a bill.
It is about $17 a month for coverage, and this equals about $200 a year for legal protection and having your will done free.
I don't sell this product but I do endorse it. www.prepaidlegal.com

More often than not, the attorneys in the suburbs are less expensive than one in the city. The cost usually depends on your needs for estate planning ($400-$1,500). If you get a quote that you feel is too much, try to negotiate down. I work with attorneys and see them reduce rates often. I strongly advise you do have an attorney draft your documents and do not use software or try to do it yourself....it may save you money now, but will most likely cost your loved ones more in the future and it may not be effective in having your wishes executed.

I was quoted $750 from many places I called. They charge 250/ hour and it takes about 3 hours.
If you do not have any sticky situations, you might want to try an online site, that is what my husband and I ended up doing and it only cost $50. We were able to name guardians for our children, set up trusts, and just make sure that our kids were taken care of if anything should happen to us.
I compared it with my sister's will that she paid big bucks for and they were identical.

I think ours was somewhere in the $500 to $750 range. I definitely advise any parent to get a will ... without one, the state will decide who gets custody of your children.

We just got ours done and I think it was about $400 + an additional $100 I think for power of attorney etc. You might want to check with your companies - my husband's company covered the bulk of the cost. Check with HR.