California Probate Fee Calculator
This calculator returns the exact statutory probate fee for a California estate. Probate Code sections 10800 and 10810 fix compensation for ordinary services on a sliding scale, and the estate pays it twice — once to the personal representative and again to the attorney.
These are not estimates. California fixes probate compensation for ordinary services by statute, so the figures below are the actual schedule in Probate Code sections 10800 and 10810 — not an average, a range, or a quote. What the calculator cannot know is whether extraordinary fees will be allowed on top.
What is the estate worth?
Appraised value of everything passing through probate — before deducting any mortgage. That is what the statute measures.
Not deducted from the fee — enter it to see the gap between what the fee is charged on and what the family actually inherits.
Runs entirely in your browser. No figure you type is transmitted, stored, or seen by anyone.
What does probate cost in California?
For ordinary services, the fee is not a matter of negotiation — it is arithmetic. Probate Code section 10800 fixes what the personal representative receives and section 10810 fixes what the estate’s attorney receives, on an identical sliding scale. An estate of $1,000,000 pays $23,000 to each, so $46,000 in total. An estate of $500,000 pays $13,000 to each. Those are the statutory figures, not averages or quotes.
The bands are marginal, not flat
Each percentage applies only to the slice of value inside its band, the way income tax brackets do. This is why the effective rate falls as estates get larger: a $200,000 estate pays 7.0% of its value in combined fees, while a $2,000,000 estate pays 3.3% and a $5,000,000 estate pays 2.5%.
| Band of estate value | Rate | Fee in this band |
|---|---|---|
| First $100,000 | 4% | $4,000 |
| Next $100,000 | 3% | $3,000 |
| Next $800,000 | 2% | $16,000 |
| Next $9,000,000 | 1% | $90,000 |
| Next $15,000,000 | 0.5% | $75,000 |
| Above $25,000,000 | The court determines a reasonable amount | |
Each figure is payable twice — once under section 10800, once under section 10810.
What the fee comes to at common estate values
| Gross estate | Representative | Attorney | Combined | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $300,000 | $9,000 | $9,000 | $18,000 | 6.0% |
| $500,000 | $13,000 | $13,000 | $26,000 | 5.2% |
| $750,000 | $18,000 | $18,000 | $36,000 | 4.8% |
| $1,000,000 | $23,000 | $23,000 | $46,000 | 4.6% |
| $1,500,000 | $28,000 | $28,000 | $56,000 | 3.7% |
| $2,000,000 | $33,000 | $33,000 | $66,000 | 3.3% |
| $3,000,000 | $43,000 | $43,000 | $86,000 | 2.9% |
Are California probate fees based on the gross or net estate?
Gross, and this is the single most expensive misunderstanding in California probate. Both sections measure the fee on the value of the estate accounted for — the appraisal value of inventory property, plus gains over appraisal on sales, plus receipts, less losses on sales — and both say expressly that this is computed without reference to encumbrances or other obligations on estate property.
A worked example
A family inherits a house appraised at $900,000 with a $700,000 mortgage against it. The equity they actually receive is $200,000. The combined statutory fee is calculated on the full $900,000, which produces $42,000 — 21% of what they inherit. Enter both figures in the calculator above and it shows exactly this.
What counts toward the gross figure
- Real property at appraised value, before any mortgage
- Bank and brokerage accounts passing through the estate
- Vehicles, personal property and business interests
- Gains over appraisal on anything sold during administration
- Receipts taken in by the estate
What is not included in the statutory fee?
The schedule covers ordinary services only. It is the floor of what probate costs, not the ceiling.
- Extraordinary fees — allowed by the court for work beyond ordinary administration, such as selling real property, tax work, or litigation
- Court filing fees and newspaper publication
- Probate referee appraisal fees
- The bond premium, where a bond is required
Can California probate fees be negotiated?
Not the statutory portion. Sections 10800 and 10810 fix compensation for ordinary services by statute rather than by agreement, so an attorney cannot charge more and discounting is uncommon. Extraordinary fees are different — they are allowed by the court on application, and both the amount and the justification can be challenged by a beneficiary. Allowance of both the representative’s compensation and the attorney’s is one of the acts section 10501 reserves to the court even under full independent authority.
How can an estate avoid these fees?
Only assets that pass through administration are counted, so the whole question is what stays out of it.
Routes that avoid probate entirely
- A funded living trust — assets titled in the trust never enter the calculation, which is the main reason California planners push so hard for one
- Joint tenancy — passes by survivorship at the moment of death
- A recorded transfer on death deed — though the statute repeals itself in 2032 unless extended
- Accounts with a named beneficiary or payable-on-death designation
Routes that shorten it
- A spousal property petition — no value limit at all, for property passing to a surviving spouse
- The section 13151 petition — a primary residence up to $750,000
- The section 13100 affidavit — up to $208,850 for deaths on or after 1 April 2025
- A Heggstad petition — where a trust was signed but an asset was never retitled into it
Where this fits in the wider cost of probate
The statutory fee is the largest single line, but it is not the only one, and it arrives at the end rather than the start. Administration commonly runs a year or more, and the fee is allowed at final distribution. Families who are surprised by it are usually surprised twice — once by the amount, and once by discovering it was calculated on a number that bears little relation to what they receive.