grampster, I know you mean well and are generally shooting in the right direction, but you're giving more legal advice than a lawyer who had already met with him.
He may or may not need or want a trust. What kind of trust? Do they want to be co-trustees? Do they have any trusted relatives? Does he want to give a general power of attorney? BTW, cars, boats, (and frequently) etc., are not real property.
Other than the few facts given, I know nothing about Ukraine or the law of the state he resides in. Before I do any estate planning work for a person, I usually spend a minimum of an hour and sometimes several hours or more meeting with them to gather information and find out what they want and really need.
It may not be rocket science. Making a simple will shouldn't be, although I've had some clients who did their best to make it such. Estate planning can quickly become very complex. Even one wrong word can completely change the function of your "simple" will. A trust is even easier to mess up. Toss in multiple trusts, FLPs, LLCs, family businesses, complex property and tax issues, not to mention family squabbles and unclear law, and you might pray to be doing rocket science.
Less than a grand? :D Maybe. Twenty years ago. Or, if you want a lot of boilerplate and DIY with little legal advice.
The low end for comprehensive estate planning, including a revocable trust, here in Texas is now two grand or more. There are some lawyers out there that will undercut the competition to get business, but many of those don't know a trust from a hole in the ground. You might save a few bucks with them, but you usually aren't getting your money's worth. Even worse are the companies that hold estate planning seminars, often combined with a free dinner or discount on some estate planning if you purchase an annuity (the kind that matures when you turn 114, and has high early withdrawal penalties). I've encountered a number of people who got involved with these outfits and paid nothing less than $2500 (probably $3000 or more, now) for a fancy binder full of documents that required them to fill in a bunch of blanks, make choices that they were not advised about, and do all of their own filing and dealing with mortgage, insurance and investment companies, tax authorities, court clerks, etc. Most of these are worthless because the documents don't get completed and executed properly, things don't get filed, and assets never make it into the trust. Rarely is an attorney even involved. I don't recommend the do-it-yourself path, either. I've seen some pretty bad wills, done by attorneys (supposedly) that didn't really know what they were doing. Worse, I've had clients bring in their deceased kins' home done wills that were too screwed up to probate.
I agree with grampster about looking for an attorney with low overhead expenses, but that is actually much harder to determine that it sounds. With your concerns, I suggest finding one that handles a lot of real estate and estate planning, and not just a full-time personal injury lawyer who has a secretary typing up wills on the side.
ilbob, I have many clients that thought they knew everything about buying and selling property who would now agree with you.