California probate fees · set by statute
What probate will actually cost, to the dollar.
California sets probate fees by statute, so the number is knowable in advance. Work out yours below — then book thirty free minutes to find out whether a trust is worth it in your situation.
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- Admitted
- California, 2004
- Where
- All 58 counties
- Consultation
- Free, by phone or video
- Verify me
- Bar No. 233854
Work out what probate would cost your family.
California does not let anyone negotiate this. Under Probate Code §§ 10800 and 10810 the attorney and the personal representative are each paid the same sliding percentage, set by statute — and it is calculated on the gross appraised value of the estate, before any mortgage is subtracted. A $1.4M house with a $900k loan on it counts as $1.4M.
| Statutory tier | Rate | Fee on this estate |
|---|
- Statutory fees, total
- $50,000 Attorney and personal representative combined. Court filing fees, the probate referee's appraisal, publication and bond are charged on top of this.
- Attorney
- $25,000
- Personal representative
- $25,000
Estimate only. Extraordinary services — litigation, selling real property, tax work — are billed on top with court approval. Estates above $25,000,000 are set at the court's discretion.
Two things people are surprised by.
Gross, not net
The mortgage does not count
Fees run on what the probate referee appraises the property at, not your equity in it. Most of the California estates I see are pushed over the line by one house.
Nine to eighteen months
It is slow by design
Creditors get a claim window running four months from the day letters issue, and the estate cannot close before it expires. Add court calendars and any disagreement among beneficiaries.
Avoidable
A funded trust skips all of it
No court, no statutory fees, a few months rather than a year or more. The word that matters is funded — the deed has to be recorded, or the house goes to probate anyway.
Thirty minutes, no charge, and you will know where you stand.
I will tell you whether a trust is worth it for your situation, what it would cost, and what it would not fix. If a plan is not worth doing I will say so — that answer is free too.