The Short Version
California sets probate compensation by statute: 4% of the first $100,000 of the estate, 3% of the next $100,000, 2% of the next $800,000, 1% of the next $9 million, and 0.5% of the next $15 million. The attorney and the executor can each receive that amount, and it is calculated on the gross appraised value with no deduction for mortgages or debts. Add a statutory appraisal fee, court costs, and a process that commonly runs twelve to eighteen months in a public court file. A will does not avoid any of this. Assets titled to a funded living trust do.
When families ask what probate will cost, they expect a fuzzy answer. California's answer is unusually precise, because the ordinary fees are written directly into the Probate Code. That precision cuts both ways: nobody can overcharge you under the schedule, and nobody can talk the schedule down. The only real variable is the number the schedule is applied to, and that is decided by how your assets are titled on the day you die.
The statutory fee schedule
Probate Code sections 10800 and 10810 set compensation for ordinary services, one schedule for the personal representative (the executor or administrator) and an identical schedule for their attorney:
| Portion of gross estate | Rate | Fee on this tier | Cumulative (each) |
|---|---|---|---|
| First $100,000 | 4% | $4,000 | $4,000 |
| Next $100,000 | 3% | $3,000 | $7,000 |
| Next $800,000 | 2% | $16,000 | $23,000 |
| Next $9,000,000 | 1% | $90,000 | $113,000 |
| Next $15,000,000 | 0.5% | $75,000 | $188,000 |
| Above $25,000,000 | A reasonable amount determined by the court | ||
Source: California Probate Code sections 10800 and 10810. The attorney and the personal representative are each entitled to the scheduled amount; courts may also approve additional "extraordinary" fees for work such as property sales or litigation.
Two details in that table do most of the damage. First, the fees can be doubled: the attorney is entitled to the schedule, and so is the executor. A son or daughter serving as executor often waives their fee, partly out of love and partly because the fee is taxable income while an inheritance generally is not, but a professional administrator will charge it. Second, and less known:
The schedule runs on the gross estate: the appraised value of what you own, "without reference to encumbrances." A $900,000 home with a $500,000 mortgage is a $900,000 home to the fee schedule.
That single phrase from the statute is why leveraged estates, common in farm country, get hit hardest. A family can owe statutory fees on millions of dollars of value the family does not actually keep. On top of the percentage fees, the court-appointed probate referee who appraises non-cash assets charges 0.1% of the appraised value (capped at $10,000), and filing fees and administrative costs add more.
Run the schedule on your numbers
Enter the gross value of everything owned in your name: real property at market value (ignore the mortgage), accounts, business interests, equipment.
Educational estimate based on the ordinary-fee schedule in California Probate Code sections 10800 and 10810 and the statutory referee fee, as of September 2026. Excludes court filing fees, bond premiums, extraordinary fees, and costs of sale; estates above $25 million are set by the court. Trust administration has its own, typically smaller, costs. This is not legal advice; consult a qualified estate attorney.
The other two costs: time and privacy
An uncontested California probate commonly runs twelve to eighteen months from the first filing to final distribution, and it cannot legally close before the four-month creditor claim window under Probate Code section 9100 has run. During that time the property sits under court supervision: selling real estate, operating a business, or simply paying a family member from estate funds involves procedure, and sometimes a court date. And every step happens in a public file: the inventory of assets and their appraised values, the names of the heirs, and any family disagreement, all readable by anyone who asks, including solicitors who work probate filings for a living. A trust administration handles the same work privately, on the family's timeline.
When probate is required, and what passes outside it
Probate is generally required when someone dies holding assets in their own individual name above California's small-estate limits. For deaths on or after April 1, 2025, under AB 2016, those limits are $208,850 in personal property (collectible by affidavit, no court case required) and, separately, a primary residence worth up to $750,000, which can pass through a simplified petition that still requires a court hearing. Those thresholds help modest estates, but a Central Valley family with a home and any amount of land is typically far past them.
What passes outside probate regardless of size:
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1
Assets titled to a funded living trust. The centerpiece, covered in our Estate Planning 101. The trust only protects what has actually been retitled to it.
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2
Accounts with valid beneficiary designations. Retirement accounts, life insurance, and pay-on-death accounts pass by contract. The designations need to be coordinated with the trust, and they go stale quietly after divorces, deaths, and rollovers.
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3
Certain jointly held property. Joint tenancy passes to the survivor without probate, but it is a blunt tool: it can forfeit the community property double step-up in basis and create Prop 19 and control problems. How something avoids probate matters as much as whether it does; see Stepped-Up Basis on Inherited Farmland.
The tax picture: better than most people fear
California has no state estate tax and no inheritance tax; probate cost is a fee problem, not a tax problem. At the federal level, the estate tax applies only above the basic exclusion of $15,000,000 per person for deaths in 2026, roughly double for a married couple using portability. For families near or above that line, which sizable land holdings can cross faster than their owners expect, the planning conversation changes: additional trusts, gifting strategy, and timing all matter, and that work belongs with experienced estate counsel well before it is needed. We coordinate it; we do not draft it.
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Common Questions
California Probate:
What Families Ask
Are the fees charged on gross or net value?
Gross. The statute calculates compensation on the appraised inventory value "without reference to encumbrances or other obligations." A $900,000 home with a $500,000 mortgage counts as $900,000 for the fee, not $400,000.
How long does probate take?
Commonly twelve to eighteen months for an uncontested estate, with a statutory minimum four-month creditor claim period before closing. Real property sales, disputes, or tax issues routinely extend it.
Does a will avoid probate?
No. A will is the instruction manual for the probate court, not a way around it. Avoiding probate is a question of titling: funded trusts, beneficiary designations, and certain joint ownership pass outside the process.
When is probate required in California?
Generally when assets held in the decedent's own name exceed the small-estate limits: for deaths on or after April 1, 2025, $208,850 in personal property by affidavit, plus a simplified court petition for a primary residence up to $750,000. Most families with a home and land are well past both.
Does the executor really get paid the same as the attorney?
The statute entitles the personal representative to the same schedule as the attorney. In practice a family member often waives it, in part because the fee is taxable income while an inheritance generally is not. A professional fiduciary will typically charge it.
Important Disclosures
This page is educational and is not legal or tax advice; Avidity Capital Inc. does not practice law or draft legal documents. Primary sources: California Probate Code sections 10800 and 10810 (statutory compensation, gross-estate fee base), section 9100 (creditor claim period), section 13100 et seq. as amended by AB 2016 (the $208,850 and $750,000 small-estate limits effective April 1, 2025), the statutory probate referee fee (0.1%, $75 minimum, $10,000 maximum), and Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (the $15,000,000 federal basic exclusion for 2026). Figures current as of September 2026. Calculator results are hypothetical illustrations; actual costs and timelines vary with the estate, the court, and the circumstances. Consult a qualified estate attorney.
Regulatory Disclosure: Avidity Capital Inc. is a California state-registered investment adviser (CRD# 312745). Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. For firm background information, visit adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/312745.
No Commission Disclosure: Avidity Capital Inc. is compensated solely by advisory fees paid directly by clients. The firm does not receive commissions, referral fees, or revenue-sharing payments from attorneys, sponsors, issuers, or product providers.