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Miller Trust Guide
SC · Guide

How Much Does It Cost to Set Up an Income Trust in South Carolina?

An elder-law attorney typically charges $1,000–$2,500 to set up a Miller Trust in South Carolina — in practice, a few hours of paperwork using SCDHHS's own free template and one trip to the bank. This $97 kit covers that same process yourself: the template walkthrough, the bank-refusal script, and the 7 SCDHHS denial traps to avoid. For complex estates, an attorney is worth the fee regardless — this kit does not draft the trust or advise on your specific situation.

What an attorney typically charges

An elder-law attorney typically charges $1,000–$2,500 to set up a Miller Trust in South Carolina — work that is, in practice, filling in South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services's own free template and opening one bank account.

What the $97 kit covers instead

This kit covers the same template walkthrough, the bank-refusal script, and the 7 SCDHHS denial traps to avoid — the parts of the process most families handle themselves.

When the attorney's fee is worth it anyway: significant assets, prior gifting, a second marriage, or multi-state property. Those are fact-specific questions this kit does not answer — for them, consult a South Carolina-licensed elder-law attorney regardless of which route you take on the trust itself.

The trust's money and the kit's price are separate

A South Carolina Miller Trust holds only the applicant's income and pays only for the applicant's own care — it is never used to pay this kit's price or an attorney's fee. Whatever you spend to set the trust up happens outside the trust.

One cost this comparison doesn't include

A wasted bank trip costs you a day you don't get back. Free one-pager: the questions to ask before you drive to a branch, emailed now. Then 4 more short emails over 3 weeks on what else trips families up — then we stop.

Email only — we never ask for income, age, or family details, and never sell your address.

Common questions

Is a Miller Trust cheaper than hiring a lawyer in South Carolina?
Usually, yes, for the core setup. An elder-law attorney typically charges $1,000–$2,500 for the same work — for complex estates (significant assets, prior gifting, a second marriage, multi-state property), the attorney's fee is worth it regardless of how the trust itself gets set up.
Does setting up the trust cost money out of the trust itself?
No. a South Carolina Miller Trust holds only the applicant's own income and pays only for the applicant's own care. Whatever it costs to set the trust up — an attorney's fee or anything else — is separate from the money that flows through the trust each month.