Probate Fees for Attorney and Executor

Probate carries with it significant costs, payable primarily to the attorney(s) and executor(s) who administer the estate . The attorney and executor fees are set by California statute and are based on the gross, not net value, of the probatable estate (e.g. You own a home with $500,000 but with a $490,000 loan, fees are based on $500,000 not $10,000).

The statutory attorneys fees are as follows:

4% of the first 100,000

3% of the next 100,000

2% of the next $800,000

1% of the next $9,000,000

.5% of the next $15,000,000

The executor gets an identical amount.

“Extraordinary Fees”, over and above the statutory fees, may be awarded for “extraordinary” services. Typically, this involves unusually complicated estates or litigation.

By way of example, if an estate valued at $500,000 was probated (a typical value for a California home), the minimum fees would be $13,000 for attorneys fees, $13,000 for executors fees, court filing fees (currently $320.00) and probate referee appraisal fees.

See Probate Code Sections 10800-10805, 10810-10814