A will in Virginia can cost anywhere from nothing to more than $3,000. A handwritten (holographic) will is free and legally valid; an attorney-drafted simple will typically runs $200 to $500; a complex will runs $700 to $1,500; and a full estate plan bundling a will with a trust and other documents generally lands between $1,500 and $3,000 or more. Where you fall depends on how you create the document, the size and shape of your estate, and your family situation.
How You Create the Will Sets the Price Floor
Handwritten Wills: $0
Virginia recognizes holographic wills. A will written entirely in your own handwriting and signed by you is valid without witnesses at the time of signing.1Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 64.2-403 – Execution of Wills; Requirements After your death, at least two disinterested witnesses must testify that the handwriting and signature are yours.
Free is the appeal. The drawbacks are real: vague language creates disputes, and a holographic will cannot be made self-proving, so probate takes longer. If the alternative is no will at all, a handwritten one is far better than nothing. If you have any complexity in your estate, it usually isn’t the right tool.
Online Will Services: $99 to $200
Guided-questionnaire platforms produce a document formatted to meet Virginia’s execution requirements. They handle straightforward situations reasonably well but offer no personalized legal advice. If you have a blended family, own a business, or need trust provisions, an online service probably won’t cover what you need.
Attorney-Drafted Wills: $200 to $1,500+
Hiring a Virginia estate planning attorney generally starts around $300 for a simple will and can run above $1,200 for a standalone will with more moving parts. Most Virginia attorneys bill estate planning work as a flat fee. Some still bill hourly, with rates commonly between $162 and $392 per hour depending on experience and location. An hourly arrangement adds unpredictability, so ask about billing structure on your first call.
Simple, Complex, and Full Estate Plan Pricing
Among attorney-drafted work, three tiers cover most Virginians:
- Simple will, $200 to $500. Basic asset distribution, an executor, and a guardian for minor children. Right if your estate is straightforward and you’re leaving everything to a spouse, children, or a small number of beneficiaries.
- Complex will, $700 to $1,500 or more. Detailed instructions for dividing assets, provisions for a blended family, testamentary trusts that activate at death, or business succession planning.
- Comprehensive estate plan, $1,500 to $3,000 and up. Typically bundles a pour-over will with a revocable living trust, durable power of attorney, and advance medical directive. The pour-over will catches any assets you didn’t transfer into the trust during your lifetime and directs them into it after death.
The bundled package is often cheaper than paying for each document individually.
What Pushes the Cost Up
Several things predict where you’ll land within these ranges. Multiple real estate holdings, investment accounts, or business interests require more detailed planning and more attorney time. Each additional beneficiary with a specific bequest adds drafting work.
Blended families are where costs climb fastest. If you have children from a prior relationship and a current spouse, the attorney needs language that protects both groups. Without that language, Virginia’s intestacy rules can produce a distribution you didn’t intend.
Trust provisions inside a will are another common driver. A testamentary trust for minor children requires naming a trustee, defining distribution terms, and specifying what triggers distributions. Special needs trusts designed to protect a disabled beneficiary’s government benefits are particularly involved. Standalone special needs trusts typically cost $2,000 to $5,000 or more in attorney fees, and even embedding a simpler version inside a will adds significant drafting time.
What the Attorney Fee Usually Covers
A flat fee for a will in Virginia normally includes an initial consultation about your assets, family situation, and goals; drafting the will; a round of revisions after your review; a final accuracy check; and supervision of the signing ceremony.
A typed or printed will in Virginia must be signed by you in the presence of at least two competent witnesses, who must both be present at the same time and sign the will while you watch.1Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 64.2-403 – Execution of Wills; Requirements An attorney’s office runs this smoothly with staff as witnesses. If you go the DIY route, coordinating the witness requirement is one of the places mistakes happen most.
Ask what’s included before signing an engagement letter. Powers of attorney, advance medical directives, and extensive tax planning are often billed separately unless bundled into a flat-fee package.
Add the Self-Proving Affidavit
One small investment saves significant hassle. Virginia law lets you and your witnesses sign sworn affidavits before a notary at the time the will is executed, or at any point afterward, and the court will accept those affidavits in place of live witness testimony during probate.2Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 64.2-452 – How Will May Be Made Self-Proved; Affidavits of Witnesses
Without it, the probate court has to track down your witnesses to confirm the will is authentic. If a witness has moved, become incapacitated, or died, the process stalls. Notarization in Virginia is typically a few dollars per signature, and most attorneys include this step automatically. Notarization is not required for a will to be legally valid in Virginia, but skipping the self-proving affidavit to save a few dollars is a shortcut that costs your family much more later.
Updating Your Will Later
A will isn’t set-it-and-forget-it. Marriage, divorce, a new child, or a significant change in assets calls for an update. You have two options.
A codicil is a formal amendment. It must meet the same execution requirements as the original will, including two witnesses signing in your presence.1Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 64.2-403 – Execution of Wills; Requirements Attorneys typically charge $100 to $300 for a simple codicil.
A full redraft generally costs the same as the original will. For substantial changes, most attorneys recommend a new will rather than stacking codicils, since multiple amendments can create contradictions. Some firms offer reduced fees for updates if you originally worked with them.
Court Costs After Death
The cost of creating a will is only part of the picture. Virginia’s court filing fees are low compared to many states. The clerk’s fee to lodge, index, and preserve a will is $5, plus $14.50 to record and index a will of 10 pages or fewer (more for longer documents). A $3.50 state library fee also applies.3Virginia’s Judicial System. Circuit Court Fee Schedule Appendix C
Virginia also imposes a state probate tax. Estates valued at $15,000 or less owe nothing. Estates above that threshold pay 10 cents per $100 of value.3Virginia’s Judicial System. Circuit Court Fee Schedule Appendix C A locality may add its own probate tax of up to one-third of the state tax if it has adopted an ordinance to do so. For a $500,000 estate, the state probate tax comes to $500, with a possible local add-on of roughly $167.
For smaller estates, Virginia offers a shortcut. If the total personal probate estate is $75,000 or less, heirs can use a small-estate affidavit to collect assets without full probate proceedings.4Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 64.2-601 – Payment or Delivery of Small Asset by Affidavit
Your executor is entitled to compensation. Virginia law doesn’t set a fixed percentage; it provides for “reasonable compensation” as determined by the commissioner of accounts when the executor’s accounting is reviewed.5Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 64.2-1208 – Expenses and Commissions Allowed Fiduciaries In practice, executor commissions in Virginia commonly fall between 2% and 5% of the estate’s value. Family members serving as executor often waive compensation entirely.
Virginia Has No Estate or Inheritance Tax
State-level death taxes don’t factor into what a Virginia will costs. Virginia does not impose its own estate tax or inheritance tax; the state estate tax was effectively repealed in 2007 when the federal credit for state death taxes was eliminated.6Virginia Tax. Estate and Inheritance Taxes Federal estate tax still applies, but for most Virginia families the exemption is high enough that tax planning isn’t driving the price of the will. When it is, it’s the kind of planning that pushes an estate plan into the $3,000-and-up bracket.