By Corcoran Smith Law Corp. · Updated
California Probate Fee Calculator
This calculator applies California’s ordinary probate compensation schedule to the fee base you enter. It shows separate representative and attorney amounts, and their total if both claim the full schedule. Waivers, extraordinary services and the court’s award can change actual compensation.
This is the statutory schedule, not a quote. The calculator applies Probate Code sections 10800 and 10810 to the value you enter. It cannot determine the final fee base, compensation waived, extraordinary fees or the court’s award.
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 the fee base and estate equity before fees, expenses and taxes.
Runs entirely in your browser. No figure you type is transmitted, stored, or seen by anyone.
What does probate cost in California?
Probate Code sections 10800 and 10810 use identical sliding scales for ordinary compensation of the personal representative and attorney. On a fee base of $1,000,000, the schedule calculates $23,000 for each, or $46,000 combined if both claim the full amount. A $500,000 fee base calculates $13,000 each. These examples do not determine the final court award.
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 | |
The schedule applies separately under sections 10800 and 10810; the combined figure assumes both claim the full scheduled amount.
What the fee comes to at common estate values
| Gross estate accounted for | 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 before fees, expenses and taxes is $200,000. On a $900,000 fee base, the combined ordinary schedule produces $42,000 if both full amounts are claimed — 21% of that pre-expense equity. 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 compensation only. It is not a total-cost estimate; additional expenses and any waived compensation affect what the estate pays.
- 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?
Ask what compensation will be requested and whether any will be waived. The statutory calculation does not mean every recipient claims the full amount; California Rule of Court 7.704 expressly addresses petitions seeking or waiving statutory compensation. Extraordinary fees require a separate court allowance, and a beneficiary may object to a fee request. 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 for deaths from April 1, 2025 through March 31, 2028
- 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.
The Probate Code sections behind this page
Each section links to its official text at the California Legislature’s own site. The full index of sections covers the rest of the Code.
Also cited above, explained elsewhere on this site
- Probate Code section 10800
- Statutory compensation of the personal representative. Where section 10800 is explained
- Probate Code section 10810
- Statutory compensation of the estate attorney. Where section 10810 is explained
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