What are the costs associated with probate in California?
There can be substantial cost involved in probating an estate. In California, there is a statutory fee which imposes an upper limit on executor and attorney fees for “ordinary” services, based on the value of the gross estate. Attorneys and executors may also be paid for “extraordinary” services, such as sales of property or litigation. Often an executor who is a family member of the deceased agrees to serve without a fee. The court filing fee in a probate proceeding is based on the size of the estate, and in a large estate it can be thousands of dollars. The assets in a probate proceeding are appraised by a California Probate Referee, who charges a fee of 0.1% of the value of the assets. The court also imposes various other fees, such as for filing accounts and reports and for certified copies of documents. Other costs include publication of notice of administration and, if required, a surety bond.
