California Probate Fee Calculator

Cal. Prob. Code §§ 10800, 10810 · Updated August 2026

California sets attorney and executor compensation by statute, as a percentage of the gross value of the probate estate — debts and mortgages are not deducted. Enter an estate value to see the statutory fees, court costs, and total.

Estate value

Gross value of assets passing through probate $

Appraised value at date of death, before subtracting mortgages, liens, or debts. Exclude assets that avoid probate: living-trust property, joint tenancy, and accounts with a named beneficiary or POD/TOD designation.

Fee assumptions

Executor waives their statutory fee Common when the executor is also a beneficiary — the fee is taxable income, an inheritance generally is not. A bond will be required Usually waived by the will, or by written waiver of all beneficiaries.

Adjust costs and assets

Cash and cash equivalents included above $

Appraised by the executor under § 8901, so no probate referee commission is charged on it.

Of which is California real property $ This was the decedent’s primary residence

Receipts and gains during administration $

Rents, interest, and sale proceeds above the appraised value are added to the fee base by § 10800(b).

Petitions filed #

Publication $

Certified copies, recording, misc. $

Bond term (years) Y

Estimated total cost of probate

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Attorney fee Executor fee Court & administration costs

Statement of estimated fees and costs

Item	Authority	Amount

How the statutory fee is built

Bracket of the estate	Rate	Applied to	Fee

The same schedule is paid twice — once to the attorney under § 10810 and once to the personal representative under § 10800. Above $25,000,000 the court fixes a reasonable amount rather than applying a percentage.

What this figure does not include

Extraordinary fees. Selling real property, running a business, litigating a will contest or creditor claim, handling a tax proceeding, or defending an accounting are all compensated on top of the statutory fee, at an amount the court fixes (§§ 10801, 10811). Contested estates routinely double.

Taxes and debts. Final income tax returns, a fiduciary return, any federal estate tax, and the decedent’s debts are paid from the estate separately.

Time. A petition for final distribution is due within one year of letters issuing — eighteen months if a federal estate tax return is required (§ 12200). In practice Los Angeles County probates commonly run twelve to twenty-four months.

Assets that never enter this calculation

Statutory fees apply only to assets that pass through the probate estate. These do not:

Property titled in a properly funded revocable living trust
Joint tenancy and community property with right of survivorship
Retirement accounts and life insurance with a living named beneficiary
POD / TOD bank and brokerage accounts, and real property held under a revocable transfer on death deed
Property passing to a surviving spouse or registered domestic partner by spousal property petition (§§ 13500, 13650) — no dollar limit

Talk through your estimate with an attorney

Prefer to talk it through? Call 310-279-5166 or request a consultation.

The answer usually turns on how title is held, not on the size of the estate. A short review of the deeds and beneficiary designations settles it.

Request a consultation