US Probate Fees
Calculator 2026

California is the one state where the answer is arithmetic rather than an estimate. Probate Code sections 10800 and 10810 set an identical schedule — 4% of the first $100,000, 3% of the next $100,000, 2% of the next $800,000, 1% of the next $9 million and 0.5% of the next $15 million — and it is paid TWICE, once to the personal representative and once to the attorney.

On a $1,000,000 estate that is $23,000 each, so $46,000 in statutory compensation before court costs, appraisal fees and any extraordinary services the court approves. Above $25 million the court sets a reasonable amount instead.

The percentages are graduated, so each rate applies only to the dollars inside its own band.

Gross, and this is the most expensive misunderstanding in the topic. Section 10810 defines the base as the value of the estate accounted for by the personal representative — the appraised inventory value, plus gains on sales and receipts, less losses on sales.

Debts secured against the property are not subtracted. A home appraised at $1,000,000 with an $800,000 mortgage contributes the full $1,000,000 to the fee base even though the estate holds only $200,000 of equity in it.

In a state with California house prices this routinely means a modest estate pays fees calculated on a number several times its real net worth, which is why avoiding probate through a living trust is such a common recommendation there.

$208,850 of personal property, for deaths on or after 1 April 2025, using the affidavit procedure under Probate Code section 13100. Separately, Assembly Bill 2016 created a petition to transfer a decedent's primary residence without full probate where the home's gross value does not exceed $750,000, also effective 1 April 2025; a qualifying primary residence is excluded from the $208,850 personal-property calculation.

Note a widespread error: many pages currently state a threshold of $239,700 effective 1 April 2026. No such adjustment exists.

Probate Code section 890 requires the Judicial Council to adjust these amounts every three years, not annually — the series runs $166,250 (2019), $184,500 (2022), $208,850 (2025), and the next change is due 1 April 2028.

No, and the distinction matters. Florida Statute 733.6171 sets a fee that is PRESUMED reasonable — $1,500 up to $40,000 of compensable value, rising through 3% of the band from $100,000 to $1 million, 2.5% to $3 million, 2% to $5 million, 1.5% to $10 million and 1% above that.

The statute expressly says the presumed fee may not be appropriate in every administration, and that the attorney, the personal representative and the people bearing the cost may agree on a different basis, subject to disclosure and the Florida Probate Rules. California's schedule, by contrast, is the statutory entitlement for ordinary services.

So a Florida figure is a strong starting point for negotiation; a California figure is what the statute provides.

No — most do not. Only a minority of states set compensation as a statutory percentage of estate value; California is the clearest example and Florida publishes a presumed-reasonable percentage schedule.

In most states the standard is simply 'reasonable compensation', which in practice means hourly billing for the attorney and either an hourly rate, a flat fee or a locally customary percentage for the executor. That is why a national 'probate costs X%' figure is misleading.

This calculator models the two statutory schedules exactly and shows everything else as a clearly-labelled estimate range rather than presenting a custom as if it were law.

Several, and they are frequently omitted from cost estimates. The statutory schedule covers ordinary services only.

On top of it sit court filing fees (set per county and revised often), probate referee appraisal fees, publication of notice, bond premiums where a bond is required, certified copies, and accounting or tax preparation for the estate. Courts can also award additional compensation for extraordinary services — contested litigation, selling real property, running a business, complex tax work — which is separate from and additional to the schedule.

Treat the statutory number as a floor for a straightforward administration rather than the total cost of settling an estate.

The fee base is the probate estate, so anything that passes outside probate is outside the calculation. Assets held in a properly funded revocable living trust, property held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship, accounts with a valid payable-on-death or transfer-on-death designation, and retirement accounts and life insurance with living named beneficiaries all pass outside probate.

In California, where the schedule is applied to gross value and paid twice, the arithmetic in favour of a living trust is unusually strong for estates holding real property. This is general information rather than advice — whether a trust suits your circumstances is a question for a licensed attorney in your state.

Duration and the statutory fee are largely independent, which surprises people. The California schedule is a function of the value of the estate accounted for, not of hours worked or months elapsed, so a straightforward estate that takes eighteen months pays the same ordinary compensation as one that takes eight.

What duration does affect is the surrounding cost — bond premiums, accounting, and the likelihood that someone petitions for extraordinary compensation. Typical full administrations run months rather than weeks, and considerably longer where a will is contested or real property has to be sold.