California Probate Fees 2020

Probate Attorney’s Fees and Court Costs

Probate fees (e.g., attorney’s fees and executor’s fees) are set by California’s Probate Code §10810.  The statutory fees prescribed by §10810 are based on the value of the estate, as determined during the probate process. The value of the estate is generally determined by the inventory conducted by the estate’s executor, and sometimes with the assistance of appraisers designated by the court.

Unfortunately, in making the valuation, the court does not consider the debts of the estate to offset the gross valuation, and thus determines the fees based upon just the gross valuation of the assets in probate.  For example, if a house is appraised at $500,000 but has an outstanding mortgage of $300,000, the house is still valued at $500,000 for the purposes of calculating statutory probate fees.

Statutory probate fees under §10810 are as follows:

• 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 $9,000,000
• 0.5% of the next $15,000,000

*Note that the above-referenced calculations may have to be done twice: once to calculate the attorney’s statutory fee and once to calculate the executor’s statutory fee.  See the example calculations below.

Probate Statutory Fees and Court Cost

BASED ON THE GROSS VALUE OF AN ESTATE

• $500,000           $13,000 x 2 = $26,000
• $600,000           $15,000 x 2 = $30,000
• $700,000           $17,000 x 2 =  $34,000
• $800,000          $19,000 x 2 =  $38,000
• $900,000          $21,000 x 2 =  $42,000
• $1 Million          $23,000 x 2 =  $46,000
• $5 Million         $61,000 x 2 =  $122,000

The best thing is to avoid probate by creating a living trust. Our probate attorneys will be able to guide you and your family on how to set this up. We provide consultations in English and Spanish and have offices in Long Beach, Downey and Irvine. Protect your legacy with our team of very caring, compassionate estate planning attorneys. Contact us HERE

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California Probate Fees 2020

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Learn more about California Probate Fees and what proportion of that goes to your attorney and probate court. Probate is a very stressful process, get the right representation today. Our team are fluent in both English and Spanish.

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Velasco Law Group

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Velasco Law Group

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