How much does probate cost in California?

The short answer

California is one of the states where the core probate fees are set by statute — fixed by law rather than negotiated. Here’s how those fees work, what else gets added on top, and the ways many families avoid full probate entirely.

Attorney fees

Statutory under Cal. Prob. Code §10810: 4% of first $100,000, 3% of next $100,000, 2% of next $800,000, 1% of next $9M, 0.5% of next $15M.

Executor / personal representative fees

Same schedule as the attorney, under Cal. Prob. Code §10800. Both fees apply separately, so total ordinary fees are roughly double the schedule.

What the fee is based on

Calculated on the GROSS value of the estate — before subtracting any mortgage, loan, or lien. A $1.2M home with a $700k mortgage still generates fees on the full $1.2M.

Court filing fees

Roughly $435 per petition. A probate case usually involves more than one filing.

Appraisal / probate referee

California appoints a referee to appraise assets, typically charging about 0.1% of appraised value.

How long probate takes in California

We found no published source for how long probate takes in California as of September 2026. No California court publishes case-duration data, and the ranges that circulate come from law firms and from sites paid to refer customers to them, so none is cited here. The statutory floor is the creditor period: Cal. Prob. Code §9100(a): a creditor must file before expiration of the LATER of four months after the date letters are first issued to a general personal representative, or sixty days after the date notice of administration is mailed or personally delivered to the creditor. §9100(a)(2) adds that nothing in that paragraph extends the time provided by Code of Civil Procedure §366.2, and §9100(c) that nothing in the section extends or tolls any other statute of limitations — so the filing window does not rescue a claim already time-barred.

Creditor claim period

Cal. Prob. Code §9100(a): a creditor must file before expiration of the LATER of four months after the date letters are first issued to a general personal representative, or sixty days after the date notice of administration is mailed or personally delivered to the creditor. §9100(a)(2) adds that nothing in that paragraph extends the time provided by Code of Civil Procedure §366.2, and §9100(c) that nothing in the section extends or tolls any other statute of limitations — so the filing window does not rescue a claim already time-barred. In practice, this window is often the real floor on how quickly an estate can close, because the personal representative usually waits it out before making final distributions.

How to skip full probate (or shrink the bill)

• Small-estate procedure. $208,850 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025. Cal. Prob. Code §890 adjusts the amounts every three years and the Judicial Council publishes the adjusted list; the published list gives April 1, 2025 as the current date and states the values will next be adjusted April 1, 2028.
• Real-property shortcut. Primary residence valued up to $750,000 may transfer through a simplified petition (AB 2016).
• Transfer-on-death deed. California allows a Revocable Transfer on Death Deed (RTODD) for residential real estate under Cal. Prob. Code §5600 et seq. Owners can record a TOD deed naming a beneficiary; the property transfers to the beneficiary at death without probate. SCHEDULED REPEAL: §5600(c) provides that Part 4 shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2032, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, enacted before January 1, 2032, deletes or extends that date. The same subdivision provides that the repeal shall not affect the validity or effect of a revocable transfer on death deed that is executed before January 1, 2032. The date was set by SB 315 (Stats. 2021, ch. 215); the published text carries no later extension as of 2026-09-21.
• A funded living trust. Assets in a properly funded revocable living trust skip probate entirely. The successor trustee distributes them privately, usually in a month or two.
• Beneficiary designations and joint ownership. Life insurance, retirement accounts, payable-on-death (POD) accounts, and jointly held property pass directly to the named person and never enter probate.
• Family member as executor. When a relative serves as executor, they can often waive the commission — meaningfully cutting the total bill.

Whether representation is required in California

California does not require an estate to be represented by counsel in every proceeding; the court’s self-help materials set out where a personal representative may file without an attorney. Full probate carries formal filing requirements and statutory deadlines, and estates qualifying for a small-estate or summary procedure follow a shorter track with lower filing costs. Legal document preparers operate in some states at a flat fee, subject to state rules on unauthorised practice.

What the record shows

Probate cost in California is the sum of separately-set components: statutory or court-approved attorney fees, executor commissions, court filing fees, and appraisal costs. Each is documented above with its citation.

Assets that pass outside probate — by beneficiary designation, joint ownership with survivorship, transfer-on-death instrument, or a funded living trust — are not part of the estate these fees are calculated on. California’s small-estate threshold, above, determines which estates can use the simplified procedure.

Frequently asked questions about probate cost in California

How much does probate cost in California?

California sets probate compensation by statute: the personal representative under Cal. Prob. Code §10800(a) and the attorney under §10810(a) each receive 4% on the first $100,000, 3% on the next $100,000, 2% on the next $800,000 and 1% on the next $9,000,000, so a $500,000 estate typically runs about $26,000 in combined statutory compensation. Both sections compute that on the value of the estate accounted for “without reference to encumbrances or other obligations on estate property” (§§10800(b), 10810(b)), so a mortgaged home counts at its full appraised value. Court filing and certification costs are charged on top; no source for their total is cited here.

What is the small-estate limit in California?

$208,850 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025. Cal. Prob. Code §890 adjusts the amounts every three years and the Judicial Council publishes the adjusted list; the published list gives April 1, 2025 as the current date and states the values will next be adjusted April 1, 2028.

Who pays the probate costs in California?

The estate does. Attorney fees, the executor’s commission, court filing fees, and any appraisal costs are all paid out of the estate’s assets before anything is distributed to the beneficiaries — so in practice the heirs bear the cost through a smaller inheritance rather than paying out of pocket.

Can you avoid probate costs in California?

California sets statutory compensation as a percentage of the estate accounted for, and the same schedule is allowed to the personal representative and to the attorney separately, so both are charged against the same estate. A funded revocable living trust operates on the assets retitled into it, and a revocable transfer on death deed operates on the residential real property it describes; an asset passing by either route is not in the estate the percentage is computed on.

How long does probate take in California?

We found no published source for how long probate takes in California as of September 2026. No California court publishes case-duration data, and the ranges that circulate come from law firms and from sites paid to refer customers to them, so none is cited here. The statutory floor is the creditor period: Cal. Prob. Code §9100(a): a creditor must file before expiration of the LATER of four months after the date letters are first issued to a general personal representative, or sixty days after the date notice of administration is mailed or personally delivered to the creditor. §9100(a)(2) adds that nothing in that paragraph extends the time provided by Code of Civil Procedure §366.2, and §9100(c) that nothing in the section extends or tolls any other statute of limitations — so the filing window does not rescue a claim already time-barred. The deadlines that run alongside it: How Long Does Probate Take in California?.

Related reading

• What Is Probate and How Does It Work? — the full plain-English explanation of how probate works in the US.

• How to Avoid Probate in California — the state-specific avoidance playbook.

• Executor Deadlines in California — the statutory dates the executor works to, quoted from Cal. Prob. Code §9100(a).

• How Long Does Probate Take in California? — the companion timeline guide for California.

• What Happens If You Die Without a Will in California? — how California splits an estate when there is no will.

• Will vs. Trust: How They Differ — the documented differences between the two instruments.

• Estate Planning Checklist: Everything in One Place — the documents and decisions that determine what passes through probate.

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This page explains California probate costs in general terms as of 2026. It is not legal advice, and fee schedules, thresholds, and court costs change and depend on your specific situation. Confirm current figures with the California courts or a licensed California attorney. Sources: Cal. Prob. Code §10800, Cal. Prob. Code §10810, Cal. Prob. Code §13100, Cal. Prob. Code §13150–13158, Cal. Prob. Code §9100, Assembly Bill 2016.