What’s Included in the $6,500 Flat Fee
The $6,500 flat fee covers drafting the trust document, the signing process, and guidance on funding it correctly. There is no separate charge for a consultation or for basic funding instructions.
Some firms charge separately for each step, or price differently depending on which type of irrevocable trust you need. That can push the real cost well past $10,000 once drafting, funding, and follow-up work are added together. At Atlanta Estate Planning, the flat fee covers all of it from the start.
An irrevocable trust only works if it is funded correctly. If your assets stay titled in your name instead of the trust’s name, they are not actually protected, no matter how well the trust document itself is written. The flat fee includes the funding step so this does not get missed.
Why the Price Stays the Same No Matter the Reason
People set up an irrevocable trust in Georgia for a few different reasons, and the $6,500 fee applies to all of them.
Asset protection. Once the trust owns your assets instead of you, most creditors and lawsuit judgments cannot reach them. This is the most common reason business owners and professionals in higher-liability fields use an irrevocable trust.
Estate tax reduction. Moving assets out of your name can lower the value of your taxable estate. This only matters for larger estates, which the next section covers in more detail.
Divorce protection. Assets held in an irrevocable trust are generally not treated as marital property, which can matter for a future divorce, either your own or a child’s.
Life insurance. A specific version called an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust, or ILIT, owns a life insurance policy so the payout is not counted as part of your taxable estate.
Medicaid planning is the one exception worth calling out separately. A Medicaid Asset Protection Trust uses the same $6,500 fee, but it comes with its own 5-year look-back rule that a general irrevocable trust for asset protection does not have. See our Medicaid Asset Protection Trust cost breakdown if long-term care is your specific concern.
Do You Actually Need One for Estate Tax?
Probably not. The federal estate tax exemption is $15 million per person in 2026, and Georgia has no state estate tax at all. A married couple can shield up to $30 million combined before federal estate tax applies.
Most Georgia families fall well under that number. If your estate is under $15 million, an irrevocable trust for estate tax reasons alone is probably not necessary. Asset protection, Medicaid planning, or a life insurance trust are more common reasons to move forward.
If your estate is close to or over the federal exemption, an irrevocable trust can still make sense. That conversation is worth having directly, since the right structure depends on the full size and makeup of your estate.
Once It’s Signed, Can You Change It?
Not on your own, but Georgia law gives you one real option. Under O.C.G.A. § 53-12-62, a trustee can “decant” an irrevocable trust, moving its assets into a new trust with updated terms.
Decanting has real limits. The new trust cannot add a beneficiary who was not already part of the original trust, and at least 30 days’ notice is required before it happens unless everyone involved waives it.
This is why the trust needs to be drafted carefully the first time. Decanting can fix outdated terms, but it is a legal process with its own rules, not a simple do-over.
Irrevocable Trust vs. Medicaid Asset Protection Trust
A Medicaid Asset Protection Trust is a specific type of irrevocable trust built for one purpose: qualifying for Medicaid long-term care benefits without spending down your savings first.
The fee is the same, $6,500, for both. What’s different is the rules. A Medicaid Asset Protection Trust has a 5-year look-back period before it protects your assets, and it needs to be set up well before a nursing home stay is likely.
If long-term care is your main concern, read our full breakdown of the Medicaid Asset Protection Trust cost and timing rules. If your goal is broader asset protection, estate tax planning, or a life insurance trust, this general irrevocable trust is the right starting point.
