How Much Does Probate Cost in California?

Probate in California is not free, and families are entitled to know what it costs before the process begins. The largest fees are set by state statute and are based on the gross value of the estate, not on how hard anyone works or how long the case takes. The main categories are court filing fees, statutory attorney fees, the executor's statutory fee, and the probate referee's appraisal. On a typical estate that includes a home, those core costs often run in the tens of thousands of dollars.

How Probate Fees Are Calculated

The statutory fees for the attorney and the executor are both calculated on the gross value of the estate, and the mortgage is not deducted. A home worth $900,000 with a $400,000 loan still counts at its full $900,000 toward the fee schedule. That is a source of surprise for many families, and it is worth understanding early because it shapes the cost of every probate case that includes real estate.

Court Filing Fees

The court charges a filing fee to open the probate case with the Petition for Letters of Administration or Letters Testamentary, and another filing fee for the Petition for Final Distribution when the estate is ready to close. Under California Government Code Section 70650, each of those petitions carries a fee that is currently $435. Families also pay for certified copies of the Letters, often $25 to $40 each, and for the required newspaper publication of the probate notice. These court costs are the smallest part of the total, but they are the first out-of-pocket expenses.

Statutory Attorney Fees

California Probate Code Section 10810 sets a graduated schedule for attorney fees based on the gross value of the estate: 4% of the first $100,000, 3% of the next $100,000, 2% of the next $800,000, 1% of the next $9 million, and 0.5% of the amount above that. On an estate valued at $1 million, the statutory attorney fee is $23,000. These are the ordinary fees, set by the schedule, and an attorney and client may agree to different terms in writing, but the schedule is the baseline families should expect to hear about.

The Executor's Statutory Fee

Under Probate Code Section 10800, the executor or administrator is entitled to the same dollar amount as the attorney, calculated on the identical schedule. On that same $1 million estate, the executor's fee is another $23,000, which means the combined statutory fees for the attorney and the executor are $46,000. The executor may waive the fee, and many family members who serve as executor choose to do so, which reduces the total cost of the estate. It is one of the few levers a family controls.

The Probate Referee's Appraisal Fee

In court-supervised probate, a state-certified probate referee appraises the estate's real property and other non-cash assets. The referee's fee is a percentage of the appraised value: one-tenth of one percent, or 0.1%, under Probate Code Section 8961, with a $75 minimum and a $10,000 cap. On a $900,000 home, the referee's fee is roughly $900. We explain how the referee values the home as of the date of death in The Probate Referee's Appraisal: How California Values an Estate Home.

Other Costs Families Should Plan For

Beyond the statutory fees, an estate carries ongoing costs while it is open. Property taxes, homeowners insurance, utilities, and the mortgage on the home must be kept current during probate, and those costs can add up across the months the case is open. There may also be costs for cleaning out and securing the home, minor repairs before a sale, and the real estate commission when the property is sold through a probate sale. These are not "probate fees" in the statutory sense, but they are real outflows families should budget for.

A Worked Example on a Typical Estate Home

Consider an estate with a gross value of $1 million, most of it in a $900,000 family home. The court filing fees come to roughly $870 for the two petitions. The attorney's statutory fee is $23,000, and the executor's statutory fee is another $23,000 unless waived. The probate referee's fee on the $900,000 home is about $900. Added together, the core costs come to roughly $47,000 before publication, certified copies, and the ongoing carrying costs of the home.

That figure explains why families sometimes look for a path that avoids full probate. When a home passes through a living trust, a transfer-on-death deed, joint tenancy, or the smaller-estate procedures, the statutory attorney and executor fees can be avoided altogether. We outline those paths in Selling an Inherited Home Without Probate in California, and the broader process in Probate in Southern California: A Guide for Families and Executors.

What Families Should Take From This

The cost of probate is largely predictable, and predictability is a form of relief. The statutory fees follow a published schedule, the court costs are modest, and the referee's fee is a small percentage of the home's value. The decisions that matter are the ones the family controls: whether the executor waives their fee, how the home is prepared for sale, and whether the sale itself is handled well. When the estate home sells, the sale proceeds cover these costs first, and we walk through how that works in How an Executor Sells the Estate Home in California.

Doug has guided probate and trust sales across Ventura County and Southern California since 1997. A free conversation can give your family a realistic sense of what a given estate will cost, before any money is committed.