Probate Fees Calculator
What is Probate?
Probate is the court process by which a person’s money, assets, and belongings are distributed.
If you don’t create an estate plan, or if you create a will instead of a trust, California’s “default” laws apply, and the court will step in and oversee the settlement of your estate after death. This court-supervised process is called “probate.”
State law sets the legal fees for probate cases, called “statutory probate fees.” Over and above the standard fees below, the probate attorney and executor may request and be granted by the court an amount above the standard fees if extraordinary services are provided.
Additional costs include:
Publication fees - The court case must be published in the local newspaper
Court filing fees - The court charges a fee, typically $435, each time papers must be filed during the steps of the probate process.
Attorney/Executor fee - This fee is large and is a percentage of the value of the assets without subtracting a person’s debts, such as a mortgage.
Probate Bond - A surety bond is typically required in California as a protection for the heirs against a bad actor Executor. The cost can be $2,000 or more for an estate worth $500,000.
California Probate Fees
California probate fees are a percentage of the total value of the estate without subtracting debts:
An estate is valued by calculating all the deceased compiled assets into one number. 4% of the first $100,000 (total: $4,000 minimum for a $100,000 estate); plus
3% of the next $100,000 (total: $7,000 minimum for a $200,000 estate); plus
2% of the next $800,000 (total: $23,000 minimum for a $1 million estate); plus
1% of assets above $1,000,000
Probate Calculator
