Court Supervised Probate in California: What Families Need to Know for 2026

Short answer: California requires formal, court supervised probate for most estates with more than $208,850 in probate assets, for deaths on or after April 1, 2025, under Probate Code § 13100. The process usually takes twelve to eighteen months from the date the court appoints a personal representative. On a $1,000,000 estate, statutory fees alone run about $46,000, split evenly between the executor and the estate’s attorney, before court filing costs, bond, or any extraordinary fees. A properly funded revocable living trust is the main way to keep an estate out of this process.

What is court supervised probate?

Court supervised probate is the legal process by which a California superior court oversees the settling of a deceased person’s estate: identifying assets, paying debts and taxes, and distributing what is left to heirs or beneficiaries. It is a public process. Once a probate case is filed, the inventory of assets, the petitions, and the final accounting become part of the court’s public record.

The court appoints a personal representative, usually the executor named in the will or an administrator if there is no will, and that person administers the estate under the court’s supervision. A will does not avoid probate. It only takes effect once the court validates it through the probate process itself.

When does an estate have to go through probate in California?

Formal probate is required when an estate’s probate assets total more than $208,850 gross value, before debts, for a death occurring on or after April 1, 2025. That threshold holds until the next scheduled adjustment on April 1, 2028, under Probate Code § 13100.

Not everything counts toward that number. Assets held in joint tenancy, payable-on-death or transfer-on-death accounts, and accounts or life insurance policies with a named beneficiary generally pass outside of probate regardless of value. Assets sitting in a living trust that was never actually funded, meaning the title was never moved into the trust’s name, do not get that benefit and can still land in probate. If you are not sure where your own estate falls relative to the threshold, a probate calculator can give you a rough sense of the statutory fees at stake.

How much does probate cost in California?

California sets statutory fees for both the executor and the estate’s attorney on the same sliding scale: 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, under Probate Code § 10800. The attorney is entitled to an identical fee calculated the same way, under Probate Code § 10810.

On a $1,000,000 gross estate, that schedule works out to $23,000 for the executor and a separate $23,000 for the attorney, for $46,000 in ordinary statutory fees before court costs or bond. Note that the fee is calculated on the gross value of the estate without any reduction for a mortgage or other debt against the property. An executor can also ask the court for additional “extraordinary” compensation for work outside routine administration, such as litigation, tax matters, or selling real property, under Probate Code § 10801.

These are the fees for a formal probate executor. A trustee administering a living trust is a different arrangement: a trustee is paid whatever the trust document specifies, or if the trust is silent, a reasonable amount under the circumstances. The statutory percentage schedule for probate does not apply to trust administration.

How long does probate take?

The California Courts Self-Help Guide estimates nine months to a year and a half for a typical probate, measured from the date the court appoints the personal representative. In practice, twelve to eighteen months is a realistic expectation. The personal representative must file an inventory and appraisal of the estate’s assets within 4 months of receiving Letters, on Judicial Council Form DE-160. If the case is still open at 18 months, the personal representative generally has to file a status report explaining what remains to be done.

Complex estates take longer. Real property that needs to be sold, a business interest, disputes among heirs, or delays in locating creditors and assets can all push a case well past the typical range.

What happens with creditors during probate?

The personal representative has to publish a notice to creditors in a local newspaper once a week for four consecutive weeks, and mail direct written notice to each known creditor within 30 days of learning that creditor exists, under Probate Code §§ 9001 and 9051. A creditor then has until the later of four months after Letters are issued or 60 days after that direct notice was mailed to file a claim. There is a hard outer limit of one year from the date of death regardless of when notice went out, under Probate Code § 9100. Debts, taxes, and administration expenses are paid out of the estate before any beneficiary receives a distribution.

What to do next

If an estate you are settling has more than $208,850 in probate assets, expect a formal, public, court supervised process that will likely take the better part of a year or more and carry real statutory costs. If you are planning your own estate and want to keep your family out of that process, ask an estate planning attorney whether a funded revocable living trust makes sense for your situation, and if you are already the executor of an open estate, get specific guidance on the deadlines and filings that apply to your case before you miss one.

Figures verified July 2026.