Online living trusts that help you fund them: who moves the house in, and what it costs

Most people who buy a living trust online buy it for one reason: to keep their house out of probate. And the step that achieves that, moving the house into the trust with a new deed, is the one most online services leave to you.

That is not a scandal. Retitling a house is a county-by-county paperwork job, and many homeowners do it themselves in an afternoon. But if you want it done for you, the choice of service narrows quickly. This page shows who publishes a deed service, what it costs, and when you are better off buying a cheaper trust and handling the deed locally. Prices come from each company’s own pages, read on the date in the facts table.

Who will move your house into the trust?

Service	Deed transfer	Notary help	Trust price, one person
Trust & Will	Partner service: $140 per deed, plus recording fees	Mobile notary partner: $170 to $210	$499
LegalZoom	Own service: $249, plus state filing fees	Not published	$399
Quicken WillMaker & Trust	None	None	$149
GoodTrust	None published	None published	$149
Rocket Lawyer	None; funding documents in the library	Not published	In membership
FreeWill	None	Remote notary through Proof, paid to Proof	California only, free

Two things to note. Trust & Will’s deed price is plus recording fees, and notarising the deed costs extra according to its help centre; it also says it earns a referral commission on the partner. LegalZoom’s price is plus state filing fees.

What does the whole job cost?

Here is trust plus one deed transfer, for one person, using the published prices and leaving out county fees, which you pay either way:

Route	Trust	Deed	Total before county fees
Trust & Will with its deed partner	$499	$140 per deed, plus recording fees	$639
LegalZoom with its deed service	$399	$249, plus state filing fees	$648
WillMaker Plus, deed done yourself	$149	Notary only	$149 plus a notary
GoodTrust, deed done yourself	$149	Notary only	$149 plus a notary

The two bundled routes cost almost the same for one person. For a couple, LegalZoom’s joint trust is $499 and Trust & Will’s couple trust is $599; add the same deed fee. If you own a second property, add a second deed: at LegalZoom’s price, a trust with two deed transfers comes to $897 before county fees, and the two deeds cost more than the trust.

When is paying for the deed worth it?

Pay for help when:

• You own property in more than one state, so you face more than one county’s rules.
• Your title has history: an inherited share, a past divorce, a co-owner who is not your spouse, a deed that was never recorded properly.
• You own a condominium or a property with an association that has its own transfer rules.
• You know you will not get round to it yourself. An unfunded trust does nothing.

Do it yourself, or use a local title company, when:

• You own one house in one state, held with your spouse or alone.
• Your county recorder publishes forms and instructions.
• You can follow a checklist and copy a legal description exactly.

A local title company or real estate attorney is a real alternative to the online partners and may charge less for a simple transfer. Ask for a quote before you buy the bundled service.

What no service does for you

Even the services with deed help leave the rest of the funding to you, because banks and brokerages take instructions only from the account holder:

• Bank and investment accounts: retitle them, or name the trust as payable-on-death or transfer-on-death beneficiary. Expect to provide a certification of trust.
• Retirement accounts: do not retitle; name beneficiaries on the plan’s form.
• Life insurance: name the trust as beneficiary if it is meant to hold the money.

Our step-by-step guide to funding a living trust covers each of these.

Which should you choose?

• You want the most help, with prices published up front: Trust & Will. A funding guide in your account, a deed partner, and a mobile notary who comes to you. Read our Trust & Will review for the membership and refund fine print.
• You want one company, nothing renewing: LegalZoom’s trust plus its deed service. Our Trust & Will vs LegalZoom page compares the two in detail.
• You own one home and want to spend the least: Quicken WillMaker & Trust, then do the deed yourself or with a local title company. One plan covers your spouse too.
• You are a family of several adults: GoodTrust’s plan covers each adult’s own trust at no extra cost; fund each trust locally.

Before you buy

1. Find your current deed online at your county recorder’s website and look at how the house is titled.
2. Check for complications: a co-owner, an old mortgage, property in another state.
3. Get one local quote from a title company for a deed into a revocable trust.
4. Compare it with the bundled price above.
5. Decide who will fund the accounts, because that part is always yours.