Asset Protection Trust Cost: Complete Guide to Setup and Maintenance Fees

Before diving into the asset protection trust cost, it's worth looking at the far greater cost of leaving wealth unprotected:

• Lawsuit costs are significant for small businesses. Small businesses bore $160 billion in tort system costs in 2021. 48% of all commercial tort costs despite earning only 20% of revenue (U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform).
• Long-term care can drain savings. The median annual cost of a private nursing home room reached $127,750 in 2024, or over $10,600 per month (Genworth Cost of Care Survey 2024).
• Email-based fraud is a business killer. In 2024, Business Email Compromise (BEC) caused $2.77 billion in reported losses across 21,489 incidents which is ~$129k per incident on average (FBI IC3 2024 Report).
• Fraud losses broadly are exploding. The FTC reports $12.5 billion in consumer fraud losses in 2024, a 25% jump over 2023 (FTC Consumer Sentinel Data 2024).
• Bankruptcies are climbing. U.S. bankruptcy filings rose 11.5% in the 12 months ending June 30, 2025; business filings increased 4.5% (U.S. Courts Bankruptcy Filings).
• Probate is slow and costly. Probate typically costs between 3% to 7% of an estate's total value, with the process averaging 16-20 months to complete (Trust & Will 2024 Probate Study).

Against these risks, the price of proactive planning looks small. Setting up a domestic asset protection trust typically costs $3,000–$15,000 upfront, with annual maintenance fees of $2,000–$8,000. Foreign asset protection trusts in offshore jurisdictions can run higher costing $15,000–$50,000 initially and $8,000–$25,000 each year, but still represent a fraction of what a single lawsuit, long-term-care stay, or probate battle can cost.

The investment required for establishing and maintaining such a trust varies significantly based on type of trust, jurisdiction, complexity of assets, and ongoing administrative requirements. For high net worth individuals facing creditor threats or working in high-risk professions, understanding these costs is crucial because the right protection trust can mean the difference between preserving your wealth and losing everything to a single judgment.

Cost of an Asset Protection Trust: Quick Comparison of Industry Standard Ranges

How much does an asset protection trust cost?

How Much Does Our Firm Charge for Asset Protection Services?

At Wyoming Asset Protection Attorney, we provide transparent pricing for asset protection planning with no hidden fees. Our approach ensures you understand the investment required before making any commitment.

Initial Consultation: $375

Your asset protection journey begins with a comprehensive consultation where we assess your financial situation, evaluate your risk exposure, and determine the most appropriate legal structure for your needs. During this consultation, we'll review your current asset value and portfolio complexity, potential creditor threats and liability exposure, optimal trust structure options, and provide an estimated timeline with total investment required for your specific situation.

Our Asset Protection Trust Services

Domestic Asset Protection Trusts (DAPTs)

We establish domestic asset protection trusts in favorable jurisdictions with strong creditor protection laws, including Wyoming, Nevada, South Dakota, and Delaware. These states offer favorable trust laws that enhance asset protection while maintaining domestic convenience.

Setup fees start at $18,500 for straightforward situations. Your actual investment may increase based on the number and complexity of assets transferred, business interests requiring special provisions, multi-state property holdings, number of beneficiaries, and coordination with existing estate plans. The typical timeline from initial consultation to full funding takes approximately three weeks to three months.

Our comprehensive service includes trust document drafting tailored to your specific needs, all legal filings, initial asset transfer guidance, independent trustee coordination, and thorough compliance review to ensure your domestic apt provides stronger asset protection under applicable law.

Non-Charitable Specific Purpose Trusts

These specialized trusts serve specific protection goals while maintaining flexibility for particular purposes such as the ownership of the trustee for an asset protection trust. This type of directed trust offers targeted protection for clients seeking to shield assets for defined objectives.

Setup fees start at $2,500, with pricing adjustments based on the complexity of specified purposes, number of assets held, and ongoing administrative requirements anticipated for your situation.

Private Family Trust Companies

For families with substantial wealth seeking maximum control and privacy, we establish private family trust companies that serve as professional trustees for family trusts. This sophisticated legal structure provides enhanced governance and can offer stronger asset protection for complex family wealth situations. Most importantly, they allow the family to manage individual business assets such as family owned businesses that institutional trustees lack the ability to manager.

Setup fees start at $18,00, with costs varying based on the number of family trusts under management, complexity of family governance structure, multi-jurisdictional compliance needs, and level of asset management fees required.

Ongoing Maintenance and Administration

Asset protection trusts require ongoing maintenance to preserve their effectiveness and ensure continued compliance with evolving regulations. We offer comprehensive maintenance packages to keep your protection trust functioning optimally year after year.

Our annual maintenance package includes:

• Regular compliance review and legal updates to address changes in relevant laws
• Trustee coordination and oversight to ensure proper administration
• Tax preparation assistance and reporting guidance (fiduciary returns can run $3,500–$10,000 annually for complex trusts)
• Periodic asset review with rebalancing recommendations as your financial situation evolves
• Proactive legal updates as trust laws change in your jurisdiction

Annual maintenance fees start at $[BLANK], varying based on trust complexity, number and types of assets inside, and the level of ongoing fees your situation requires.

Long-Term Care & Medicaid Planning: Protecting More Than Just Lawsuit Exposure

Most people think of asset protection trusts only in the context of lawsuits, but one of the biggest threats to personal wealth comes later in life: long-term care. As mentioned previously, a private nursing home now has a median annual cost of $127,750 per year. Even assisted living averages more than $4,500 per month. These expenses can deplete retirement savings and force the sale of valuable assets just to keep up with bills.

Medicaid can help pay for nursing homes and long-term care, but only after you've spent down almost everything you own. In most states, applicants must reduce countable assets to about $2,000 if single ($3,000 for couples). Without planning, a lifetime of savings can vanish in just a few years of care.

That's where a Medicaid asset protection trust becomes a crucial financial tool. By transferring a primary residence and other key assets into an irrevocable asset protection trust early enough (generally five years before applying for Medicaid), families can preserve Medicaid eligibility while still protecting property from being claimed later through Medicaid estate recovery. This is especially powerful for middle- and high-net-worth individuals who want to avoid losing everything to long-term care costs yet still qualify for benefits if needed.

Even if you never require nursing care, careful planning ensures you stay within asset limits without last-minute scrambling or risky asset transfers that could be challenged as fraudulent. And because these trusts can be integrated with broader estate planning, skipping probate and minimizing potential estate taxes, they offer stronger asset protection on multiple fronts at once.

When compared to the six-figure annual cost of care, the asset protection trust cost (typically a few thousand dollars to establish and modest annual maintenance fees) is small insurance against losing decades of hard work and savings.

Is It Worth the Investment?

A common general rule is to keep annual maintenance fees below 2–3 % of trust assets. For example, someone with $2 million in assets might spend about $20,000–$30,000 over ten years in setup and maintenance costs. That's a small price if one lawsuit could threaten your financial situation. For high net worth individuals or those in high risk professions, setting up an asset protection trust through careful planning with an experienced attorney is often worth the investment.

Remember: the best time to establish asset protection is before you need it. Once creditor threats emerge or lawsuits are filed, your options become significantly more limited and expensive. Don't wait until it's too late to protect assets you've worked so hard to build.