The Cost of Dying in California (2026): Funeral, Probate, and Estate Settlement Costs With Sources
This page collects the sourced, dated figures behind the real cost of dying in California: national funeral and burial costs, the state fee for a death certificate, and every statutory probate cost by estate size. Every figure links to the primary publisher it came from, whether that is the National Funeral Directors Association, a California state agency, or the Probate Code itself. We review this page every year and update it when a statute, fee schedule, or survey changes.
Cite this page: Ridley Law, “The Cost of Dying in California (2026): Funeral, Probate, and Estate Settlement Costs With Sources,” ridleylawoffices.com/cost-of-dying-california/, October 2026.
What a death costs a California family, from the funeral to probate
A funeral with burial costs a national median of $8,300 and one with cremation $6,280 (National Funeral Directors Association, 2023), a certified California death certificate costs $26 (California Department of Public Health, 2026), and statutory probate costs on a $1,000,000 estate run up to $47,435 (Probate Code and Judicial Council fee schedule, 2026).
Probate fees are set by statute as a percentage of the estate, so they grow with what the person owned.
Funeral costs are sourced only nationally: $8,300 with burial, $6,280 with cremation
No primary publisher reports a California-only median, so the best sourced figures are national: $8,300 for a funeral with viewing and burial and $6,280 with cremation, per the National Funeral Directors Association’s 2023 General Price List Study.
The National Funeral Directors Association surveys funeral homes nationwide for its General Price List Study. Its most recent published study, released December 2023, is the most current primary data available as of this page’s review date. The chart and table below show the figures from the National Funeral Directors Association’s most recent General Price List Study.
| Service | National median cost | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Funeral with viewing and burial (metal casket, no vault) | $8,300 | NFDA, 2023 GPL Study |
| Funeral with cremation (alternative container and urn) | $6,280 | NFDA, 2023 GPL Study |
We found no California-only median from a primary publisher. The California Cemetery and Funeral Bureau publishes consumer guidance and enforces disclosure rules, but does not publish its own statewide average or median cost survey. We found no California-specific funeral cost figure from a primary publisher with a stated methodology, current enough to meet this page’s citation standard. Until one exists, the national NFDA figures above are the best sourced numbers available.
A funeral home has to give you its price list to keep, and two layers of law protect a consumer shopping for funeral services. The FTC’s Funeral Rule (16 C.F.R. Part 453) requires a funeral home to give you a General Price List to keep, itemizing prices for individual goods and services, the first time you ask in person about arrangements or prices. The FTC states plainly: “You must give the General Price List to such individuals to keep.” California’s own Business and Professions Code § 7685 requires a similar written price list and a price range for caskets, enforced by the state’s Cemetery and Funeral Bureau.
Certified death certificates cost $26 a copy, so budget for more than one
Budget for more than one certified copy, because banks and title companies usually want a certified copy, not a photocopy. A certified copy of a death certificate from the California Department of Public Health costs $26 per copy as of January 1, 2026, per the California Department of Public Health’s Vital Records fee schedule. The fee rose $2 on January 1, 2026 under Assembly Bill 64 (Chapter 662, Statutes of 2025). County recorder offices also issue certified copies, so check the county’s own fee before ordering there.
Probate costs are set by statute and grow with the size of the estate
For a family with a $1,000,000 estate, California’s statutory probate costs total up to $47,435: a $23,000 attorney fee under Probate Code § 10810, a $23,000 personal representative fee under § 10800, a referee commission of up to $1,000 under Probate Code §§ 8961 and 8963, and a $435 filing fee under the Judicial Council’s 2026 fee schedule. The two fees alone come to $46,000 before the probate referee’s commission and the court filing fee.
A mortgage on the house doesn’t reduce the fee base. California sets attorney and personal representative compensation by statute, as a percentage of “the value of the estate accounted for by the personal representative.” That value starts from the inventory and appraisal, which lists property at its full value, so a mortgage on a house does not reduce the fee base. The table below shows the statutory fees at six estate sizes, plus the probate referee’s commission and the court’s filing fee. Figures are rounded to the nearest dollar.
| Gross estate value | Statutory attorney fee | Statutory personal representative fee | Probate referee commission | First paper filing fee | Combined total (referee at maximum) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $250,000 | $8,000 | $8,000 | up to $250 | $435 | $16,685 |
| $500,000 | $13,000 | $13,000 | up to $500 | $435 | $26,935 |
| $750,000 | $18,000 | $18,000 | up to $750 | $435 | $37,185 |
| $1,000,000 | $23,000 | $23,000 | up to $1,000 | $435 | $47,435 |
| $2,000,000 | $33,000 | $33,000 | up to $2,000 | $435 | $68,435 |
| $5,000,000 | $63,000 | $63,000 | up to $5,000 | $435 | $131,435 |
The percentage falls as the estate grows. Both fee columns follow the same statutory tiers: 4 percent of the first $100,000, 3 percent of the next $100,000, 2 percent of the next $800,000, 1 percent of the next $9,000,000, and 0.5 percent of the next $15,000,000 of “the value of the estate accounted for by the personal representative.” The attorney fee column comes from Probate Code § 10810. The personal representative fee column comes from Probate Code § 10800, the identical percentage schedule, paid separately.
The referee column shows a maximum, and your estate’s commission depends on how much of it is non-cash. The commission is 0.1 percent of the property appraised, with a $75 minimum and a $10,000 maximum, under Probate Code § 8961 and § 8963, and the table assumes the referee appraised the full estate value. In practice the referee appraises only non-cash property. Cash, bank and brokerage accounts, and similar liquid items are appraised by the personal representative directly under Probate Code § 8901 and pay no referee commission. An estate that is mostly cash will land near the $75 floor, and an estate that is mostly real property or a closely held business will land closer to the figures shown.
The filing fee is the same at every estate size, and some costs sit outside the total. Filing the first petition for letters of administration or letters testamentary costs $435 statewide, set by the Judicial Council’s Statewide Civil Fee Schedule effective January 1, 2026 (item 124). The combined statutory total adds the four columns. It does not include extraordinary fees for litigation or a sale of real property, publication costs, a probate bond premium, or any attorney fee above the statutory schedule that a court may approve for extraordinary work.
The courts say formal probate typically takes 9 to 18 months, and sometimes longer
California’s courts describe it this way: “The entire process typically takes 9 to 18 months and can sometimes take even longer,” according to the California Courts Self-Help Guide.
A funded living trust is designed to avoid most of these costs and the delay
Most of these costs, and the delay that comes with them, are what a properly funded living trust is designed to avoid. An estate under California’s small estate limits may avoid formal probate entirely. See our page on the California small estate affidavit for the current thresholds and process.
If your estate must go through formal probate, our guide to what probate actually costs in California and our California probate fee calculator walk through the same statutory schedule used above with your own numbers. If you want to see the math applied to a single, common estate, our page on what probate costs on a $700,000 house works through a real example. For the broader data picture, see our California probate statistics page.
A court may require a probate bond, which is waived only if the will waives it or all beneficiaries waive it in writing, and the court can still require one. Its premium adds to the figures above.
Frequently asked questions
How long does probate take in California?
California’s courts describe formal probate this way: “The entire process typically takes 9 to 18 months and can sometimes take even longer,” according to the California Courts Self-Help Guide.
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