Connecticut probate cost vs living trust cost
The probate side of this comparison reuses the same approach as the Connecticut Probate Cost Calculator: the statutory Probate Court fee under C.G.S. § 45a-107, a sliding scale up to 1% capped at $40,000, plus reasonable fiduciary and attorney fees that Connecticut sets with no fixed percentage. The trust side is market data, not a statutory figure: Connecticut attorneys typically charge roughly $2,500–$5,000 for a married couple's revocable living trust plan, more for complex estates. See the full breakdown in Connecticut Living Trust Setup Cost.
The single most important thing to understand: the Probate Court fee basis is the greatest of the inventory, the gross estate for succession or estate-tax purposes, or the Connecticut taxable estate — and that basis includes assets in a revocable living trust, jointly held property, and beneficiary-designated accounts, even though none of those pass through the Probate Court. A trust removes assets from probate; it does not remove them from the fee calculation.