What Probate Actually Costs in California
Quick answer: California probate fees are set by statute on the estate’s gross value, not its equity, and both the attorney and the personal representative are each entitled to the full fee (Prob. Code §§10800, 10810). Combined statutory fees run from $8,000 on a $100,000 estate up to $56,000 on a $1,500,000 estate, before court costs, the probate referee, publication, bond, and any extraordinary fees the court awards on top.
- Fee schedule: 4% of the first $100,000, 3% of the next $100,000, 2% of the next $800,000, 1% of the next $9,000,000, then one-half of 1% of the next $15,000,000, with anything above $25,000,000 set by the court (Prob. Code §10810)
- Doubled in practice: The attorney and the personal representative each collect the full statutory fee separately, so the schedule effectively runs twice
- Debt doesn’t help: The fee is calculated on gross value, so a mortgage does not reduce it (Prob. Code §10800(b))
- Extraordinary fees: The court can award additional fees on top for selling real property, litigation, or unusual work (Prob. Code §10811)
- Not the whole bill: Filing fees, the probate referee, publication, and bond premiums are separate and add up on their own
How much does probate cost in California?
California sets the probate fee by statute, calculated on the gross value of the estate rather than what’s actually owned free and clear: 4% of the first $100,000, 3% of the next $100,000, 2% of the next $800,000, and lower percentages above that. The estate’s attorney is entitled to an identical fee, calculated separately on the same schedule, so both fees come out of the estate. On a $1,000,000 estate, that ordinary schedule produces roughly $46,000 total, before court costs or extraordinary fees (Prob. Code §§10800, 10810).
The one thing to remember
The probate fee is set by statute, it’s calculated on the gross value of the estate, and your debts don’t reduce it. On top of that, the attorney and the personal representative each get the full statutory fee, so the schedule effectively runs twice. A million-dollar estate with a big mortgage still generates fees as if the mortgage weren’t there.
How is the statutory fee schedule built?
The statutory fee is a set of percentages on the estate’s value, and it’s the same schedule for the attorney and for the personal representative (Prob. Code §§10800, 10810): 4% of the first $100,000, 3% of the next $100,000, 2% of the next $800,000, and 1% of the next $9,000,000. Run that on a $1,000,000 estate and one fee comes to $23,000: $4,000 plus $3,000 plus $16,000. Then the personal representative is entitled to the same $23,000. That’s how a $1,000,000 estate reaches $46,000 in statutory fees before you add court costs, the probate referee, publication, and bond.
Does a mortgage lower the probate fee?
No. The statutory fee is calculated on the gross value of the estate, without reference to encumbrances, so a mortgage or other debt against the property does not reduce what the personal representative or the attorney is paid (Prob. Code §10800(b)). An illustration: a house is worth $1,000,000 and carries an $800,000 mortgage. The family’s real stake is $200,000, but the probate fee is still figured on the full $1,000,000, as if the mortgage didn’t exist.
What does probate cost at different estate sizes?
| Gross estate | One fee (attorney or personal representative) | Both fees combined |
|---|---|---|
| $500,000 | $13,000 | $26,000 |
| $750,000 | $18,000 | $36,000 |
| $1,000,000 | $23,000 | $46,000 |
| $1,500,000 | $28,000 | $56,000 |
| $2,000,000 | $33,000 | $66,000 |
| $3,000,000 | $43,000 | $86,000 |
| $5,000,000 | $63,000 | $126,000 |
These are the statutory fees only (Prob. Code §§10800, 10810), as of 2026. They don’t include extraordinary fees, which the court can award on top for extra work like selling real property or handling litigation (Prob. Code §10811). They also don’t include filing fees, the probate referee’s fee, publication, or bond.
How long does probate take in California?
Most California probate cases take twelve to eighteen months from filing to final distribution. Estates with real property to sell, disputed heirs, or tax complications tend to run toward the longer end of that range. The dollars aren’t the whole bill, either. The file is public, so anyone can read what the estate held and who received what, and the process runs by the Probate Code and a judge, not by the choices the family would have made. For a family trying to sell a house, pay expenses, or simply move forward through grief, the delay and the exposure often sting more than the fee itself.
What actually avoids probate?
- A funded living trust. Assets the trust actually holds pass without probate. The catch is funding: a trust only controls what’s in it.
- Beneficiary designations. Retirement accounts and life insurance pass by the form, outside probate, when the form is current and correct.
- Small-estate procedures. Below California’s statutory threshold, currently $208,850 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025, the law lets you use an affidavit instead of probate (Prob. Code §13100).
What does a trust-based plan cost instead of probate?
A trust isn’t free either. A trust-based plan is typically a flat fee, a fraction of what probate would cost on the same estate, and it’s paid once while you’re alive rather than left as a bill for your family. The exact number depends on the complexity of the situation, so it gets quoted after the facts are understood, not before. The point of the table above isn’t to create fear. It’s to let you compare a known, one-time cost now against a larger, statutory cost later, and decide with real numbers.
What’s the rule of thumb on probate costs?
The statutory fee runs on gross value, so debt on the property doesn’t reduce it. Two full fee awards apply, one to the attorney and one to the personal representative, so the schedule effectively doubles, and extraordinary fees can be added by the court on top.
This is general information about California law, not legal advice, and reading it doesn’t make you a client. The fee figures are computed directly from the statutory schedule and are accurate as of this writing; court costs and extraordinary fees are separate. Federal tax questions belong with your CPA.
Run your own numbers with our probate calculator. To find out whether you need probate in the first place, find out if you need probate at all.
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For Anyone Weighing A Trust Against Doing Nothing · Free PDF Guide
People ask me whether a trust is worth it. The honest way to answer is to show you the alternative. California sets probate fees by statute, on the gross value of the estate, and the attorney and the personal representative each take the full schedule. Here are the real numbers.
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From Ridley Law · Eric Ridley · Estate planning, trust administration, and probate
California Probate Statutory Fees by Estate Size (Prob. Code §10810)
The attorney and the personal representative each receive the fee shown per side. The number at the end of each bar is the combined total that comes out of the estate.
$8,000
$16,000
$26,000
$36,000
$46,000
$56,000
Personal representative’s statutory fee
These are the ordinary statutory fees only (Prob. Code §§10800, 10810), current as of 2026. Extraordinary fees, filing fees, the probate referee, publication, and bond are separate and are not included in these totals. Run your own numbers with our probate calculator.
Costs the Statutory Fee Table Doesn’t Show
The statutory attorney and personal representative fees are the headline number, but they aren’t the whole bill. Budget for these on top:
- Probate referee appraisal fee. The court-appointed referee appraises the estate’s non-cash assets for a statutory fee, generally a fraction of a percent of the appraised value, with a minimum charge regardless of size.
- Bond premium. If the will doesn’t waive bond, or there’s no will, the court can require a bond sized to the estate’s value. The premium is an annual cost paid to a surety company until the estate closes.
- Court filing fees. Opening a probate case, filing the inventory, and filing for final distribution each carry their own county filing fee, and some counties charge more than others.
- Publication costs. California requires published notice to creditors and interested parties in a newspaper of general circulation, a cost that varies by county and publication.
- Extraordinary fees. The court can award fees above the statutory schedule for unusual work: selling real property, handling litigation, or resolving a contested claim (Prob. Code §10811).
- Tax return preparation. A decedent’s final income tax return, and often a separate fiduciary income tax return for the estate itself, need a CPA’s time and fee, and are billed separately from the statutory fee.
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